W
ith swagger and a pair of black Ray Bans, Noah Tango, senior, fully embraced his role as the face of the Class of 2019, leading the Wildcat student body as both its ASB President and varsity cheer co-captain. Of juggling the demands of both of these time-intensive leadership roles, Tango said, “I believe that the duality of being both president and cheer co-captain is something that comes along naturally for me. It’s not so much of a ‘balance’ as it is just going through each part of my day.” Tango’s ASB journey began in 2012 when he was voted sixth grade class president. Ever since then, he’s been involved in student leadership, campaigning each and every year, even following in older brother Nick’s (‘14) footsteps, who served as senior class president in 2014. Throughout his tenure, Tango put a special emphasis on connecting with his peers, something he felt was essential to being a representative of the student body. “As the ASB president, I [symbolize] the student body for the administration,” said Tango. Although his election campaign and role as the ASB president felt expected given his long history of serving in student government, his decision to join cheer was an unexpected pivot; a pivot that would Tango’s own perception of what being a cheerleader meant. “Before my freshman year in high school, there was another guy
photo by DANIEL CHO
A Championship player, cheer Pivot Football co-captain, ASB by KENNETH KIM
president -- senior Nick Tango exemplies what it means to be a Wildcat.
on the cheer team. I made fun of him when I saw him back then, because I didn’t think cheerleading was a ‘manly’ thing to do,” admitted Tango. “But I matured and [saw] how much of an opportunity cheer could become.” This epiphany prompted Tango to join the cheer squad, a decision that at first resulted in some of his peers judging Tango for the same reasons that he had judged cheer just months earlier. “For about six months, it was pretty hard to talk to [my friends]. People judged me for being a boy in cheer, which was pretty frustrating,” revealed Tango. Tango overcame that stigma
due to his pride in the team and his admiration of his hard-working teammates. Ultimately, Tango said, “[my peers] realized [cheer] was something I would keep doing, regardless of criticism, so my friends began to accept it.” The decision to be a cheerleader paid off tremendously: after four years of late-night practices, national competitions, and Friday night football games, Tango -- along with senior cocaptains Jenna Santolla and Brooke Farley -- led varsity cheer to first place
at the 2018 UCA Southern California Championships, and third place at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Competition, in Florida in February. According to Santolla and Farley, Tango was an invaluable part of the process, serving as the emotional center of the team. “I think Noah really was the glue on the team and kinda kept everyone sane,” said Santolla. “He was always committed to coming to practices, performances and any fundraisers we had even though he was involved in so many other activities.” Farley agreed, citing her admiration of Tango’s honorable personality and dedicated work ethic. “He has always been the last person to leave the school after all our night practices to make sure every girl got home safely. He is a gentleman, a hard working teammate, and an incredible friend,” said Farley. “All of us girls love Noah.” Tango will take his many talents and ambition to UC Santa Barbara in the Fall. But as he embarks on this new chapter, he wishes to switch gears once more and try something new: the music industry. Although saddened that he was leaving both leadership and cheer behind, Tango feels confident in his choice to pursue a music industry job as a new chapter in his life. Said Tango: “Music can be a form of self-expression, just like how ASB and cheer were. Whether it be producing, recording, performing, advising, or even just handling stage equipment, I [can’t] really envision myself being happy doing anything else.” June 2019 SENIOR ISSUE 11
