The N-Vasion of Senior Jerseys
Photo by Photo by K. Parkos
Senior Catherine Mast smiles as she is handed her senior jersey. Jerseys were distributed right before Thanksgiving Break.
December 7, 2015
Every home basketball game, the stands pack with Noblesville High School students cheering on their favorite basketball players. In the front rows reside the seniors sporting on a tradition that has lived for eight years – the senior jersey.
In early November, seniors were notified that senior jersey time is here. Students filled out a Google Form with vital information and notified business teacher Rich Harden and math teacher Amanda Giordano.
Students traditionally choose a name that represents their personality. They also select a number. A common occurrence is combining part of the student’s name with a reference to something currently popular. This can come with some names that are flagged inappropriate.
“Students will always try to see what they can get away with–it’s just what teenagers do,” Giordano said.
“We have some common attempts that we have to reject each year,” Harden said. “There are usually some we have to question, but most people do a pretty good job of ‘playing along’ with our request to keep everything appropriate.”
Harden checked names as they were sent in, and a simple solution was created to eliminate any inappropriate nickname/number combinations.
“We send the student with the questionable name/number a message,” Harden said. “If they can legitimize their request, we give it the OK. If it’s obvious, they usually come up with something else quickly.”
The student section theme changes every year, and this year’s band of fans will be known as N-Vasion.
“This year, the class officers and student section leaders (from football) got together with Mrs. G. and myself, and came up with the final decision, from a short list they had compiled,” Harden said. “We had opened it up in the past for suggestions, but that became a little unmanageable.”
“We don’t HAVE to do it, but we feel like it’s a fun tradition for seniors, and as long as the headaches aren’t too numerous, we intend to keep it going,” Harden said.
Three students were chosen at random in order to be highlighted for their creative outlook on the senior jerseys:
Student: Sona Thakur
Nickname: SEVEN
Number: 11
Background: “Basically what had happened was I wanted the number 11. 11’s my lucky number because my birthday is 11/11. I don’t have any nickname or anything of that nature, so I had no clue what to put as my name. But then after talking to my brother, he proposed the idea of “seven”, as in the jersey would be read as “seven 11”, or “7/11”, and the meaning/joke behind that is there’s a stereotype that all 7/11 gas stations are owned by Indians. … Basically my Indian cultural influence as always came into play.”
Student: Aleks Anderson
Nickname: A-SQUARED
Number: 17
Background: “I chose A-Squared since my initials are AA. My family always called me A-Squared when I was a kid so it just felt fitting. And I chose 17 just because I like the age. To me, 17 is just fun because you have a lot of freedom but you’re still a kid and still at home.”
Student: Karleigh Hollis
Nickname: KHOLLA
Number: 1
Background: “I picked ‘KHOLLLA’ for my name because it is a nickname that is most people know me as. I’ve had the nickname since freshman year and its stuck with me all throughout high school so I thought it would be appropriate to put on my senior jersey as a way to reflect on who I was recognized as the past four years and I know it will bring back good memories when I see my jersey in the future after high school. I picked the number ‘1’ because my first softball jersey number ever was number 1 and for several years it was my softball number. 1 has always been my favorite number for that reason. I don’t pick number one because I see myself as better than anyone else, but it’s a reminder to myself to be the best Karleigh Hollis that I can. It’s a reminder that there is always room for improvement that will help me work towards being number 1, whether it is softball, grades, working, etc. The number 1 represents that there is only one ME and that I shouldn’t compare myself to others because everyone is different. To me, number 1 on a jersey is a reminder that the main focus is the team that the jersey represents and that myself as an individual is just 1 piece of that team but a reminder that I cannot do it all on my own.”
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