Samantha Skidmore, AHRM senior, is a huge Hokie Fan! She
made the first Super Hokie costume out of duct tape in Fall 2011 for the
national Duct Tape School Spirit competition.
She didn’t win the competition that year, but that didn’t stop her. She made a maroon duct tape dress and joined
the Cassell Guard Generals (the official student section leaders for men's and
women's basketball). Then she made a
black duct tape dress for the “Blackout” game in basketball.
“After wearing duct
tape for that long, I was really sick of it. It's quite uncomfortable and the
wig was too tight, so I set out this summer to make a new costume out of
fabric. I ditched the wig and made a zip-up corset and skirt complete with
accessories.” Her new costume consists of an orange dress and signature maroon cape. The shoes are maroon with gold toes. Of course, the gold “super hero” headband completes the ensemble. Her studies in Apparel Product Development and Merchandising Management help guide her enthusiasm for design and after graduation she would like to design women’s collegiate apparel.
"I started wearing costumes to football games and let my persona grow from there. I now have 500 likes on Facebook and 400 followers on Twitter."
Samantha has used the Super Hokie persona to promote Virginia Tech and the idea of girls being very passionate about sports. Her favorite part of being the "Super Hokie" is interacting with fans in a whole new way, getting them pumped up on game day, and then getting to know them on Twitter and Facebook.
"It has really made the vast Hokie Nation feel like a tight knit community to me."
So, the next time you're at a sports event at Cassell Coliseum or Lane Stadium...look for Samantha and say, "Let's Go -- Hokies!"
So glad to to Samantha's work recognized. And that AHRM supports her with a great blog post.
ReplyDeletePeggy Q