Fixing her high tight ponytail and wiping the sweat from her face, senior Emily O'Connor lightens the mood at practice with a cheesy joke as her team, ICE All-Stars Aftershock, perfects their routine before...
After freshman Meg Gardner was diagnosed with Profound Deafness at age two, her interest in cheerleading has been a struggle; however, she pursued her passion for cheerleading in the face of these challenges....
![“I started [cheering] 10 years [ago and] I would do camps as a kid. I really like cheering at ‘Friday night lights’ [football games] and getting the student section hyped up. Tryouts were really stressful because my sports overlapped each other so I spent a lot of time at home practicing. Learning the material took four days, and then [the] actual tryouts were only maybe an hour [long. My favorite memory] from the season so far is my first Friday night lights game. [Cheer has taught me] that hard work pays off and I'd [tell someone who’s considering trying out] that it's really fun if you put in the work. You need to believe that you can do good and if you put in the work, then [the results] will turn out better than you expect.”- Emily Jordan, 10](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/DSC_6874-Payton-Dean-1200x798.jpg)
![“The first memory that comes to my head is when everyone starts doing the longhorn rumble when we call [out to the audience], they stomp and clap with us along to the beat of the cheer. I [started to appreciate cheer] when I got to high school. [At first], I did it for fun in middle school just to say that I [had a hobby]. When [I got to] high school my coach appreciated me and [listened to] my opinions. It really made me fall in love with the sport again. My favorite thing about cheer is the friendships that I get from it. [I] get to see the people I’m with all the time because [we] have practice [together often]. Especially during football season [is when I get to] hang out with [my teammates] every day. The people I met through cheer and got close with this year make me [want] to continue cheer. [I also got closer with] the people on [the] varsity team and [was able to gain friendships] through that. I am happy [that I get to] cheer with [everyone] next year. It [urges me to] keep going. The cheer community is fun because everyone just understands each other. We're all very similar [and connected] in ways and it's like a tight knit family.” Alyssa Gessner, 9](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_0063-1200x800.jpg)
![“It's nice having [my dad, senior principal Mario Pupillo] in the building, [but] It's kind of funny [because] everybody knows who he is. I [could be] walking to lunch [and see] him in the hallway. I stay after school and sit in [my dad’s] office and get most of my homework done between 2:30-4:30 p.m., [because I have] cheerleading [soon after]. [It’s good because] the workload and the amount of homework is a lot. I'm taking a few honors classes, but [they are] pretty manageable. I try not to procrastinate my homework [because] I would like to have all 'A's and 'B's. So, [going to my dad’s office after school] is really nice because I can get a lot of [homework] done before going to practice [by] having him here.” - Gabriella Pupillo, 9](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_6418-1-1200x800.jpg)
