It’s the big day of the Homecoming game, and the bleachers are buzzing with excited students. To kick off the game, sophomore Vivian Sun stands at the 50-yard line, microphone in hand. She raises the mic and begins to sing a song everyone knows well. Her national anthem performances have become a familiar part of Menlo sporting events, like last year’s homecoming and Valpo Bowl, as well as this year’s Fun Run.
Sun, who has been performing the national anthem for a few years, started singing over eight years ago. “My mom heard me singing in the car and thought, ‘I should put her in singing lessons,’” Sun said. “I started with a singing coach, and I really enjoyed it, so I continued to do it and still do now.”
Throughout her singing career, Sun has won musical theater and classical voice competitions. Sun has also performed in numerous musical theater performances, recently playing Gretchen Weiners in Menlo Drama’s production of “Mean Girls”. “When I joined Menlo as a freshman, it was largely due to their really good theater program,” Sun said. “My old school was very academic and didn’t really focus as much on performing arts, so I wanted a change.”
Sun first began singing the national anthem at BASIS, the middle school she attended. “When I came to Menlo, I mentioned to [Upper School Creative Arts Department Chair Leo Kitajima Geefay] that I could sing the national anthem, and he said that we have football games where I could sing it,” Sun said. “So, then I started to sing it at games, and here I am today still doing it.”
One of Sun’s favorite moments at a Menlo sporting event was the first time she sang the national anthem as a freshman at a football game. Because Sun was new to Menlo and didn’t know that many people at the school, she initially felt nervous. “After I sang it, though, people I didn’t know came up to talk to me about my singing and I felt really encouraged and assured by them,” she said. Sun said she felt it was a very memorable and special experience for her start at Menlo.
Sun enjoys singing at Menlo events because it helps her become more involved in the Menlo community. “I got to know so many people involved in the sports program, usually a program I would never really involve myself in,” Sun said.
Sun also loves singing because it brings her closer to people. “[Singing] is important to me because it’s a way for me to be more vulnerable with other people,” Sun said. “Even though performing is actually kind of nerve-wracking for me, afterwards it is such a rewarding experience.”
