- Vicky the Viking introduced during Welcome Back Rally
- Changes made to Victor costume by Kruk to make Vicky costume
- Students appreciate the addition of Vicky
Victoria the Viking, Vicky for short, and Lynbrook’s second school mascot, made her debut during the Welcome Back Rally on Aug. 29. Sporting eyelashes and bright pink lips, she is the feminine recreation of the school’s original mascot, Victor the Viking. Vicky was created by ASB to develop more representation for students on campus, but also to provide Victor with a companion, similar to how Minnie is a companion for Mickey Mouse.
“We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we made Victor a friend?’” senior and ASB spirit commission lead Joyce Cheung said. “And that’s where Vicky came along.”
ASB came up with the idea for a new school mascot while recruiting students to become Victor in the 2024-25 school year. Since the old Victor costume was worn out, they also bought two new suits for Victor with minor height and size differences to accommodate more student volunteers.
Although having another mascot initially began as an inside joke, ASB decided to turn this idea into reality in order to increase representation for the female population of students, eventually remaking one of the new costumes into Vicky with the help of art teacher Charlotte Kruk.
Following ASB’s vision for Vicky, Kruk replaced the mustache of the Victor costume with pink fabric paint to create Vicky’s lips. Additionally, Kruk gave Vicky large hoop earrings made of binder rings and doll eyelashes. Jiayi Zhou, junior and Kruk’s teacher assistant, also helped in assembling the costume, braiding yellow yarn to make Vicky’s hair.
However, Kruk and Zhou needed to finish the costume fast, as the two were given relatively short notice and ASB wanted Vicky’s costume to be ready before the rally. This meant that they had to prioritize efficient ways of transforming the costume, which included using glue to attach Vicky’s eyelashes.
“Glue wouldn’t have been my choice, but in the interest of time, that was the solution,” Kruk said.
Kruk also used fabric paint instead of the original idea of using felt fabric to make lips to cover up the hot glue left from the mustache.
Vicky’s costume was finished on Aug. 28, the day before the rally. On the same day, ASB revealed her to the Lynbrook community through a Love Island-inspired teaser posted on their instagram account. Vicky debuted in person near the end of the Welcome Back Rally with Kruk, who walked her out to a cheering crowd.
“We hope that her high energy, her love for Lynbrook and her passion for spirit are contagious, and we think she’s a nice balance to Victor,” ASB adviser Anna Kirsh said.
In the future, ASB hopes to give Vicky and Victor a greater presence on campus by incorporating them into more school-wide events, including sporting events to support student athletes.
“One of our hopes is to make more costumes for Victor and Vicky, like a spirit tutu for the rallies or qipao for Lunar New Year,” Cheung said.
Students also think that Vicky could split from Victor at rallies to interact with both sides of the gym. Overall, students appreciate the addition of Vicky to Lynbrook’s school spirit atmosphere.
“I feel like she is a good addition to the school, because Victor the Viking has to have a friend and now, our school has two mascots, while other schools have just one,” sophomore Lucina Huang said.
