H.S. senior gets a live performance 'acceptance letter'
EDMOND, Okla. –- An Edmond North High School senior got the surprise of a lifetime in a new video released Monday by the University of Oklahoma.
The video, entitled "The OU Letter," shows Lexie Dare receiving her acceptance letter to the university during a 'Game Day' party on her front lawn.
On Aug. 17, OU brought 300 students on buses to Dare's Edmond home.
The guests included cheerleaders, the Sooner Schooner, the team mascot, Ruf/Neks and a DJ.
"The idea was pretty simple: Recreate a game-day experience for the first Sooner admitted into the OU Class of 2019 and have that experience take place in a driveway. The number of people that rolled out to help pull off this stunt blew me away. It's a true testament to the family atmosphere we have at OU," said Matt Farley, Assistant Director of Communications-Recruitment Services.
Before the big surprise, Dare was being interviewed by OU officials in her living room about applying early for college, but the interview also gave the Norman crew time to set up outside her house.
When Lexie opened the door, the party started with "Boomer Sooner" blaring across the neighborhood.
"I was speechless," she said. "And everybody who knows me, knows I'm a pretty big talker and so that's a big deal for me to be speechless, and I was so excited."
She walked through a gauntlet of cheerleaders, cheering fans and quickly found Boomer and Sooner, two white ponies that pull the Sooner Schooner.
"I'm a big fan of horses and so the first thing I asked when I saw that was, 'Can I go pet the horses?'" she said. "They let me in [the Schooner.] They were really sweet."
Clarke Stroud, Dean of students, is seen on video saying, "Lexi Dare, I want to congratulate you on being the first person admitted to the University of Oklahoma for the class of 2019!"
Dare says her parents pushed her to apply to OU early.
Her mom and two brothers also went to the University.
"It's a lot less stress to have to worry about, writing essays for college apps," she said. "And now I only have to apply for one place, which is a lot better, and I couldn't have imagined a better place to apply for and get accepted to."
Andy Roop, OU's Executive Director of Recruitment Services, said they wanted to let high school seniors know they shouldn't wait until the spring to apply.
"We wanted to really make a big deal and say now is the time. It's important for you to do this. You'll enjoy your senior year so much more if you apply early," he said.
Roop said Dare was randomly selected from a pool of early applicants who didn't live too far from Norman.
The first applicant for the class of 2020 might see something even more spectacular, he said.
"Of all the thousands of people that apply, or that it could have happened to, it happened to me," Dare said. "And I'm just so thankful to the university for that and everything."
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