The Humans of RV project is a weekly column based on Brandon Stanton’s seminal “Humans of New York” project, which seeks to “catalog the city’s inhabitants” through photography and brief interviews. RV seeks to expand on this project with our own “cataloging” of RV students and an examination into all the unique perspectives here at school.
Note: this transcript has been edited and condensed for publication purposes.
The first football game I went to as an RV student, I stood up in the top section of the bleachers in the student section. The seniors down at the bottom were the life of the party. They pumped the entire crowd up, they cheered endlessly for the football team, and they made each and every game memorable. They made me realize how special the sporting events at RV are, bringing the whole school together. I wanted to be them. I am proud to say, as a senior this year, I finally get to live out my dream of being an RV Student Section Leader.
Over the summer, I had to go through the process of filling out an application form from the Athletics Department, expressing how involved I am here at RV and why I would be a good candidate for the position. I had to go through an interview, where I again had to prove myself and explain that I knew I would be an asset to the team of student leaders. The interview must have gone well because here I am talking about my new and awesome job.
Being a student section leader is one of the best things I have ever been a part of. As a whole, we brainstorm ideas for the themes for the football games that everyone can be involved in and enjoy. We also try to get our student body involved in other sporting events. We are trying to change things up and not repeat the themes from the previous year other than Blackout for Senior Night and Pink Out for our homecoming game to support Breast Cancer Awareness. Tradition is really important to us, but it’s also important that we get the chance to leave our mark on the section for years to come.
The main traditions we do follow are having a student play a drum in the stands and the “roller coaster” chant, where we get students hyped after half time for the rest of the game. One of my favorite new activities we have come up with for the year is the “Do it” chant, where we have each grade level perform the cheer. We even get the marching band and the cheerleaders to do it; it’s so cool to get to see everyone be involved and come together with school spirit. I love getting to be the one who starts the chants and be the one who gets everyone else excited.
I genuinely love being a part of leading the student section, the energy and excitement it brings is something I’ll always remember. In all, my one and only goal is to make sure everyone has a memorable experience. I am proud of what the student section has done so far this year, and can’t wait to see what we can continue to do.
