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Mendel Center and the Moseley Wrought Iron Arch Bridge.
Jon Ravenelle
Jon Ravenelle
Class of 2011
Political Science and Philosophy Major
Jonathan Ravenelle had a mission when he set foot on campus. The political science and philosophy double major wanted to construct the first-ever pep band at Merrimack to encourage crowd excitement at sporting events.
With a lot of legwork and loads of encouragement, Jon is the president and founder of the Merrimack College pep band – an official club recognized and funded by the Student Government Association.
Jon, who plays the sousaphone (marching tuba), was a four-year member of the North Andover High School pep band and they occasionally played the Warriors home games since Merrimack didn’t have a pep club.
He brought the passion to play with him to Merrimack. “If you want to do something at Merrimack, you can do it and the college will support you 110%,” said Ravenelle. “You have to get involved – it makes everything more fun and interesting.”
Jon has high hopes for the pep band and his aspirations go far beyond just the act of playing music at sporting events; he wants this club to be the beginning of a strong music program at Merrimack.
“It would be great if the pep band could be the start of a music organization at Merrimack where a concert band, marching band, and pep band could come together,” said Ravenelle. “This would give students such variety and hopefully would put more focus on music.”
The pep band isn’t Jon’s only hobby – he is also a Residential Assistant (RA), a member of the Student Government Association, plays on Merrimack’s tennis team, and dedicates time to his residence hall council, the Justice and Peace Coalition, the Friends Coalition, the Model United Nations programs, and is an Austin Scholar. But he always finds time to play his Sousaphone.