Homecoming is an event students and alumni look forward to every year at Southeast Missouri State University. The event is the product of months of planning, and the Homecoming Planning Committee is already looking forward to next year's festivities less than a month after this year's.

Destiny Tulo-Lang, president of the Homecoming Planning Committee, said at a meeting on Nov. 11 the committee has decided to begin the process even earlier than before.

"This year we've decided that we're going to start [planning] next year earlier than normal," Tulo-Lang said. "We're hoping that applications for the committee will go out the first day of the spring semester, which is normally in February or March, in that area. And we're hoping to have our president picked this semester."

Tulo-Lang said committee members often help plan multiple years' homecomings.

"Many of the committee members go through each year, and some of the chairs are the same as well," she said. "But anybody is welcome to join, and we like new people to come in [who] see things from a new perspective."

Tulo-Lang first became involved with the Homecoming Planning Committee when she was a resident assistant. She and students from Towers West dormitory formed a team for a homecoming field day, and the experience caused her to apply to be a committee chair for the next year.

"If you want to be a committee member there's an application that goes out in the spring," Tulo-Lang said. "If you're looking to be a chair, you fill out the same application and then also go through an interview. So our chairs -- we have spirit and publicity, parade, special events and selections."

Last year, Tulo-Lang served as the spirit and publicity subcommittee chair and was chosen to be president for the 2016 homecoming. She said the committee's previous president helped her settle into the position.

"I went to her room and she handed me this binder full of paperwork and said, 'All right, let's start from the beginning,' and kind of walked me through the whole process," Tulo-Lang said. "It really is a huge learning experience. You can never prepare somebody for being president of the Homecoming Planning Committee. Â… But in the end it's totally worth it, so I hope I can help the next person feel comfortable in the role."

From year to year, the particular homecoming committee is in control of the events schedule, with guidance from advisers in the campus life office. Tulo-Lang said the difficulty with the planning process comes with having people to coordinate with.

"For planning homecoming itself, I think the most difficult part is just making sure everyone's on the same page in the committee," she said. "We work really, really hard to make sure everything's done and done on time.

Tulo-Lang said the committee hopes to include even more students for next year.

"That's always very difficult, too, when there's been a stigma that you have to be a part of this huge group to participate in homecoming," Tulo-Lang said. "So in our meeting today, we said, 'What can we do to help people feel more comfortable being involved in homecoming?' So I can expect that you will see great changes next homecoming that will help people feel more welcome to participate."