Gonzaga College High School is renowned for its school spirit. Many people around the DMV know Gonzaga and our school spirit is a big reason for that. The students of Gonzaga have been able to stay close throughout the pandemic and that is a testament to the brotherhood here at Gonzaga. This brotherhood is forged through years of attending sports games, playing sports, clubs, or school in general. The pandemic has forced the student body to be apart from each other over the past year. Even when the students are in school they have to have masks and be apart from each other and there is no doubt it does not feel the same. Many people do not attend school because of the circumstances so the brotherhood has not had a chance to form that much this year.
I interviewed a former booster club member for Gonzaga, a class of 2019 graduate Evyn Owen.
I asked him a very simple question to start it off, where is the school spirit now in comparison to that of 2019.
“You guys have gotten really unlucky, I feel bad for you. The best part of Gonzaga for me was going to the football games and getting the crowd juiced. And then doing the same thing a few months later with basketball, it sucks that you guys don’t get to do that but Gonzaga is special and you’ve found a way to forge those bonds that happen every year”.
The 2019 class was memorable there is no doubt about it, Gonzaga won the WCAC championship in basketball against St. Johns and Lacrosse won the WCAC championship. And the football teams win over St. Johns in the semi-final a week after they stormed the field of Gonzaga. Finally, the win over Dematha in the championship, everyone in the DMV knows about this game. It is legendary to put it mildly.
And I asked him how he feels about the near future of Gonzaga’s school spirit. “I have great confidence it will be right back to where it was before the pandemic, like it didn’t even happen. Gonzaga is special and the school’s leadership and upperclassmen will lead and show everyone what a normal year looks like on eye street and I can’t wait to see what happens for Gonzaga”.
The pandemic was hard on all schools but Gonzaga will bounce back quicker and better than ever. The incoming seniors will show the example to the lowerclassmen of how Gonzaga does things. It is a very bright future.