A year of gold: one spirit captain's challenge

Editor’s Note: This Saturday is Faculty-Staff Appreciation Night in Sun Devil Stadium, where the Sun Devils will take on the University of Utah. Kickoff is 7 p.m. Come before the game for the first-ever faculty-staff tailgate – more than 150 complimentary meals will be served to faculty and staff on a first-registered, first-served basis.

Jessica Slater has been “bleeding maroon and gold” for 10 years, when she first started at ASU as a freshman. She now works for the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, where she’s a photographer and designer.

When it came to fulfilling her spirit captain duty of wearing gold every Friday, Slater wanted to go above and beyond.

Last August, “I started talking to my coworkers about how much gold [clothing] I have, and jokingly, we said I should wear different gold [every week] for a year,” Slater says. At first it was a joke, but then she decided to challenge herself.

The year of gold was born. Slater made a tumblr account and decided to document her year of gold with a photograph each Friday.

“My coworkers were supportive – they wore ASU gear every Friday right along with me, and my co-spirit captain Stephanie Mabee promoted me and my challenge every chance we had,” she says proudly. The project began on Aug. 27, 2011, and just last month, Slater achieved a full year of photos.

The first post on her tumblr read:

“Jessica claims to own 30 ASU shirts, 10 or more other ASU garments, including a gold purse, scarf, an ASU skirt, a jersey with her name on it and earrings are in the works. We figure she can get through a year of Fridays without a repeat. Gauntlet thrown, game on. #asugold 4eva!”

She had to get creative to find 52 different ways to wear gold – but she didn’t miss a week, even when she was on vacation in Washington D.C. Slater donned her gold scarf on Sept. 16, 2011, and took a photo of herself in front of the Capitol building.

“I’m proud that I was able to find that many different ASU items to wear on Fridays to show my spirit. My ASU spirit goes beyond athletics – I believe in the university, my alma mater, and have a deep love for my fellow Sun Devils.”

View Slater’s full project here: http://asugold.tumblr.com/archive