Rams Cheerleader Does it All
By Josh Sellmeyer
The Journal
Webster University alumna Candace Parker, her 8-year-old son TreDien McGuire, and their pet rabbit, Skittles, visit New City School Nov. 19. TreDien is a student at the grade school, while Parker serves on the board of trustees and is very active in the school's community.
Calling Candace Parker busy would be an understatement. Parker, a Webster University graduate, cheerleads for the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on Sundays. During the week, Parker works as an attorney for the Missouri State Public Defender System. She is also a single mother to her 8-year-old son.
Parker, 28, had her son, TreDien McGuire, when she was a sophomore at Webster University.
She said there were times when she wanted to drop out of school, but her determination and the inspiration TreDien provided helped her graduate from Webster in 2004 with a degree in political science. “I was 19 when I had my son, so I didn’t really know what to expect,” Parker said. “There’s nothing like a child’s love. You just want to give everything to them. It’s a lot more than what I anticipated. There are ups and downs, but he’s a joy, and I love having him. He’s definitely helped me stay focused.”
Parker said TreDien was due in March of 2002, but was delivered in February. Because Parker took several eightweek courses that year, TreDien’s arrival coincided with finals.
“He actually came the week before finals for eight-week courses, which wasn’t exactly what I anticipated,” Parker said. “I had him on a Thursday, the hospital sent me home on Saturday and I was back in school on Monday. That’s how important my education was. I wanted to be a great mom and be attendant to him, but I also wanted to make sure that I got my degree.”
TreDien said despite his mother’s busy lifestyle, he gets to see her every day. When the two hang out, TreDien said they usually sing, dance or watch a movie, with singing being his favorite activity. “I’m very proud of her,” TreDien said. “She has a good sense of humor. She loves joking and she loves to play.”
Rams Cheerleading
The first time Parker auditioned to become a cheerleader for the St. Louis Rams she didn’t make the squad. However, she enjoyed the audition enough to give it a second go, and made the team last year.
“I actually thought cheerleading was too girly, and I had some of the same stereotypical thoughts about cheerleaders that other people do until I started with the Rams,” Parker said.
Parker, who is the only mother on the squad, is in the midst of her second season of Rams cheerleading. Parker’s favorite part of Rams cheerleading is the community service work that she has had an opportunity to take part in. Earlier this year, Parker met with a group of girls and impacted their lives in a major way.
“I did a promotional appearance with some young ladies who were wanting to be cheerleaders,” Parker said. “I had just got braces. I was still a little apprehensive and shy about them. I met these young girls, they saw my braces and they felt better about having theirs. They were so excited to meet us, and they cried. I’m just thinking, ‘Don’t you know I’m just a normal person?’ I felt so encouraged to be able to have that type of an effect.”
Parker said as much as she loves cheering for the Rams on Sundays, she and every other member of the squad knows that life goes on after cheerleading ends.
Rams cheerleaders make $75 a game and $750 over the course of a regular season (two preseason games plus eight regular season games), so it’s a necessity for the cheerleaders to be either studying in college or working. Kelsey Baden, a Webster University junior and fellow Rams cheerleader, has cheered alongside Parker for the two years that both women have been on the squad.
Baden said about half of this year’s cheerleaders are college students and half are working part or full time. She added that money is not the draw for becoming a Rams cheerleader.
“I would personally cheer for free and I know a lot of girls would, because it’s more like a hobby that you’re getting paid for – it’s really not a part-time job,” Baden said. “I think we are the highestpaid per game and the lowest-paid per promotion (in the NFL). For as much work as we put in, people assume that you do get paid all of this money, when actually you have to have a full-time job or you have to be a full-time student.” Most members of the squad enjoy the opportunity to be a part of something significant.
“It is a very important time in our lives,” Parker said. “We dedicate a special few years to be a part of the organization, and you definitely grow from it.”
Law and Raising TreDien
After graduating from Webster, Parker attended St. Louis University School of Law for three years, graduating in 2007. She passed the Missouri bar exam and began working as an attorney at Missouri Public Defender System in April 2008.
Parker’s general practice area is criminal defense; she represents impoverished people who are accused of crimes in St. Louis.
“I always had a passion for public interest work,” Parker said. “I wanted to do that as opposed to working in a huge firm environment. I really wanted to have a personal relationship with my clients and be able to work in the community.” Parker said many of her clients are parents who don’t have homes, so they must maintain their families while dealing with legal issues. Although Parker is a lawyer who has trials and argues cases, a big part of what she does is counseling her clients.
TreDien started kindergarten about four months after Parker graduated from SLU. Parker became the co-chair of the parents’ organization at TreDien’s school and is on the board of trustees. Parker attributed much of what she knows about raising a child to her mother, Yolanda Parker, who raised Candace alone for most of Candace’s life.
“My mom can be a dad times three,” Candace Parker said. “Now that I’m a parent, I have no idea how she did it. She worked two jobs and I never heard her complain, I never saw her cry.”
Yolanda Parker said she didn’t want to use the divorce she had with her ex-husband as an excuse to not do a good job raising Candace. Yolanda got the divorce when Candace was four years old. “When I got my divorce, my lifestyle and my daughter’s lifestyle wasn’t going to change one bit,” Yolanda Parker said. “We weren’t going to live our lives any differently without a father and a husband.
I worked two jobs; I did what I had to do. I was determined to not let Candace grow up thinking, because she didn’t have a father, that she couldn’t still get a good education and couldn’t grow up and make something of herself.” In addition to continuing Rams cheerleading, Parker aspires to expand her law practice so that she is working on cases outside of criminal defense and to continue being a mother and role model for TreDien.
Candace Parker knows that the hardest parts of life can, on occasion, be the most beneficial.
“I’m proud of myself for sticking to it,” Candace Parker said. “I’m proud of myself for fighting to get it. There’s something to be said for someone who can fight hard, even when they feel like they’re fighting a losing battle. Maybe you don’t get the prize you wanted, but the lesson learned through the journey can be life-changing.”
