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‘Koda’ joins the MCCC family as newly named mascot

Illustration by Douglas Richter.

The Husky mascot of MCCC now has a proper name.

The name “Koda” was announced as the winning entry on March 3 after the announcement of the “Name Our Mascot” contest by MCCC’s Student. Government in Sept. 2020.

Tom Ryder, Student Government adviser, said 125 entries were submitted with those submissions being narrowed down to 25 by the Student Government and campus Marketing Department before votes were cast by students and staff members.

MCCC students Lillian Baker and Larissa Coleman both submitted the name “Koda.”

Both winner received a $50 gift card for their contribution.

“The name Koda stood out to me because Koda means ‘friend’ in Sioux, a Native American tribe,” Baker said to explain why she chose the name. “Although the name has no personal meaning to me, it is a short version of Dakoda. I honestly just like the name.”

Baker said because the name means friend, she thought it would help make new students feel welcome.

“I hope any student, new or old, knows they have a friend at MCCC,” Baker said.

Coleman also chose the name because of its friendly meaning, reflecting how she has made friends at MCCC.

Douglas Richter, graphic designer for MCCC, said the idea of the Koda design was to create a cartoon version of the already existing campus mascot design.

“We were going for an engaging, fun, friendly and strong character,” Richter said.

Richter was given free rein to develop the logo’s look with critique afterward from the Student Government.

“Since it was for a one-off tshirt design there wasn’t any pressure for a long-term mascot design,” Richter said.  “I had no idea it would grow to what it is today.”

In the seven years he’s worked at MCCC, Richter has designed dozens of posters and flyer designs for Student Government.

“They’re a fun and accepting group to work with,” he said.

Richter said the plans for using this Koda design in other ways are still being decided.

“We have not got past the announcement flyer to how we are going to use Koda on events or throughout the campus, yet,” he said. “But we’ll be seeing plenty of Koda I suspect.”

Ryder said the mascot being named will bring more opportunities to use the mascot at MCCC.

“We hope to purchase a mascot costume in the near future,” Ryder said. “You might even see a husky around campus now and then.”