The Mr. Urbana tradition at Urbana High School is one of the largest celebrations of school spirit. Each year, 12 male contestants, that each represent a month, compete in a fundraising challenge to benefit Rock Creek School in Frederick, Maryland.
Rock Creek is a school that specializes in special education and provides individual help for students from the ages 3 to 21. The donations to this school will be used to improve the education and the help that these students will get. Rock Creeks goal is to help teach students communication skills, independent skills, and living skills.
The 2024 Mr. Urbana contestants include:
- January: Pierre-Alexandre Chicoine
- February: Jake Kamnikar
- March: Eyob Jigsa
- April: Alexey Lotov
- May: Rayan Taimur
- June: Erik Pedersen
- July: Kethan Kadimi
- August: Christopher Brookes
- September: Ethan Hudson
- October: Michael Osei Asante
- November: Jason Holman
- December: Carson Walters
Contestants are selected through a voting process, where teachers nominate students based on academic dedication, leadership, and school spirit; these students then decide if they would like to compete or not. Then, other students vote to finalize the students who will compete. The participants take their roles pretty seriously, attending eight practices, preparing costumes, and creating donation boxes to campaign effectively.
This event is very meaningful to the Rock Creek school and the community.
Carson Walters, Mr. December, shared why he joined, “I accepted the invitation to compete in Mr. Urbana due to it being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent my school and community, which shaped me into the person I have become.”
Rayan Taimur joined Mr. Urbana for similar reasons, “I joined Mr.Urbana to help raise for a good cause.” Taimur is representing the month of May, he looks forward to putting up posters and making social media posts in order to campaign.
Campaigning is a critical part of the competition, with contestants working hard to raise money by interacting with classmates, staff, and others around the school. Holman and Walters both plan to campaign in similar ways.
“I plan to eventually make a box and go around asking my classmates first and then going to the lunch room to try and get donations,” Holman said
“I plan to campaign for Mr.Urbana by expressing who we are campaigning for, the Rock Creek School. I will campaign around the school asking anyone I can to donate towards the cause. In my class, at lunch, and in the hallways,” Walters stated.
The fundraising efforts have achieved a lot of success over the years. For example, the 2019 competition raised $15,604. This year, the event will end with the official Mr. Urbana show on February 6th in the school auditorium with many dances and other funny skits.
Beyond being a fun competition, Mr. Urbana is a testament to the contestants’ commitment to helping others, their dedication to their school, and the relationships they’ve built within the Urbana community.
As Walters said, “I believe I was chosen due to my work ethic in becoming a better student, but most importantly, a better person for everyone around me.”
As students, we can determine a winner to the competition by donating for a great cause through our favorite contestant. Help those at Rock Creek School by donating the most to the contestant you want to win this great competition!
The tradition showcases not only individual talent and personality but also the collective spirit of giving back to those who need in our community.
Donate and support the cause and show your school spirit at the show on February 6th.
