Maruzio Longo, more commonly known simply as Mo Longo, is an infamous figure in Allderdice High school. Even if you don’t know his name, you’d know his face. Mo is always seen doing something outrageous and unpredictable throughout the school, pulling stunts such as showing up in a full formal suit with a briefcase multiple days in a row, bringing a wheel of cheese to the school, and a multitude of other things. 

Overall he’s a very well-known and indistinguishable face within the school, whose popularity only continues to grow.. Many students have wondered more about this figure, but few have gotten to the bottom of it. I took on the liberty of interviewing Mo to get more details on his shenanigans.

Mo is a junior here at Taylor Allderdice high school. He has a passion for the culinary arts and aspires to do something with it in the long run. “I do culinary in school for half the day and I really enjoy it because I get to be in a room of people I enjoy working with and respect,” he said. “It’s a great subject.” 

Another passion in life for Mo is to simply make people laugh. “I like making myself and other people laugh. Whether people are laughing with me or at me,” Mo says, “I think I succeeded if I made someone’s day a little bit better.” It’s clear to see that one of Mo’s main motivations for the stuff he does around the school is simply for the enjoyment of himself and others. Making people happy is a big part of his life. 

Mo is a man of shenanigans. It’s his claim to fame after all. When asked where he gets some of his ideas for these scenarios, his response was: “That’s a very interesting question. Sometimes it’s a lyric from a song, sometimes it’s some offhand joke, sometimes it’s something I saw on the internet too.” Mo often blends together a unique mix of things that spark his creativity. But how does he fund the crazy things he does?

“Up until early Fall, I had a job and it was mostly me buying things for myself.” Mo exclaimed, “Most of the stuff I try and do for free, such as showing up in my Chefs outfit for Halloween. A lot of bits might seem cheaper than they cost. I’m not some kind of scientist or doctor doing this stuff. I just try to do funny stuff on occasion to make people laugh.”

Mo also went on to explain the length of planning something. 

“It depends on how intricate it is, and how much money is spent on it. The longest something takes in terms of thought is two weeks. Most of my stuff is just sporadic, however.”

Now, the most noticeable and iconic part to me of Mo was always that briefcase. I was determined to figure out the intentions behind the briefcase that he carries around. It’s a very unique feature that really makes him stand out amongst the crowd. Naturally I decided to ask him about it more in depth. 

“I have 2 briefcases,” recalled Mo, “one is larger and rounder, but my current one is smaller.” I then asked what was inside it. “It’s mostly just school stuff and I use it for organization purposes. I managed to upset quite a few teachers having it, but it’s worth it in the end.”

Being a local celebrity is no easy task for Mo. He said that he managed to get recognized by people in public a lot. “It was funny at first, but after a while it gets annoying. I think my friendliness is a factor of why I manage to get recognized so much.”

Mo’s character and antics live on here at Allderdice. He manages to put a smile on people’s faces and improves the day and atmosphere for those around him. And now that Mo has provided some insight into how he does what he does and why, some may come to appreciate Mo even more for who he is.