You may have seen him cheer and do various flips at UCI’s basketball game, or perform dance battles and b-boy on campus. You may also find him practicing his power-moves or tricks at the ARC’s sport studio. He is a man of many talents and ambitions, and you may even recognize him from a recent episode of Conan O’Brien’s show on which Conan gave UCI’s beloved mascot, Peter the Anteater, a makeover. He shines brightest on his own, doing the things that he likes and wants. Having all that ‘shine,’ he embodies school spirit and is a role model to many who are taking the steps to be successful. Sam Herring is a third year, talented B-Boy dancer, and a cheerleader for UC Irvine’s Basketball team.
Before entering college, Sam moved from Lahainaluna, Hawaii to California in the eighth grade, and finished high school in San Jose. He started dancing at the age of 16. He also joined track and swimming in high school. But in the end of the high school year, he followed his ‘other’ talent, doing flips and tricks, which he taught himself. He said he was mainly inspired by the Kung-Fu movies, his favorite being the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers. Ever since he discovered the movies, he became interested in not only the martial arts but also learning about the Chinese language and culture. He currently studies languages at UCI and has his mind set on traveling to Taiwan or Singapore to practice more Chinese in the near future.
Getting accepted into UCI was the happiest day of Sam’s life. He chose UCI because he wanted to join UCI’s dance teams while pursuing higher education. He knew well what he wanted and believed in himself that he could achieve it. Sam’s passion for dance stems from not having a regular home to go to, and a supportive family to depend on when he needed one. For nearly a year, Sam lived by himself in the streets while trying to apply for college. During this tough time, he would practice and dance everyday in the streets for himself.
Sam refused to listen to those who put him down. When he was discouraged by his dad, who didn’t want him to go to college and dance, Sam made the decision to leave his parent’s house and go on his own way to follow his dreams.
In making himself better at dance and striving to achieve his goals, Sam’s strongest motivation has been himself. “Your self should be the only motivation you ever need—live how you want and work for what you truly desire because at the end of the day, you’re all you got,” Sam says.
Despite the many obstacles Sam faced, he did what he had to do to overcome them. Today, Sam has received several school scholarships and independent ones to help pay for college.
During his first year of college, Sam joined the B-Boy Anonymous club where everyone danced in their own style. He also got involved in KASA Dance Off. He describes his experience with KASA Dance Off as very “hellish” because the group would practice 12 hours everyday. He was awake all the time. Before joining the group, Sam hadn’t mastered the hip-hop style of dance yet but thereafter he learned alongside others who were unexperienced like him.
Sam mentions, “We all just got very close and we are all close friends.” He is glad that he got the chance to bond with people who shared his interests and overtime build friendships with them.
There is no doubt it can be challenging, but winning gold is one of Sam’s most rewarding experiences of dancing. As he says, it taught him that, “If you truly want something, let nothing get in your way.”
Of course, along the way, there will be fear, doubts, and setbacks. “It’s always tough, so you gotta be persistent to put it down and because you always want to give up at some point. At times, we all feel like we want to give up, but I just never do. I do find it difficult especially when I’m sick or injured, but I guess I never quit. I think of all the things that I want and bite the bullet,” he says.
In his second year of college, Sam was asked to join the cheerleading team at UCI. He joyfully said yes, and two years later is still a member of the team. Being a cheerleader gives him the opportunity to make television appearances, represent UCI, and meet a lot of cool people. “It’s fun,” he says. The position comes with a lot of perks and he enjoys being around all the girls, too. Most importantly, he gets to do tricks and perform flips—what he’s good at and continues to improve on.
This year, Sam joined the Hawaiian club and he choreographs for an event, the All Polynesian Dance performance at UCI. He did not know how to do choreography before, but now he teaches dance for the Club, a request by one of the group members that he willingly accepted.
In addition to pursuing his love for dance, Sam has done modeling for various photographers, posing for cheer and action photo shoots. When people want to test out their camera, they call Sam up. Sam says modeling clothes is very entertaining because it requires him to do awkward poses that he would never actually do. “Weird, but hilarious,” is how he describes it.
“Yeah, I’m just kind of going wherever the wind blows me,” Sam says, adding, “You gotta be open minded and dedicated.”
Career wise, Sam is still very open to many things. If anyone is considering trying something new, be it dancing, writing, drawing, running or computer coding, just get out there and try it. Sam believes, “You will be amazed how much stuff you know if you try.” Like himself, he said he would have never thought he would enjoy modeling until he tried it.
One thing that not many people know about Sam is that he loves cooking. “I love cooking as much as I love eating.I feel like a food magician, taking all these raw ingredients, the disgusting ingredients and turning them into a magical dish that tastes amazing,” he says.
Sam has no idea how far the road will take him, but he knows he never plans on settling for less. The mantra by which he lives his life by is “YOLO.” He will take whatever life has to offer him and take advantage of the opportunities presented to him.