Jaryd Veserat ‘20 , Freshman Focus Editor | April 24, 2018

Alumni like Mr. Mike Barnes ’81 have invested themselves in Jesuit High School student life for many decades. Mr. Barnes, a former cheerleader and member of the Executive council, is still involved in the Jesuit community nearly forty years later, as a leading voice of the Junior Ground Crew.

“I was very involved with Jesuit education [when he was a student],” said Mr. Barnes. “I was a cheerleader, but there were only five or six of us at the time. We switched out. Basketball players were generally cheerleaders for the football players. Football players were cheerleaders for the basketball players. We didn’t have 400 sports. We had the four main sports.”

Mr. Barnes not only participated in cheerleading at Jesuit, but he also was part of the skit crew which was an additional form of entertainment during rallies.

“I was on the executive council; I was a cheerleader; I did football and track,” said Mr. Barnes. “But Galley Crew back then, we were the skit crew, and there were a lot more rallies.”

After Mr. Barnes graduated from Jesuit, he enrolled at Santa Clara University, where he met his future wife, Director of Christian Service and a Campus Minister, Mrs. Kelly Barnes. They married shortly after college. When Mr. Barnes retired from his career, he came back to Jesuit to volunteer as the head of the Ground Crew.

“When Mrs. Barnes moved over to Campus Ministry and Christian Service, she started working with Mr. Leboeuf, and she asked if I wanted to help out trying to take care of the Ground Crew by being a volunteer who could help supervise the students,” said Mr. Barnes. “That was several years ago.”

Mrs. Barnes has been a witness to her husband supporting student life at Jesuit every year since she returned to work at Jesuit. She has seen firsthand how his energy affects the Ground Crew; current students see the same.

“Mr. Barnes has the special talent of leading people through example, and when we saw how ‘hyped’ he got early that Saturday morning, we willingly followed suit,” said Ground Crew volunteer Grant Gini ‘19. “Even with the scorching heat of an August afternoon, Mr. Barnes inspired us to work harder, get louder, and have fun while working on Freshman Overnight Retreat.”

Mr. Barnes’s energy has spread not just to the Junior Ground Crew but to all Marauders. Pumping up the Freshman on Frosh Overnight is a prime example of Mr. Barnes energy impacting others.

“One of the reasons he likes to do the Ground Crew is it’s a chance to pump up the spirit and welcome the Freshmen as they’re arriving,” said Mrs. Barnes. “He feels that by welcoming them with that kind of energy and such, it can set their expectations of being more energetic.  His hope is that current students will embrace what he calls ‘Big Red Pride’.”

Mr. Mike Barnes’s experience as a cheerleader and athlete helps him to lead student life today. His wisdom and energy will certainly help future Marauders enjoy the Marauder spirit.