Student Spotlight: Elise Siler

During their time with OU Esports, Elise “Elisu” Siler found a home with those they worked with as the media lead for OU Esports. They are a senior art, technology, and culture major. OU Esports helped foster their love for gaming.

Siler’s introduction to gaming was with the Pokémon series and they remember Pokémon Pearl being their favorite. However, it wasn’t until their freshman year of college where they truly considered themselves a gamer.

“I would play League of Legends with a close friend, but being able to play games with my long distance partner is what made it special to me,” they said. “I began to grind out hours in Final Fantasy XIV and Genshin Impact like no tomorrow as we would co-op. Being able to share time like that while being hours apart was really nice and really cemented gaming into my life. Especially with them being a massive video game fan, so it became a love language for us.”

After joining OU Esports, the media team became a great opportunity for Siler to learn more about their interests. 

“Initially, I had joined the club back as a freshman in 2019,” Siler said. “I was really shy back then, still can be, so I mainly lurked on the discord. In my third year I decided that I wanted to join the development side of the org and applied for the media team. I remember wanting to gain more videography and photography experience and build out my portfolio a little.”

While acting as the media lead, Siler has had to learn how to work as a team and problem solve. “All the media projects we release have at least two people working on them, even more-so on production days,” they said. “In addition to that, there’s an adaption that will sometimes be necessary on those production days. Tech sometimes is finicky and doesn’t work, or we have to find alternative ways to access it.”

Two of Siler’s favorite projects they have worked on with OU Esports are the jersey reveal video and Sooner Esports Unraveled. The jersey reveal came out in November of 2021 and Siler fondly recalls working with the previous media lead on storyboards and creating a fun montage to show off the new jerseys. Sooner Esports Unraveled, on the other hand, is a project that was started this semester to showcase the behind-the-scenes aspects of the organization.

“When I first pitched the idea to Si, (the news and media director), and the media members I knew I wanted it to be student focused,” Siler said. “I wanted to highlight what people do outside of the org be it esports or something else. A way to say ‘look at these amazing people.’ We have two more episodes to release before the end of the year and there’s a very special guest that is coming up, a crossover that’s only been seen on the competitive side, that not only reinforces why Unraveled exists but crosses outside the boundary of our organization.”

To Siler, OU Esports became more than just an organization they were a part of. 

“After getting to know the other members, I continued to be in the org because it felt like a family and working with everyone was so much fun,” Siler said. “It really became a creative outlet outside of class.”

Together with their team and the rest of the organization, OU Esports was about more than just the individual for Siler. After Siler graduates and continues on with their post-graduate adventures, OU Esports will remain a special place in their heart.