Thursday, December 5, 2013

The Panda Brief



 In the fall of 1975 the school community was looking for a mascot for their teams and for general spirit.  Sr. M. Virginia Ann, principal, called for a contest.  One sophomore, Bev Rosing, went all out in her search for a suitable candidate.  When she looked at all her stuffed animals on her bed she ended up writing an entry with the name of each animal.  Among them was her panda and when she wrote the name she underlined the last three letters—nda.  History was in the making at that moment.  A few days later in the hall Bev was congratulated by one of the Sisters, but she didn’t know if that meant her suggestion had been accepted.  When the student body was assembled for the announcement, she was pretty sure her “panda” entry was going to win and her hunch was correct.  The whole NDA community was enthusiastic from the start with this clever choice.
30 years passed and many things changed.  When the bookstore gave way to a sports-wear shop, the two women who operated it, Cathy Stevens and her helper Mary Jo Wickelhaus, thought a new name was called for.  Several possible names surfaced between them, so they put them to the students to choose.  The students’ choice is now part of Panda History—Bambootique.  How  appropriate!