Palmyra Woman, Eagles Cheerleader, Made Pro Bowl Squad
Eagles cheerleader Alicia Marie Parks was selected to represent her team at the prestigious game in Arizona
By Chris Sholly
Lebanon Daily News
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If you watched the NFL Pro Bowl on Jan. 25, you probably saw a local woman among the cheerleaders.
Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader Alicia Marie Parks of Palmyra was selected to represent her team at the prestigious game in Glendale, Ariz. — considered the highest accolade for a NFL cheerleader.
Parks, the daughter of Janet and Robert Parks, started dancing lessons when she was 3 years old and continued dancing through college. She began cheerleading in elementary school and continued through middle school in Palmyra.
However, when she started high school at Lancaster Catholic, she focused on her dancing. Parks said it was her dance teacher — a former Eagles cheerleader — who sparked her interest in trying out for the Eagles team.
“She would always talk about how she had this incredible experience. She met all these cool women, and she got to dance after college,” Parks recalled.
After college, Parks moved to Philadelphia and decided to try out for a cheerleading position on the Eagles team.
“I thought, I love football; I love to dance, and it will at least get me back into shape even if I don’t make it,” she said.
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Parks had some stiff competition when she tried out in 2012. About 500 people auditioned for one of eight spots on the squad. She said she had no expectations going into the competition except “the love of dance.”
“This was one of my very first auditions, and sometimes it’s hard to stand out when you’re standing there with 500 other very talented and beautiful women,” she said. “You just have to learn to be yourself, and it’ll shine through.”
She was at home with her parents when she heard the news that she had been selected.
“We started jumping up and down when we heard,” she recalled. “It was such an exciting moment, and to be able to experience it with my family as well.”
To go to the Pro Bowl this year, Parks, 26, said she had to go through a formal application process in which such things as leadership abilities and accolades received are considered by the selection panel.
The experience was an exciting one, she said.
Parks said she had the opportunity to meet cheerleaders from 25 other NFL teams. But the experience exceeded her expectations.
“It was a little overwhelming, a little bit terrifying, but overall exciting,” Parks said of the experience. “We got to do so much in the community. We hosted mini cheer clinics for the local cheerleaders and also for special needs children. It was such a fantastic experience just to meet all the other very talented and accomplished women, but also to make an impact on the community around me.”
All around, Parks is an accomplished woman. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2011 with a bachelor of science degree in education and also graduated magna cum laude from Villanova University with a master’s in history. Parks has been inducted into several honor societies, most notably Phi Alpha Theta and Rho Gamma. As a graduate student, she received a scholarship from Villanova University to work as a graduate recruitment adviser and teaching assistant.
She was named the Wells Fargo Education Manager for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. In this role, she is the lead educator for its new program “HEAD for the future,” which promotes document-based learning in K-12 classrooms. She was recently published in the journal “Pennsylvania Legacies” and hosts presentations at various schools and educational conferences both regionally and nationally.
Parks said she loves her job and hopes to continue both her job and cheerleading.
“It’s the best part-time job I could ask for,” she said of the cheerleading. “And I still get to dance. It makes you a happier person if you get to do something you really love.”
Parks is also active in the community, promoting breast cancer awareness. She recently appeared on NFL AM’s segment “Behind the Pom Poms” on NFL Network, where she discussed preventive health care.
A fan favorite, Parks is featured in the Eagles Cheerleaders Eco-Friendly Swimsuit Calendar and Calendar App and has appeared at numerous high profile events including the NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall.
