Image Credit: MSC Photographer 

McCaskey cheerleaders are the school’s pride and joy when it comes to getting our crowd fired up and having school spirit.

 Sadly, McCaskey will have 12 senior cheerleaders leaving us this year. A few of them gave their thoughts and experiences on what it’s like being a McCaskey cheerleader.

As students who represent McCaskey in and out of school, cheerleaders know what it’s like to be new to high school.

Cheer captain Tia Shell’s advice to future students is to “get involved within the school and participate in as many extracurricular activities as you can.” Cheerleader Natasha Maldonado-Ruiz also made the point that it is important not to overwhelm yourself with school and work: “Make sure you’re ready to commit and make sure it’s something you love doing.” It is important to find a balance you personally can handle. “Don’t just do what others are doing, do what you can and watch yourself grow,” she argued. 

Joining extracurricular activities like cheer can be a form of creating everlasting friendships with people all over the school campus. “The memories are going to be priceless and something you will cherish forever,” said Tia. Ashlynn Fenstermaker added that her favorite memory was when the boys’ basketball team played home against the Central Dauphin East in winter of 2019. The game had been pushed back due to a fire alarm malfunction, which forced them to play with flashing lights for the first half. “They tied in normal time and played double overtime until McCaskey pulled the final win of 100-99. I didn’t even know our scoreboard went to three digits!” she said.

Like with many other activities, cheerleaders need to put in effort to make progress. A few sacrifices may need to be made, like staying home to practice rather than going out with friends. “I have been cheering for three years, and it was hard at first, but the more I practiced and worked for it, the better I got,” said fellow cheerleader Natasha Maldonado-Ruiz. 

Spending time to dedicate to a program you love is a small price to pay in exchange for creating memories, witnessing new experiences, and becoming a part of a new family.