Secret Sun Devil: ASU mascot invades several Phoenix-area classrooms
Apr 26, 2016, 4:33 PM | Updated: 5:01 pm
Incoming Arizona State University students pose with the school's mascot, Sparky, during a campus takeover event. (KTAR Photo/Sharon Mittelman)
(KTAR Photo/Sharon Mittelman)
PHOENIX — Arizona State University’s mascot, Sparky, surprised four high schools on Tuesday with a celebration to welcome incoming students to the Sun Devil family.
“This is great,” incoming Sun Devil Yosin Gutierrez said. “It’s really nice to kind of have my college out here. It really has me pumped to go ahead and be a part of the ASU family in the fall.”.
Brad Baertsch, director of freshmen recruitment in ASU Admission Services, said the school was very excited to get out and welcome some 275 incoming freshmen.
“We have different college representatives attending, we have Sparky coming with us and it’s really just a big welcome party to the university and to show how excited we are for them to be future Sun Devils,” he said.
Baertsch said Sparky and his crew rolled up to high school parking lots in one of the ASU’s double-decker shuttle buses. They set up a pop-up shop with ASU cheerleaders, students and other ASU representatives to cheer on future Sun Devils and pass out swag bags.
“We worked with the high schools so the counselors and administrators knew that we’re coming to their schools but the students don’t have any idea.”
Gutierrez, who is graduating from Phoenix’s Bioscience High School, said the event was just another sign that ASU will be a welcoming place.
“I had been to the Tempe campus many times and they really just open up to their students and help you transition from high school to the college level,” she said.
The high school takeover was part of College Signing Day, a national effort by the first lady Michelle Obama and the White House to encourage high schoolers to seek higher education opportunities.
“It’s really to celebrate students attending college every much in the same way athletes are supported when they sign with the college,” Baertsch said. “It’s to make a big deal out of this process for a wide majority of students that don’t necessarily have that experience.”
Future Sun Devils who are outside of Phoenix can get in on the fun by visiting the Future Sun Devils website.
“We have a variety of things that they can download where they can decorate their binders and books and computer laptop screens, so students from across the country even will be getting access to a variety of things welcoming them to the Sun Devil family.”
KTAR’s Sharon Mittelman contributed to this report.
