Giving Day Faces of Philanthropy

John Wynkoop

 

John Wynkoop IV (B.S. ’16, M.B.A. ’19) gets a little emotional when he talks about the Spirit of San Antonio, UTSA’s marching band popularly known as SOSA.

As an 18-year-old freshman, he was with the group when it marched out of the tunnel at the Alamodome for its triumphant debut at the Roadrunners’ first-ever football game in 2011.

Then, as a 21-year-old senior and SOSA’s head drum major, he was with the band in June 2014 when it represented the United States at the 70th Anniversary World War II D-Day Memorial Parade and Musical Salute to the Veterans in Normandy, France.

“All my time at UTSA, being in the Spirit of San Antonio was such an amazing experience,” John said. “The friendships that I built, the bonds that I was able to make are unbreakable.”

A 2011 graduate of Warren High School in San Antonio, where he also was head drum major for a year, John said he chose UTSA because “I wanted to be a part of history.”

He had seen a story in the San Antonio Express-News about a marching band being formed at the university, and included was an interview with Ron Ellis. “He was a known as a phenom in Florida, a Disney World (music) director, and UTSA had recruited him to start the marching band,” John noted.

A few visits to campus, a conversation with Dr. Robert Rustowicz, then director of bands, and some time spent with Ellis convinced the high school senior that UTSA was where he wanted to be.

“Being part of that first band was absolutely amazing,” recalled the alumnus. “Two hundred-plus students – just a big group of band nerds coming onto the field together for the first time, not knowing each other, but knowing that we all love music. We come together for this whole week at band campus, and we turn into a big family immediately.”

Soon, that big family was making its debut as the Spirit of San Antonio before almost 57,000 fans at the Roadrunners’ first football game.

“It was just insane,” he said. “It was super, super loud in that dome. I remember looking around at how many people were in orange and blue, waving towels, signs, whatever they had in their hands. … I can still relive it from beginning to end in my head.”

Fast forward to his senior year when he was head drum major and SOSA was chosen as the only collegiate band to be part of the 70th anniversary D-Day commemoration. “We actually did a parade there, which was awesome,” he said. “When we played the French national anthem, that was a chilling moment. My grandmother, who is from France, told me that the French people sing their national anthem at the top of their lungs, and that’s exactly what they did when we played it.”

While John has many great memories of his time in SOSA, he also has one regret – not being able as a group to travel more, to represent the Roadrunners at more football games and other events away from San Antonio, to be ambassadors for the university.

“To be able to have these travel opportunities for these kids, to be able to perform in different locations is also a driver for recruitment,” he noted. “There are a ton of band kids out there that want to join a marching band, to join an amazing musical program.”

What has been missing for the musicians, said the SOSA alumnus, who is now a business advisor for USAA, are the funds to support such a travel program, and he is hopeful that some generous donors will decide to invest in Ellis, “an insanely talented director,” and all his “ super passionate and engaged students.”

UTSA Giving Day is an opportunity to support programs that make a difference for students like John. To learn more, visit givingday.utsa.edu.