President Trump to Nominate Christopher Wray ’85 as Next FBI Director
Jun 8, 2017
As students gathered around the lobby of the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library (OWHL), the ten newly selected Class of 2017 Blue Key Heads sprinted through the doors donning blue accessories and cheering “Let’s Get a Little Bit Rowdy.”
Ben Andresen ’17, Brandon Barros ’17, Laura Bilal ’17, Luke Bitler ’17, Nikki Dlesk ’17, Jackson Lee ’17, Evelyn Mesler ’17, Lydia Paris ’17, Auguste White ’17, and Eliot Zaeder ’17 were chosen to inherit the iconic navy blue skirts from the Class of 2016 Blue Key Heads.
“It was electrifying! I was so pumped up on adrenaline and out of breath that I couldn’t make noise because I had my breath taken away,” said Lee.
Blue Key Heads are spirit leaders and serve as role models for students at Andover. Blue Key Heads attend Andover athletic events and wear their blue skirts every Friday. With 30 candidates this year, the competition to be selected was higher than that of recent years.
“It was very difficult for us because there were so many wonderful, deserving candidates,” said former Blue Key Head Kelly McCarthy ’16.
Each Blue Key Head applicant was required to hand in an application and perform an audition in front of a crowd of people. These auditions included performing a song of the applicant’s choice, as well as doing push-ups in front of students in Lower Right of Paresky Commons.
“I had to recite poetry with the song ‘Work’ by Rihanna, and did it with a straight face. I didn’t really listen to the song before, so I mispronounced some things and people thought it was funny,” said Bitler.
Mesler said, “I put myself up a lot, and I worked on getting the crowd going, and making other people laugh. It’s a great experience whether you get the [Blue Key Head] title or not.”
As a unit, the Blue Key Heads of 2017 hope to elevate the school spirit by leading events such as New Student Orientation Day, Pep Rallies, and of course, Andover/Exeter Day. “Blue Key Heads are people who many look up to and are inspired by. If I can do my job right, it means someone out there is looking out to me and is inspired by what I do,” said Lee.
“We’re going to try to help everyone, and build off of what the Blue Key Heads before us have given us with new ideas… I want to make sure that everyone in this campus feels engaged within this awesome community that we have,” said Bitler.
In Spring Term, the former Blue Key Heads of 2016 and current Blue Key Heads of 2017 will participate in various bonding exercises. Together, the new Blue Key Heads will follow their former Blue Key Heads’ footsteps to be the spirit of the school next year.
“I am so proud of them and so ready for them to own it. I’m really excited to watch them step up and hopefully gain some confidence by having the skirt and having this position and just really being able to shine, and be a good role model,” said McCarthy.
