Home sports games are always lively and have a hyped crowd. Attendees will often hear chants and see a McDaniel flag waving around. These great vibes can frequently be credited to senior Henry Folkerth, the spirit commissioner.
“This year I’ve been going to all the sporting events, just trying to keep it fun, lively and make it inclusive for people who may not normally go to events,” Folkerth said.
One of his goals this year is to make sure everyone has a good time at all types of school events. He focuses on keeping a good atmosphere, making sure that everyone feels like they can join in on things like chants and spirit days.
Folkerth doesn’t only show his school spirit at games, he also likes to show up and out at assemblies. He has his own walkout that he has performed at assemblies, which he came up with himself. Another thing Folkerth does is make sure that everyone is aware of spirit day themes using both social media and posters. Before Folkerth was the spirit commissioner, he still did most of these things. To Folkerth and other students, being spirit commissioner felt like the natural next step for him.
“Last year my friend called me spirit captain,” Folkerth said. “I would help out with the mascot and stuff so it was like a natural progression.”
Even before becoming the spirit commissioner, Folkerth enjoyed hyping up the student section at games and making chants for everyone to do. Overall, Folkerth enjoyed getting to hype up everyone by not being afraid to be loud and show his spirit. Folkerth’s loud spirit made others notice him quickly, even teachers.
Natalie Gardner is the leadership teacher, and before he was even in her class she was still aware of who he is, showing how big of an impact he made on others.
“Henry is not afraid to put himself out there and embarrass himself. Even before he was in my class I knew who he was,” Gardner said.
Gardner stated that she knew him as someone who was always showing his support towards the community. He is also comfortable with being the only person chanting and being loud at events, urging others to join in with him.
One student who wasn’t afraid to join in on the cheers was freshman Zoe Gonzalez, who enjoys going to the games.
“Henry was at all the volleyball games and he knew how to lead a crowd. Everyone knew how to do the cheers he made,”Gonzalez said.
Folkerth is always showing for all the sports he can, ready to cheer on the team win or lose. When he made up cheers, most students would know how to do them. This shows how well he knew how to lead a crowd.
Being able to lead the crowd properly is a big part of being a spirit commissioner. Last year the school had both a spirit commissioner and a sports commissioner. The spirit commissioner attended games but was focused more on other school events. The sports commissioner was only tasked with attending games and showing spirit there. This year, however, Folkerth combined both commissioner tasks and showed up to both the school and sports events.
“I feel like I’ve expanded the spirit commissioner’s role,” Folkerth said.
Folkerth had built a lot of excitement around the volleyball games in the fall. The student section not only always had a great turnout but also showed their positive energy and hyped up the team. McDaniel’s loud student section is a big part of our sports, which Folkerth helped to truly cultivate this year.
“I think volleyball was such a strong start to the year, there was a big student section and good turnout,” Gardner said.
One of the most important traits that a commissioner could have is being someone that other students could look up to.
“Henry shows up often for others and is overwhelmingly positive, which makes it easy for underclassmen to look up to him,” Gardner said.
Folkerth makes it easy for others to look up to him with how much he shows up for other students. Freshman Khue Nguyen knows how easy it is to look up Folkerth. Whenever he’s at games, Nguyen knows the game is going to be fun.
“When I’m at the top of the bleachers and I see Henry in the crowd, I know the crowd is gonna go wild,”Nguyen said.
Nguyen enjoyed all the games she went to that Folkerth was at because of how fun it was to be in the crowd.
This year, Folkerth has made a big impact on our school’s student section, spirit days, and other ways we show our spirit. He’s also shown his own spirit by showing up for our school and community. Although this position as spirit commissioner came naturally to him, he still put in a lot of work to make sure he was making events as inclusive as possible. His enthusiasm and positive attitude will be missed next year.
