VHHS seniors sharpen Rebel Edge

White T-shirts have overtaken the student section at recent Vestavia Hills High School football games. Across the front, in a combination of red and blue lettering, they bear two words: Rebel Edge. 

“People talk about the qualities of being a Vestavia Hills Rebel, and it’s the Rebel Edge,” said VHHS Principal Tyler Burgess. “But nobody’s actually spelled out what that means.” 

Until now. 

At the start of the school year, Burgess presented the 2017-18 VHHS youth leadership class with his interpretation of the Rebel Edge. The class, which is composed of 19 seniors, embraced Burgess’ general definition. 

Then, they made it their own. 

“I literally left it on their doorstep. I was thinking maybe springtime they might roll in with an idea,” Burgess said. “Literally two weeks later, they came back and they had a full, fleshed-out marketing plan and they had rebranded what I gave them.”

The class took Burgess’ written interpretation, which included five key pillars, and shaved it down to an acronym based on the word “Edge.” 

In their definition, “E” stands for excellence, “D” stands for difference, “G” stands for grit and the second “E” stands for elevation. The students also wrote accompanying sentences that expound on the meaning of each letter and explain how it can be applied. 

For instance, the class wrote that “Rebels strive for excellence in character and in all endeavors” after defining the first “E.” 

“We want this to be a representation of what students and teachers and administrators and just the Vestavia community mean,” said Maggie Mince, a student in the class who also is president of the VHHS Youth Leadership organization. “We want it to kind of define who we are as a community. We want it to be an encouragement for students.” 

The class gathered input from students and faculty as they wordsmithed the acronym, and they did the same as they developed the Rebel Edge Pledge. The pledge incorporates the 1REBEL logo, the Edge acronym and the five pillars that Burgess initially presented. The pillars center on academic achievement, tradition, philanthropy, progress and unity. 

Posters with the pledge have recently popped up around VHHS. According to James Sweeney, another student in the leadership class, the plan is to create a pledge wall in one of the school’s main hallways on which fellow Rebels can sign their name.

“We’re just wanting to kind of transform the whole school spirit aspect of everything,”  Sweeney said. “Having that unity within the school and just creating something that everybody can understand – that was our goal.” 

The class began unveiling its redefined Rebel Edge concept in October. One of the first steps the group took was distributing the T-shirts, which were funded by an anonymous donor, to VHHS students and faculty. 

The class also revealed four life-sized letters spelling “Edge” at a pep rally before the football game against Mountain Brook. Sweeney said the letters will be displayed at a variety of school events, like awards ceremonies and basketball games, to give students a tangible depiction of school spirit. 

“We want this to be — not the replacement of the mascot because we haven’t had that for three or four years — but something that we can look at and recognize,” Sweeney said. “I think it’s going to be a really cool thing.”