Senior Carol Anne Happney-White is a senior captain of the first cheerleading squad of Memorial High School.
The Memorial Messenger sat down with Happney-White ahead of Friday’s senior night to talk about her love of cheer and her future career plans.
Q: Why did you start doing cheerleader?
A: I jumped right in my freshman year. I just thought it was something cool to do, so I tried out my eighth grade year, made it for freshman year.
Q: What makes cheer special for you?
A: I would say that I like team-building. I just feel we have a lot of things – stunting, which just requires a lot of trust between the people around you. And then football games, just the energy and being on the field with all of your friends that you’ve made throughout the sport. It’s just so fun. And to be the leaders of spirit, I don’t know, just like trying to be those role models and bring cheer and just the energy to all the activities.
Q: What is the thing you like the most about cheerleading?
A: Teamwork and just the people around me, the people in the sport.
Q: What do you want to accomplish your senior year, both personally and within cheer?
A: I think just setting a new idea about cheer. I feel like previous years and at the older schools we didn’t have the best reputation and just the idea surrounding us wasn’t the best. So I think especially going into these new schools just making cheer more known and setting higher expectations for just the team and the future of Memorial cheer.
Q: What’s your favorite memory of cheer?
A: I would probably say camp, our cheer camp. We would travel and we went to Great Wolf Lodge one year and we just get to spend four days just with our team at Great Wolf Lodge. Literally just doing cheer the entire time and there was just the energy and it was so positive everywhere. So I think that would have to be my favorite.
Q: What will you miss once you leave?
A: I think just the team. I just feel some of these girls I’ve been with since the very beginning, you just have been with them for three years. And so I just think that and then just the atmosphere of football games and everything.
Q: What have you learned as a member of cheer?
A: That you are only as strong as your weakest link. You kind of have to use teamwork and work with the people around you just to become stronger as a whole. You can be so strong individually, but when you’re put in a team, you have to all work together just to reach that goal.
Q: How have you changed since your freshman year and why?
A: I would say I think I’ve definitely grown skill-wise because freshman year was my first year cheering. So I feel I’ve learned so much just about the sport in general. And then I think I’ve just grown as a leader and just in maturity level and how to just help people and lead people and teach them and just work together.
Q: What do you want to do after high school? Why?
A: Well, regarding cheer, I’m not super sure if I’m going to pursue cheer in college. It just kind of depends on the school I’m going to and what other things come into play. But career-wise, I’m going into nursing.
Q: What message do you want to leave for future generations of cheerleaders at Memorial High School?
A: I think one big thing is it’s only embarrassing if you make it embarrassing. And if you work with your team and you all just are positive and with the same purpose, your goal will be achieved. Just know you’re only as strong as your weakest link, but if you all band together and go out there with a goal, you will accomplish it.
