For Testudo secrecy purposes, this student’s name has been kept anonymous.
As a veteran mascot, it was no shock that this University of Maryland sophomore was going to, one day, take the next step and become Testudo.
On game days, he suits up and heads over to Terptown at La Plata Beach before the game to interact with students and get them excited for the game.
“I like getting everyone excited – the game is much more fun when students are pumped for the team and for the game,” he said.
After leaving Terptown, Testudo then heads over to the field and gets to run through the tunnel with the rest of the football team. From then on, he spends the rest of the game interacting with fans and even the other mascot.
“It’s always fun to improv with the mascot from another school if they travel here,” he said.
Another duty of Testudo: doing push-ups for each touchdown. The score on the board equals the amount of push-ups. The better the team does, the more of a workout Testudo gets.
“He loves supporting his school and helping to be a part of the school’s image” said Testudo’s girlfriend, a student at Frostburg State University. “He wants to get everyone else pumped up about being at the University of Maryland as much as he is.”
This student decided to try out for the Testudo mascot position after he realized that he loved being his high school mascot. In addition to performing at various events in high school, such as for the homecoming game, he also worked for Sweet Frog, a well-known frozen yogurt chain, as the mascot, Scoop.
“I enjoyed being my high school mascot and thought it would be so much fun to do it on a bigger stage,” he said. “So I tried out and got the position!”
Outside of being one of the most spirited people on campus, this student also juggles his Computer Science homework and is working to hopefully get into cyber security once he graduates.
However, he was still able to make time around his busy class schedule for practices and rehearsals.
“He is perfect for Testudo because he always wants to make people happy,” his girlfriend said. “He’s not worried about making himself look silly if it will make someone smile.”
Aside from being Testudo, this student likes to go camping for fun. He was a Boy Scout and he also enjoys playing video games in his dorm with his roommates.
“His spirit is contagious – even when we play video games it is noticeable – he makes us all more excited,” a friend who lives down the hall from his dorm said.
One thing that Testudo would like to stress is that he encourages “all students to go to all the games and stay at all the games. The more people there are and the more involved they are, the more fun my job is.”