Lucas Mariano is one of the most popular casperians. The journalist-to-be is a Senior who loves sports and President of the Athletic Association Jesse Owens. The jock, who this year completed 21, tells us about what he does in his job as President, his perspectives on college’s sports and, fortunately, a little about himself! Get to know a bit more about Casper’s teams and one of its handball player.
Lucas, you are currently the President of Atlética Jesse Owens (Cásper’s Athletic Association). When did you start to get involved with it?I joined the board of Varsity Teams, which is named after Jesse Owens, in July of 2013. When I started college, I joined Aguante, which is an organization of Cásper’s students who get together to support the teams. I really liked to watch the matches, but I couldn’t be part of any team because the practices were held very late at night and in places far from my house. It all changed when I got my first job, so my schedule was more flexible and I could go to some practices. That was when I joined the handball team, by the end of the year of 2012. A year later, I was invited to join the Athletic Association, and haven’t left since then.
How were you nominated president, at the beginning of this year?Well, the ones who join the board kind of form itself. In the first 6 months after I joined it, I was just learning how everything worked out. However, in 2014, we had a meeting to decide who would be on that year’s board, because it changes every year, and the president must be someone who is a senior. So, in that year, I started to work as Internal Vice President, which is sort of Secretary. I took care of all the bureaucracy and got in touch with the school administration. It was my third year in college and my second in varsity, so I had the chance to learn everything I needed to take over as President. Actually, this year, when we had the meeting to define the position and I was chosen as President, there wasn’t anyone who wanted to be it except me (laughs).
When you took over as President, how did you feel? What were your propositions for improving the Atlética this year?It’s a huge responsibility. This year, Atlética completes 22 years. A great number of people put a lot of effort into making it better, I have to honor that while doing my job. Most people don’t know, but Cásper’s Athletic Association is very respected, not only because of its performance on courtyards, but also because of how organized it is. I wanted, when I took over, to continue doing that kind of work. In 2015, we focused on showing our capacity to improve the quality of sports.
In Cásper, we have a bunch of people who watch the matches and support the teams, mostly because of Aguante. Do you think it contributes for the growth of sports in college?I guess that is the biggest difference between Cásper and other institutions. When I started college, my first contact with a student organization was Aguante. I really enjoyed supporting and cheering for our teams. And it’s important for the teams to have someone supporting them throughout the whole year, not only during championships.
What’s you opinion on College’s Sports? Do you think it’s something getting more recognition in Brazil nowadays?I’m actually doing my TCC (in Brazil, it’s a project that concludes the course, which is needed in order to graduate) about this subject. It’s hard because there are two scenarios: in one hand, we have high performance teams, which is mostly colleges that pay scholarships for their athletes. In this case, the athlete doesn’t have a real connection to their school, because they are receiving money for it. In another hand, we have the reality that 80% of schools in Brazil, Cásper being a part of that: the only motivation for the students to play is the love for sport. They are willing to represent their college, because they feel connected to it. They don’t get anything from it, on the contrary, they actually have to pay for it. It takes a lot of work and effort. Some teams practice in late hours or in places very far, they have to rent courts and abdicate of some pleasures. People who aren’t involved with that, always see a glamorous side, but that is far from the reality. It is made of massive work. I also think it still needs more investment from all college’s institutions.
And in this scenario, how do you see feminine sports? Does it get the same support and recognition?I think that, at least in college sports, female teams are pretty similar to male teams. They are on the same level, especially concerning to compromise and number of people supporting them. In Cásper, something like 70% of students are female, so we have the chance to receive a lot of girls in the teams as well. In fact, some of our feminine teams capture more attention than the masculine ones, like our volleyball women’s team and handball women’s team. The futsal feminine teams are very competitive, we have one team in the first category of NDU (an important university championship held in São Paulo) and one team in the second. We are very proud of that.
Let’s talk a little about you. Why did you want to study journalism?I chose a major in Journalism because I loved to tell stories as a kid. Also because, obviously, I am keen to sports (smiles). My first internship was writing about sports, in Gazeta Esportiva. Now I work in São Paulo’s Sports Secretary. Journalism was a field that could keep me close to that area, which I love.
What are your favorite things about Cásper?The best thing is all you can learn outside classes. Anyone who lives Cásper only inside the classrooms misses a lot of it. I’m not talking only about students organizations and varsity teams, but labs our college offers. When I was a freshman, I used to go to the Radio, where I could learn things I never had the chance in class. I also participated in Esquinas (Cásper’s magazine) and Vem Comigo (a journalistic Brazilian TV program made with contribution of Cásper’s students). There are great opportunities to meet people and to improve some skills.
You are about to graduate this year. What are your expectations? What will you miss the most?I have to admit my expectations aren’t the best ones, since the market is going so badly (laughs). Well, I suppose what I’ll miss the most are the people I met here. My closest friends weren’t even made in classrooms, but in courts or people that you get to know from different courses. Cásper is a great environment to meet people. You have the chance to be in contact with such great and different people. I guess everyone who was involved with that will have amazing memories and a lot to miss.