Senior Mario Vega is one of the most recognizable names at WIS. As spirit coordinator, his online presence fills student and staff inboxes with updates on the next soccer game and the current status of his “PhD in hype.”
He is often seen at assemblies letting everyone know when the next game is, if there’s a fan bus, and encouraging the crowd to support the team. However, it is hard to get students to come out to see the games, especially when they have homework and extracurricular activities.
“I actually had a conversation with Mario because it’s a hard position; it’s a thankless position,” Don Boehm, a Geography and History teacher said.
Vega’s motivation behind wanting to become spirit coordinator is that he thinks he is a good motivator and could use his talents in order to get people to show up for games. Originally, he thought that WIS students would just drop school and homework, but he quickly realized that it was easier to get them to come on certain days of the week.
“On Friday’s, when there’s no homework the next day, people like to come watch the games,” Vega said.
According to freshman Rauf Hurcan, one of the most popular things Vega does is send out emails before an athletic event. They usually consist of an explanation of the event and hilarious context as to why you should attend. For example, he signs off with a different title every time, some of which have been “2000s music god,” “the voice of hype,”and “hype chef.”
Boehm explained that he wouldn’t be surprised if the emails took a long time to write, and he wasn’t wrong.
“It takes me an hour to write an email. I go through a creative process where I have to be inspired by something, so I’ll look at memes or read an article, and that’s how I’ll start writing. I usually try to bring in something that’s humorous so that I can get people reading to focus in,” Vega said.
An interesting aspect of the spirit coordinator position is that it is filled by a student. WIS teens are more likely to be interested in what is happening if someone around their age is publicizing it and encouraging people to come.
“Having a fellow student reach out to us, it encourages more people to listen. I know I’m more likely to read an email from Vega rather than Ms Eaton”, Hurcan said.
The most important part of Vega’s job is making sure there is a positive reaction to what he does in order to get more people excited about the games. He seems to have gotten a good response to his attitude so far. People think that he fills his position well, and he is trying his hardest to get busy WIS students to go to games.
“He cares about what he does; he’s passionate about it. He makes sure everyone is included, and that’s what counts, Hurcan said.
By Camila Levey
