Balancing ROTC and a job, Drew Van Der Stuyf, 19, lives a double life. However, his job is no ordinary job. Van Der Stuyf gets to climb into Testudo’s skin, becoming the mascot all of UMD loves.
Van Der Stuyf decided to try out for the Testudo mascot position after he was arrested during the riots that occurred after UMD’s victory over Duke. After the intense basketball game, he climbed a street lamp and celebrated the win high above the rest of the rioters.
“My friend on the cheer team told me that I was the most spirited person he ever met and that I should try out for Testudo,” he said.
So he did.
As Testudo, Van Der Stuyf gets to travel all over the nation and meet other mascots. He enjoys the advantages of being the mascot, such as making new friends and getting to be on the field for games.
“Drew the epitome of spirit,” Maryam Abutaleb, 19, a sophomore Special Education major, who works with Van Der Stuyf, said. “ He’s so energetic all the time and always wants people to be as pumped up as he is.”
He chose UMD because he used to go to the university’s football and basketball games with his father who works there at the University.
“I loved the campus and the atmosphere and didn’t plan on going anywhere else,” Van Der Stuyf said.
He is a sophomore, special education major, and hopes to become a teacher in the future.
Van Der Stuyf grew up in Carroll County, Maryland and went to Liberty High School where he was surrounded by sports.
“Sports were pretty much my entire high school life,” he said.
Earlier on in his life he used to play a wide array of sports including football, baseball, and basketball.
Not only does he occupy his time getting the crowds exited during games; he also is part of UMD’s ROTC program.
“I decided to do ROTC because my dad was in the navy and my sister is in the army,” Van Der Stuyf said. “I wanted to serve in the U.S. Army and get deployed.”
Alex Sharp, 20, a sophomore Criminal Justice and Government & Politics major, who is in ROTC with Van Der Stuyf commented on his personality.
“He is a free spirit that brings new and unconventional ideas to ROTC,” Sharp said. “He always happens to make people smile and laugh even when they are doing something they don’t particularly like.”
Working as Testudo and ROTC are both very time consuming and physically exhausting activities.
“Balancing my time is very hard. I don’t get a lot of sleep and I get stressed out a lot but I manage to somehow get most of my stuff done,” Van Der Stuyf said.