Get to Know Rams Cheerleader Jennifer

By Sarah Bricker
StLouisRams.com

Driven. Passionate. Bilingual.

Fifth season Rams Cheerleader Jennifer is, to say the least, extremely multitalented. The Granite City, Ill. native is a Rams Cheerleader, a talented salsa dancer, a skilled merchandise planner and an avid intellectual explorer. She’s also fluent in Spanish.

At only 29, Jennifer works full time as a merchandise planner for Brown Shoe Company and is currently working towards her MBA through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s online program. She attended college at the University of Illinois where she double majored in international studies and Spanish. Her love of Spanish flourished during her junior year when she studied abroad in Spain, and led her to return in 2008 in pursuit of a master’s degree in Spanish language and translation.

“I’d been in Spain during my junior year of college and loved it, and New York University’s accelerated master’s program allowed me to go back and pursue something I was passionate about,” Jennifer said. “I don’t really do much with my Spanish now, but when I am done with my MBA (2015) the plan is to go on for a J.D. degree and practice international law. I’m already taking some law classes now through Washington University and will take the LSAT soon.”

But Jennifer isn’t only a skilled intellectual and professional, and despite a late start to dance in high school, she has a natural talent. “I started dancing later than most girls, with maybe one year of tap or ballet when I was little, but I was busy with other things like tennis and horses. My parents never made me go to dance class, so I just sort of tried different things until middle school and high school.” Jennifer cheered during her junior high years and when she got to high school, encouragement from friends and family led her to go out for the school’s dance team. She made the team, dancing all four years and served as captain in her senior year.

High school was critical for Jennifer as well, for it put her on the path towards her current Rams position. “Friends of my high school dance coaches who had gone on to be Rams Cheerleaders, or were at the time, would come to our practices and help us with skills and routines,” she said. “My family had season tickets and we were Rams fans, but that was my first up-close experience with them. After that, I’d always hear about how they were involved with the community and what great role models they were.”

Jennifer continued to dance in college, dancing for a year on the Illinettes Dance Team and then performing with Dance 2 Excess’s salsa division. While with Dance 2 Excess, Jennifer actually practiced and performed with fellow Rams Cheerleader Autumn, but she said when Autumn tried out for the team neither recognized each other. “It’s funny because we knew each other in college and were friends, but at tryouts it had been so many years we just didn’t recognize each other. I didn’t think of her with kids or married and she didn’t think of me with red hair. I had blonde hair back then and we hadn’t seen each other in over four years,” Jennifer said.

Now, Jennifer is underway with her fifth season and has no intention of it being her last. “Every year is different,” she said. “The team is always doing something new and St. Louis is always changing. You can get bored after four years with most jobs, but with this it’s totally different. There is always something new, someway to better yourself and some way to grow. That opportunity for constant self-improvement, it’s my favorite part of it.”