UST Students Double as Scholars, Texans Cheerleaders

By Natasha Alvarez
The Summa

April 27, 2010 was an exciting day for two St. Thomas students, when they were selected to become a part of the Houston Texan Cheerleading Squad. Junior Nicole Hickl and Senior Michelle Lewis have proven to be true “shining stars.” Soon, they will shine on the field as much as they do on campus.

During the summer, both of the cheerleaders had the opportunity to practice, train, travel, and do appearances as a team. They both packed up their gear and traveled to Atlanta for a Professional cheerleading camp.

“That was really exciting because we got to meet cheerleaders from the [Indianapolis] Colts, the Washington Redskins, and the San Antonio Spurs,” Hickl said.

Practices started right away on July 8 to ensure that everyone was in the best shape for when season came around. They have practices that range from three to four hours that take place three nights a week.

Both of them have come such a long way as professional dancers, and, more importantly, they have learned valuable lessons from the experiences.

“What I learned is that, if you have a goal, once you reach it, you have to keep reaching for it,” Lewis said.

“You have to go beyond just what you expect. Obtaining it is not enough. You always have to keep working hard for it.”

Michelle

Lewis has managed to find balance with her academics and her outside responsibilities. Lewis is preparing for a fall semester with heavy course work as a Liberal Arts Pre-Medical student.

“I’m still trying to figure everything out,” Lewis said. “But I feel like eventually my schedule will regulate and I will definitely make sure that I have everything on point.”

Lewis has quickly learned of the many responsibilities that come with the title.

“You are a representative of the Houston Texans and you have to uphold that standard that the Texan cheerleaders have,” Lewis said.

“We are known as being really good girls and we are ladies. First off you always have to look pretty and composed, and along with that you have to keep up with the dancing.”

In order to keep up with these demands, Lewis must work hard in order to give her absolute best. Lewis has put in extra practices in order to perfect her skills for even more tryouts.

“I work out every day even more” Lewis said. “I wake up at 5 a.m. every morning to go workout. The tryouts shows you where you are and where you need to push yourself to be.”

Nicole

Hickl is also a very involved student on campus, majoring in communications and holding several important responsibilities such as Student Government Association Vice President and Head Orientation Leader.

Despite all the responsibilities, Hickl manages to find the time to enjoy the experience.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Hickl said.

“It didn’t become real until the website was actually launched. It is just amazing to see myself on the website, the same one that I looked at every day during tryouts.”

However, Hickl must overcome several obstacles that she has had to face. Hickl rolled her ankle during her first dance performance. She hopes to be fully recovered by the first regular season game on September 12.

“First, the most challenging thing, before I got injured, was getting back into the swing for long hard hours,” Hickl said. “Now it’s dealing with my injury. That’s probably the hardest thing. Sitting at practices and watching all the girls practice their dances and knowing that I am supposed to be dancing there with them.”

As for the Texans, both cheerleaders are really looking forward to a great season.

“I expect good things from the team this year,” Lewis said. “I am hoping we get to playoffs and I think we can do it.”