SEEK’s got Spirit! How About You?
By Skylar Mattson
Mbabazi poses in a Barbie box for her first treadmill night event
This school year, St. Kate’s campus event coordinating team, SEEK (Social Events and Experiences for Katies), has decided that Katies need some more spirit.
Along with your classic trivia nights, day-brighteners and Katieoke sessions, SEEK will be throwing events centered around sports. First year sports enthusiast, Jackie Mbabazi (Nursing), has joined the SEEK team as the first ever Spirit Representative, and she is excited to get students supporting the Wildcat sports teams.
I had the chance to sit down with Mbabazi and learn what being a spirit representative is all about.
It seems the position takes a great passion for sports as Mbabazi shared, “I involve myself in sports, and I support sports.”
Of course, Mbabazi does not want to be supporting the Wildcat athletes alone, so she is trying to create opportunities for students to cheer with her at sporting events. For one of her first events of the year, Mbabazi went to one of the Wildcat Soccer games, and she passed out goody bags to all of the players. She was excited that she was able to attend a winning game and meet a fellow midfielder since she used to be a midfielder when she played soccer. She also held an event at a volleyball game to raise awareness for breast cancer on Oct. 11.
Most positions on SEEK have a co-chair to make the workload of planning and putting together an event more manageable. Mbabazi is flying solo. She explained to me, “So far, it’s going okay. It doesn’t feel like I’m by myself because if I was to be confused about something, I can still reach out to anybody [on the SEEK team], and they’ll be able to help me out.” Mbabazi also shared that even though she is the only student Spirit Representative, she still has one of the co-advisors on SEEK, Debbie Katona, who communicates with Butler Center staff for her to be able to have events in the building or that coincide with sporting events.
When asked about her vision for this role, Katona shared, “We are excited for the future of this role and where it is headed. We have talked with the members of Butler Center staff and they are excited to get students to games and support our student athletes. Together we are even dreaming about having a St. Kate fight song! Something students can cheer at games to support our athletes.”
As a first year student, Mbabazi took on a role that required a lot of knowledge about the school and its students. Mbabazi reported that when she started at St. Kate’s she had no idea what SEEK was and started with a position in Residence Life. She explained that the original spirit representative didn’t know anything about sports, so she asked this individual to switch roles because Mbabazi felt that her love for sports would make her a great fit for this position.
Mbabazi is looking forward to the rest of the school year and continuing to create opportunities for students to cheer on the Wildcat athletes. Every 3rd week of the month is Treadmill Night. September’s theme was Barbie and October’s theme will be announced soon.
SEEK Advisor Amanda Perrin said that the Spirit Representative role is all about “building community spirit at St. Kate’s.” She encourages the St. Kate’s community to “get ready to show spirit and make some noise for St. Kate's at the numerous sporting events throughout the year! Whether you’re an athlete, former athlete, or a supporter, our hope is the Spirit Rep will help unite us in our shared enthusiasm.” Mbabazi is excited to tackle this challenge in her role.
Do you have recommendations for a treadmill night theme or an event that you would like to see Mbabazi coordinate? Send ideas and suggestions to seek@stkate.edu.
