Used by many students, parents and alumni, the school’s social media accounts are vital for many to get information about the school events and daily happenings on campus. But the accounts also serve as windows into St. Mark’s, broadcasting its community and its people to the rest of the internet.
These outlets such as the school’s Instagram account, @smtexas1906, the Super Fan Men, @superfanmen and the Facebook account, @smtexas, all must be able to provide the information the community needs while also maintaining the school’s image.
This responsibility falls on the people running the accounts. For the official school accounts, the Communications Department, led by Ray Westbrook, handles all of the posting and maintenance of the pages. The @Superfanmen account is currently run by seniors Alex Barrett, CJ Ness and Mitchell Galardi.
In order to keep the community educated about current events, the Communications Department posts about all important events on the official school Instagram page, including those that are more focused on individuals rather than the school itself. On top of that, the account often posts about many daily life events that occur around the school. But in order to maintain the image of the school online, they must be mindful of what they post.
“We want to represent the best of St. Mark’s,” said Westbrook, “so we’re very careful about what we put online and on social media.”
Similar to the official accounts, the @superfanmen account is tasked with keeping the St. Mark’s community updated on current events, but its main focus is school athletics. The account maintains countdowns for the different sports seasons and posting schedules for the students and community members to see. The account is passed down through the different graduating classes, each one adding their own unique spin to the tradition. This year, Barrett, Ness,and Galardi are trying to maintain a constant stream of information on all of the school’s sports, but they are also adding on their own ideas.
“We just want to build off of what was built,” Ness said, “and to try and make it better.”
All of the accounts aim to continue to keep the community informed, and make sure to serve as proper representatives of the school while doing so.
