In Good Cheer: OCSS Staff Members Kylie Wynn and Miranda Perdomo-Ballon Help Pack Student Sections Throughout OC

Katelyn Wong

OCSS Staff members Kylie Wynn, Miranda Perdomo-Ballon and Emma Lin pose for a photo at Mission Viejo High School during a football game.

As fall sports season takes off, school spirit rises along with it. Beyond every game and its constants — athletes, cheer, ASB members and marching band — two Portola students help hype up student sections throughout Orange County: Orange County Student Sections (OCSS) staff members senior Miranda Perdomo-Ballon and junior Kylie Wynn.

OCSS is an organization created by CEO Chris Holt dedicated to bettering students’ high school experiences by helping create immersive and spirited student sections throughout Orange County. OCSS’ Chief Operating Officer Jered Baloloy outlines their top priorities:

“I would say our core values are [that we] really want to make sure we are providing the best experience possible for every single high school student in Orange County,” Baloloy said. “Our pillars of success are to lead, to inspire, and then to innovate.”

Baloloy turns to student recruits like Perdomo-Ballon and Wynn to help uphold these core values. They attend games to hype up crowds, take photos, and put the spotlight on underappreciated schools. Kylie Wynn, a junior and photographer on OCSS staff, makes sure everyone gets their time to shine.

“We go to different schools around [Orange County] to capture the emotion and important moments of the games,” Wynn said. “We really get to bring out the hidden gems.”

The experience teaches students how to let loose and have fun, but also take charge when necessary, according to Perdomo-Ballon. During her junior year, she was a spirit coordinator for OCSS, but is now high school president of the OCSS staff. Perdomo-Ballon said that the title constitutes a myriad of new responsibilities.

“I’m getting to do things that I wouldn’t have done if I were [just] spirit coordinator,” Perdomo-Ballon said. “I’m learning how to send emails out to companies, and I’m learning how to really lead a group and facilitate entire [student section] visits, which is super cool.”

As the duo continues to attend more games, their positivity and energy have become contagious. OCSS has encouraged them to remain positive and embrace the spontaneity of high school sports.

“I’ve learned that not everything is so serious,” said Perdomo-Ballon, “Ever since I [joined] OCSS, I’ve learned to just put myself out there because in the long run, no one actually cares.”

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About the Contributor

Katelyn Wong, Staff Writer

Katelyn Wong is a staff writer for her first year on the Portola Pilot. This year, she plans to use her love of visual arts, storytelling, and reading books to write moving pieces for Portola’s newspaper. When she’s not reading copious amounts of textbook pages for APUSH, you can find her in her studio working on a painting or perfecting her sourdough recipe. She is very excited for her first year on Pilot and can’t wait to challenge herself by expanding her writing and interviewing skills.