What is
Norsemen Tide?
What is Norsemen Tide? Before I answer that, I think it is an even better question could be asked: Who is Norsemen Tide? Short answer: Me! I am Norsemen Tide. Well, was Norsemen Tide, until I graduated from Grosse Pointe North.
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However, the longer and more important answer is Norsemen Tide is a community. I might have been the woman behind the curtain, pulling all the strings, but Norsemen Tide is collectively the Grosse Pointe North community. We are the fanbase advertising for every sporting event so it is appreciated and has a student section present. No sport will be unaccounted for thanks to the Tide. Everyone deserves to feel supported.
Norsemen Tide is the name for my high school's student section. The Tide runs several social medias: Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and TikTok.
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Ride with the Tide
Social Media & Editing
Partnership
Through digital and social medias, we make our content and any updates easily accessible for anyone and everyone. The reason we have three socials is so no one can use the excuse "well I didn't know there was a game" when they aren't in attendance. We aim to create amazing content that looks professional and gains attention. We make most of our content with Canva and Adobe Premiere Pro. Our mission is to represent every sport and make every athlete feel appreciated. Additionally, we hope to get mass student engagement and unify the student body.
Although I might be the face or the name behind the Tide, I would be drowning in the work load without my lovely partners. I want to use this section to thank Ian DuVernay and Preston Auld. They are the most understanding, helpful and overall best partners I could have ever asked for. Ian is absolutely magical behind a camera and the reason we have amazing content. Without his photos, my content and edits would be horrible. Preston is so accommodating, always willing to meet regardless of his busy schedule. He is always there to help me plan posts, scheduling and promotions as well as decide themes.
Behind the Scenes
Step One
Searching for inspiration:
Before I begin any post or promotion, I need to feel inspired. Inspiration of others work pushes myself to try new things, experiment and challenge myself. I search for inspiration by exploring Canva's plethora of templates and incredibly talented sports promotion accounts on Instagram, including my cousin @gn_media.
Step Two
Changing it up:
This is the step where I decide to add some spice. When I select a template from Canva, I know it's never going to look like what it began as. I love being innovative and adding on my own little twist. To the left I looked up "smoke" to bring my vision to life.
Step Three
Finishing touches:
Now that I have completely changed the original template to my liking, it is ready to be posted. Before I post, it's crucial to make sure there are no spelling errors and the information provided is correct. Once it's triple-checked, I download it as a PNG.
Step Four
And it's posted:
And boom! My edit, which took around a half hour to create is complete and live on the Tide's Instagram account! Before I post, I always tag the athletes in the edit and write out a caption to stir up hype towards the game day. I am really proud of how this edit turned out.
Step Five
Promote and more promoting:
Last but certainly not least, the most important step is how to promote the edit and game. Most importantly, striving for inclusivity, I must make sure I don't miss a single game and that every sport is equally represented. For maximum engagement, I tag athletes and team accounts, repost all posts, create countdowns and more.
Inclusivity & Innovation
School Spirit
Unifying the student culture:
One way to instantaneously get a school excited for an event is by transforming it into a week-long ordeal. What was the rivalry game scheduled for Friday, is now a week-long, with a different theme each day, to unify and build suspense for the game. Enhancing the student culture through inclusive techniques is my goal not only as Miss. Norsemen Tide, but as a senior knowing she'll miss these moments when they are gone.
Schedules
AT A GLANCE
I wasn't really sure if people would appreciate the hard work put into orchestrating these schedule posts. I hadn't heard any particular feedback, but continued to make them anyways because it added variety to the Tide's feed. I then was told they were not only helpful but fun to look at, which was so rewarding. It also ensures inclusivity as I represent every team and their games throughout the week.
Collaboration
Trying new things:
Previously, the two news channels for rivalry schools Grosse Pointe North and South would collaborate to create a humorous hype-up video for the football game. This tradition inexplicably disappeared, leading me to question. I spoke to my TV Production advisor, principal and athletic director to see if I could be the one to bring this tradition back while also attach more hype around the rivalry basketball game, which usually amassed for only half of the crowd football receives.
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I convinced my friend and partner Ian DuVernay to be a part of the project. I needed a team for such an important job. We made a script, went through several approvals and even got our athletic director to support the grinch theme for the game and unify the student section by providing free green Santa hats and Tide shirts.
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Biased, we knew this video was both funny and special. It was easily the coolest thing either of us had ever made and we were extremely proud. What we didn't know was how people would react. This ended up becoming our most liked post with 806 likes, about eight times the normal engagement received on the other posts. People continuously told us it was funny and that more importantly, they couldn't wait to attend the game.
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Our hard work had paid off. We spread joy and unified the student school culture, instilling school spirit. This is a project I will never forget. Click on the image to watch our video.
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Above are some of my most liked edits that can be viewed on the Tide's Instagram or on X. Rather than individually reflecting on every single piece, I instead wanted to enlarge my testimony and vision statement as Norsemen Tide: commitment to diversity and inclusivity. When I was asked to be Grosse Pointe North's student section leader, I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe I was selected. What I was unaware of was how much work goes on behind the scenes. I knew people constantly chirped at the student section leader for selecting "bad" themes or something so minute and critical, but assumed I could break that pattern. I found myself easily discouraged at first as I instantly learned you truly cannot impress everyone. The only person's approval I needed at the end of the day was myself. I worked day and night trying to envision elevating the Tide's social media accounts through digital media, diversity and inclusivity. I strived to bring the Tide inclusivity as I am the first female student section leader at Grosse Pointe North. It only felt natural to continue shattering glass ceilings and rewrite history. To fulfill this dream, I consistently created polls for engagement and a more inclusive feel to the student section. After all, it's a student section, not the Gabby Miller section, so I felt the decisions and engagement should be open to everyone. I created schedules to ensure every sport was accounted for. Every athlete deserves to feel supported. I try to be a risk taker, by creating themes North has never used before, including "Grinch Out" and rebranding the logo of the Tide occasionally. What seems like minor changes lead to a promising future for the student section and North's student culture. Every day I am so grateful I was bestowed the opportunity to represent my school, acknowledged for my love of sports and chosen to promote inclusivity.
VALHALLA!