Superhero Mr.Balboa

On Thursday March 29, Vanguard held the annual event Mr. VU. Blue Activites Director Lynette Alegria coordinated the event and made the theme superheroes. Seniors Sara Jansma and Charlotte Kroeger were asked to host the event. The judges of the competition were Director of Residence Life Tim Young, Coordinator of New Student Orientation and Parent Relations Shelley Youd, and Executive Assistant to President Taylor Shree Carter.

This year since the theme was Superheroes, the nominees were asked to create a superhero alter ego along with a special power. The nominees did not lack an ounce of creativity.

Mr. Athletics nominee, senior Brian Siemonsma, was Super Athletic Man. Junior Chris Randolph, Mr. Catalina, was Boss Man, who did everything “like a boss.” Mr. Newport, senior Craig Petrovich was Magnet Man.

Senior Dustin Laemmlen, Mr. Fine Arts, was an Altar Boy, a member of a Christian-pop boy band who would take girl’s hearts and give them to Jesus. Mr. Laguna nominee, sophomore Denver Miller, was Color Boy, who changed the color of everything he touched.

Senior Jon Krapivkin, Mr. Leadership nominee, was Mildly Accurate Man, who had his friends trick him into thinking he had super accuracy. Mr. Commuter nominee, senior Kevin Verkaik, was Dodge Man, who could dodge anything.

“I Googled the top worst superheroes to be,” Verkaik said

Senior David Melgar, Mr. People’s Choice, was El Hombre Fuego.

Finally, junior Jonathon Murillo, Mr. Balboa, was Too Soon Man, who had “an incredible gift of talking about things/making jokes about subjects that most people see as a sore subject or “too soon” to talk about,” Murillo explained.

That night, there was never a dull moment with hosts Jansma and Kroeger. From fun facts about blue whales to singing songs from their youth, the pair kept the audience on its toes.

During the talent portion, acts that stood out included the Beyonce “Single Ladies” dance, performed by Krapivkin with the help of sophomores Steffen Bell and Jonathan Dumas.

“It was a lot of fun getting to perform in front of the school. It’s always fun getting to be on stage for something as big as Mr. VU,” Krapivkin said.

Another memorable act was Dustin Laemmlen, who performed a song about abstinence, which had the audience laughing hysterically and the judges raising a few eyebrows.

Although all the nominees performed wonderfully, Jonathon Murillo was awarded the title of this year’s Mr. VU.

“I honestly did not expect to win. When I did, it felt great that all the time and effort paid off,” Murillo said.

For his talent, he did impersonations of well-known members of the Vanguard community and performed an original poem. He won the judges over with his with his “Too-Soon” antics and personality.

“My favorite part was getting to hang out and be with such great guys. It was always fun getting together to practice our dance,” Krapivkin said.

All nominees enjoyed being a part of Mr. VU and getting closer to their fellow nominees.

“Again I would just like to thank Lynette for all of her hard work and putting up with me turning in everything late. Thank you to everyone who helped me, and, of course, to the people who let me do an impersonation of them, or talk about them in my video- thanks! And to the guys in Mr. VU, thanks for a great ride!” Murillo said.