Marceau doesn’t need a mascot costume to take center stage

Anna Marceau is not the type of person to view life from the sidelines.

Unless of course that sideline is at the football, and it’s her half to don the costume and assume the persona of Knight McKnight.

The sophomore art major is fully invested in expressing and expanding her creativity in art while attending to her social and extracurricular life, which includes her role generating school spirit as the mascot.

Marceau says being the mascot has its perks. Not only do you get to go to the football games for free, but you also get free rides to the games as well as great seats at every game. But it gets better.

“The most fun part about being the mascot is being able to shake my butt in front of the whole school and nobody cares because you’re the mascot!” Marceau says.

While being the mascot is a great experience, not everything about it is so great.

Marceau said she sometimes wished that she didn’t have to wear the suit when she’s at the football games.

“It gets hot and sweaty inside the suit, sometimes it smells,” Marceau said.

But it typical Marceau fashion, she sees a positive even in a bulky mascot suit.

“In the winter when it gets cold it really helps out.”

If you talk to Marceau for any length of time, you come to know that she is both realistic and optimistic: she understands that real life sometimes isn’t perfect, but she works hard in whatever she chooses to do and puts out her best work every time.

Over the last two seasons, Marceau has been mentored by fellow mascot, senior Terin Dailey. With Dailey graduating at the end of this this year, Marceau will soon be looking for a new partner to share the role of Knight McKnight.

Once Marceau was but the learner, but soon she’ll be the mascot master.

 “I’m just going to mentor by telling the next mascot to just be themselves and to not care what other people think so they can be as energetic and animated as possible,” Marceau said.

Her approach to being mascot mirrors the approach she takes to all of her endeavors.

Marceau recently switched from the sideline to the runway, turning in her mascot suit for the student-designed fashion.

Despite the change in venue and attire, Marceau’s approach has remained upbeat.

She says that there is a lot more to walking the runway than meets the eye.

Models have to walk in time to the music, avoid bouncing, keep their chins up and have multiple poses rehearsed so that they appear unrehearsed come showtime. The female models have the added challenge of getting accustomed to waking the runway in heels. Marceau said walking in heels wasn’t that big a deal for her as she wears them almost every day.

“The hardest part,” Marceau said, “is really learning how to walk to the beat of the music and look snazzy while doing it.”

When you walking the runway after all, you can’t hide behind the mascot’s mask.

But give all the practice time that Marceau and the other models will log before the annual fashion show on Jan. 13, she is confident that she’ll be ready.

Between being a mascot, a model, an artist and an honors student, Marceau has become adept at managing her time wisely. Yet between all the homework and extracurricular pursuits, she still manages to keep the boat afloat and pass every class she takes with flying colors.

If school, art, and being our school’s symbol of spirit as the mascot can’t slow Marceau down, the real question is, what can?