Truman was recognized for winning the Univest Caring for Sports FACEBOOK Giveaway at a special pep rally on 
Thursday.
By Mary Jane Souder
“We are Tigers, Hear us Roar”
With music blasting over the public address system, Principal James Moore waved his gold and black rally towel, and the Harry S Truman student body followed his lead at Thursday afternoon’s spirited pep rally.
Students say there’s a different look and feel at Truman this fall, and that newfound spirit and pride was on display at a pep rally held to honor the students and faculty for winning Univest’s Caring for Sports FACEBOOK Giveaway Contest.
“This meant a lot to us,” senior Jessica Rowe said. “There are such negative stereotypes about Truman, and we’re finally able to say Truman did something.
“Not Pennsbury, not Neshaminy, not Bensalem, not schools in Colorado. Truman won something, and Truman did it on their own, and Truman is just as good as any other school.”
Truman came from behind the final weekend of Univest’s contest to capture the prizes, which included a $1,000 check to the school’s athletic department, rally towels for the entire student body and a custom-designed banner.
“I was kind of speechless when it happened,” senior Tyler Aspell said. “Those things don’t happen, and I’m glad we put in the time and energy and that we were recognized for it.
“It’s one thing to get involved and have spirit, but when you get recognized for it, it’s incentive to do it again. I really never felt like this was a competition or we would win something. I kind of forgot about it until afterwards, and then it was like, ‘Oh, wow. We won.’ This is icing on the cake.”
“That is so generous,” Rowe said. “This is a big honor.”
The students discovered they were the winners the day after the contest closed on Oct. 7 and all the ‘spirit’ entries on Univest’s Facebook page had been tallied. Truman had come from behind to post the most entries saying why their school had the most spirit.
“It wasn’t just great to win – it’s an honor, it’s a privilege for us because Truman was finally able to conquer something on their own and prove that we’re an awesome school just like any other school,” Rowe said. “It really meant a lot to us.”
“It was great,” Aspell added. “I was happy to come to school and walk in the halls and look around at other people who were happy to be here.
“I’m 100 percent sure I’m not the only one who feels that way.”
According to Moore, this win belonged to the entire school.
“It’s been a tremendous outpouring from the student body,” he said. “It started out small. We got some seniors involved early on with their senior class advisor, and things just snowballed.
“Mr. Stock brought us on to Univest, and all of sudden the kids were saying, ‘Hey, we’re in fifth place. We could win this thing.’ The kids really got behind it. It was a lot of fun. We got involved with the Roar video contest (on Good Morning America), and there was a lot of pride involved with that.
“For Univest to come out and invest this much in kids and in schools, especially in this time when we have such difficulty making decisions on where we’re going to put our money – to have a company take that much interest in a community and its young people is tremendous, and I can’t thank them enough for everything.”
Talk to Aspell, and this is the kind of spirit he was hoping to see when he ran for class office.
“I ran on the platform of getting involved and having fun doing it,” he said. “This whole time I never felt as though this was a competition or there was a winner.
“I was really focused on getting the class involved, whatever that meant. For better or for worse, I wanted everyone to have fun getting involved, and we have. We’ve really meshed as an entire school.
“I feel comfortable coming to school now whereas school used to be a chore, a job. Now I’m excited. Things like Spirit Week – I’m excited to wake up and come to school. It’s a totally different environment this year. I don’t know when or how it started, but I’m very happy it did.”
“It’s a totally different atmosphere,” Rowe agreed. “We never usually get involved as a whole. We get involved individually or as little groups or clubs.
“Our school has really come together, and it means a lot, especially for our senior year. I couldn’t ask for a better senior year. We are definitely one big family. We all participate in everything together. We’re trying to get rid of the negative stereotypes people have about Truman, and I’m sure we have a lot this year by showing our Truman pride and showing what Truman is all about.”
There was no mistaking the school’s spirit and pride at Thursday’s rally, which included the unveiling of the banner by the Univest and Truman mascots and the presentation of the check by Univest officers in attendance - Kimberly Detwiler (Senior Vice Preisdent/Director of Corporate Communications), Nicole O'Neil (Vice President/Group Area Manager) and Michael Woods (Vice President/Group Area Manager).
“First of all, we want to thank SuburbanOneSports for giving us the venue to participate in the contest and thank Univest for the spirit banner, the rally towels and, of course, the check,” athletic director Mike Stock said. “The spirit we showed for the first couple of months of the school year – it’s been an infusion of spirit and school pride, and we’re just really excited. We look at ourselves as the best kept secret in Bucks County.”
They are no longer a secret. They are Tigers, hear them roar.
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