Finding a mascot that truly represents Grant High School was no easy feat. The original Grant General mascot was not very popular among students — in the beginning of 2021, it was stolen and seen at a house party being mishandled. Grant needed a new mascot.
In the fall of 2021, Grant Principal James McGee contacted the leadership class to suggest the creation of a new mascot. However, after several years, they still came short of an idea. “They were afraid of offending someone, so they were unwilling to come up with anything,” McGee says.
Eventually, one student brought the issue back to McGee’s attention. In return, he offered a temporary solution: a blue
star. The student happily agreed to wear the bulky costume to sports games, and primarily found support from younger children. Nevertheless, the star soon became the subject of social media jokes about the unlucky “one-star generals.” Purchasing three more stars and consequently needing four students to wear the costumes was out of the question.
In early 2024, two friends stepped up to the challenge of finding a meaningful mascot for Grant. “They took it upon themselves to do this research and everything and came up with it,” McGee says. One of the anonymous students who co-created the idea says he took the initiative in order to “make the students hyped up and (help) out the community.” The process took about a year of research and planning, but the two students were determined to uncover a personal connection to former President Ulysses S. Grant’s history, and soon discovered that the Union Army commanding general had a soft spot for animals — his favorite dog, Rosie, in particular. This was the connection that they were looking for, and the inspiration behind the mascot.
Rosie was first introduced to the student body at Grant’s winter assembly on Dec. 20, 2024 in a short, comedic skit video created by the leadership class featuring Grant searching for the dog in the surrounding neighborhood.
Since then, Rosie has been regularly attending Grant sports games to lift spectators’ and athletes’ school spirit. At a home volleyball game against Jefferson High School this season, Rosie recalls drawing excitement from a few young children in Jefferson’s bleachers. After giving them merchandise, they eagerly joined the Grant supporters.
In the future, McGee hopes that Rosie will continue to build Grant’s school spirit and increase community involvement, especially at home games. “We want you jumping up and screaming at the girls and the boys basketball games and at volleyball and at the boys football,” he says.
Meanwhile, Rosie herself is hoping to learn new tricks — especially back flips — to keep the crowd entertained.
