A Group of Athletes’ Quest to Put Pfoho ‘Back on the Map’

“We’re gonna win.”

That’s the competitive spirit that drives Pforzheimer junior Timi Esan to help produce the best Housing Day Video possible for his house, and that’s also the fire that drives Esan and his fellow video makers – Timi Esan, Zane Wallace, Amari Turner, and Cam Henry – on the track as well. All four are members of the Harvard track team, and Henry pulls double-duty, also playing receiver for the football team.

Last year, when they were putting “Pfoho Back on the Map,” Esan served as the video’s Director and Editor, as well as showcasing his vocal talents, and he assumed the same position this year. Turner and Wallace both took lead vocal roles in the production and did the same in this video. Henry is joining the squad this year, acting as the primary videographer for the group.

Alongside the athletes are Candace Howe and Daisja Green. The pair has collaborated with the group for two years now, acting as lead creative directors and singers, and their connections go back to freshman year.

“We knew Timi from pre-orientation freshman year,” said Howe about her and Green meeting Esan. Their connection over housing and music started early, as the pair recalled Esan playing piano the first time they met. “He actually taught me, or tried to teach me, how to play the piano,” added Green. The trio had plenty of time to get to know each other freshman year as they all lived in Greenough Hall. The girls attributed getting to know Esan as what pulled them into the Harvard music scene.

For Esan, music has always been a part of his life. “I’ve always been a musical guy,” he said. From the time he was young, he was taking music lessons and immersing himself in music culture. The video side of the industry came later to Esan.

“Me and my boys in high school used to always edit videos and make little skits just for fun,” said Esan.

So when the trios’ separate blocking groups were put into Pfoho two years ago, a desire to put their camaraderie and talents to work was natural. Esan brought his fellow athletes into the mix.

On the track, each athlete boasts their own impressive resumé. Esan recently broke the Harvard program record in the 100-meter sprint. Turner is a program record-holder and the reigning Ivy League Indoor Champion in the 60-meter event. Wallace is a valuable point scorer for the Crimson in the physically gruelling triple jump, finishing ninth at the recent Ivy League Indoor Heptagonal Championships. Henry is a rare two-sport varsity athlete, using his sprinter speed on both the track and the gridiron. Henry finished second on the team in catches and receiving yards during his senior football campaign.

Off the track, the group becomes an unstoppable force in the Housing Day Video scene, and their competitive drive, built by athletics, powers their ambition to produce the best video of all the houses.

“Wanting to win, wanting to be the best, is kind of what helps drive the video forward,” said Esan. “We don’t want any house to be as good at that. That’s the spirit I bring from athletics into this.”

That dedication to quality requires a key resource the boys are short on – time.

“It’s terrible, balancing it,” said Esan. “We practice every afternoon, and we’re tired. Obviously, we’ve got problem sets to do, and then this is the only time you have to shoot for the video. So it’s very tough.”

The work is exhausting, and splitting the work amongst the group is critical, they all said. But they also said the payoff is more than just the final product; it’s changing the entire narrative around Pfoho.

Howe and Green remarked upon how people have viewed being placed into Pfoho as a negative thing in the past, but they believe that their videos are helping change those reactions.

“It was supposed to be trauma,” Howe said about being placed in Pfoho as a freshman. “We heard the whole, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry you got Pfoho.’”

“We were like, ‘Absolutely not, this is our house. It’s going to be the best it’s ever been,’” she added.

For Esan, the video provides another benefit. It allows him to pursue a more creative and subjective art as opposed to the rigidity and objective outcomes of track.

“Track is very regimented,” said Esan. “The time is very reflective of the work you put in,” he added.

“With [the video], you can make an accidental mistake and have it develop into something beautiful,” he said. “I think this video is a very different side of the brain I’m using and of the body just to create something.”

Esan also stated he viewed the production as a victory in itself.

“I made a lot of friends through the video, and it was just a really fun experience,” he said.

That message reflects the core of the tradition, according to the group: building friendships and house pride.

—Staff writer Reed M. Trimble can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Jake C. Swanson can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Daniel A. Hochberg can be reached at [email protected].