Junior Brent Lew landed a spot on the 2015-16 Pep Flags as the only male on the team. Originally, Lew didn’t intend to try out, but after Junior Mica Segismundo saw him fooling around with her flags, she saw his potential and later convinced him to audition.
“Taekwondo played a major part in being able to handle the flags,” Lew said. “I practiced with numerous weapons like the escrima and nunchaku and because of those many years of practice, it also helped me learn how to use the flags easier.”
Now that Lew has made the team, what initially wasn’t a serious dedication has changed into a new responsibility and commitment. While it may prove difficult, he plans to remain in Taekwondo and Band despite the hectic schedule that awaits.
“I’m going to have to learn to be flexible with my schedule to accommodate all that I’m doing,” Lew said. “When it’s time for the football games, I plan to cheer with the rest of the pep squad and then during halftime, I will hurry and get into my uniform to perform the field show with the band.”
Despite the generalizations and sexism about Pep being a mostly female dominated sport, Lew believes that if more males tried out, it could break the stereotypes that are causing hesitation over doing this kind of activity. Lew also plans to be the example to show everyone that it’s okay to break barriers and do something that they enjoy doing.
“Even if at first, doing this kind of thing made me feel a little feminine, with the more I practiced and the more people that encouraged me to do it, I eventually got over it,” Lew said. “Now I’m just enjoying the fact that I am going against the flow and being a part of something so different.”
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