GET FIRED UP

Your Miss. State All-Girl Cheer Squad is comprised of 20 -28 young ladies who themselves come from a wide variety of backgrounds. They have all the same responsibilities of academics, promotions, practice and workouts as the Coed squad does but this squad does everything with only ladies. They didn’t just walk in and start cheering, they have worked for this opportunity most of their young lives. Let us introduce these ladies to you as the season goes along.

Anna Scholes is in many ways a leader of this squad. Coach Nichols depends on Anna to handle many duties for her including coordinating this series with us. Anna has been diligent in collecting information profiles from members of her squad for me. So I begin this series featuring Anna who everyone admires and respects.

Anna is from Germantown, TN and graduated from Houston High School. She is a senior majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing and Management. When she graduates in May she plans to return to the Memphis area where her family lives. There she plans to begin a career in event planning, management or marketing. I believe this young lady will advance rapidly in the business field because of the natural leadership skills she has already shown me.

Anna grew up competing in gymnastics and excelling at an early age. She had reached a level 7 as a gymnast by the time she entered the 7th grade. She knew her middle school had a very good cheer program that would help her to continue to grow in her skills in the sport of cheering, so she tried out and made the middle school cheer team. They cheered at the school’s games and also competed in different cheer competitions. Anna’s middle school cheer team advanced all the way to Nationals where they WON the National Finals at her level of Middle School Cheerleading. That is pretty awesome Anna!

Anna cheered for her high school through graduation but she wanted more so tried out and made the Miss. State All-Girl Cheerleader Squad. When I asked Anna how does she see her role on the squad she responded, “ I try to instill spirit in our squad by getting to know each girl for who they are, knowing they all have something unique to bring to MSU Cheerleading. Being able to share the experience of cheering for all MSU athletic sports with these groups of girls is something so special, and I try to make sure we do not forget that as a team. I promote Mississippi State to everyone not just because I cheer for the University, but because I genuinely love this school and the people that make up this place. So instilling spirit in the crowd at game day or in class isn’t something I have to think really hard about. It is just natural. I truly believe Mississippi State is the best school out there for so many reasons, so it is easy to spread that”.

Anna considers it a privilege and an honor to cheer for Miss. State. She credits her high school coach for teaching her all she knows and being the biggest influence in her life. She said “He pushed me and made me expect more from myself. Even when we butted heads I still knew he had my best interest at heart. I still go by his gym when I am home if I need some help making something better. I Truly believe he is one of the best cheer coaches in the business”.

I ask each of the girls what their favorite memory of cheering at State has been. You can just about predict what Anna’s is since she is a senior.

“My absolute favorite cheer memory at Mississippi State was cheering at the LSU game two years ago. That was the beginning of our number one season, and nobody knew how that year was going to turn out. I vividly remember so much from that night: the first touchdown we made, our defense holding LSU out of the end zone over and over and over again, Dak Prescott making some of his best plays in his college career. It all still feels so fresh. When it was obvious that we were going to win, a Mississippi State cameraman that was on the sidelines leaned over to some of us cheerleaders and said “We made Death Valley go dead silent”. It was true- the infamous Death Valley had LSU fans stunned by our performance. That night is a night I will never forget. I also got a picture with Dak on the field that night which was a plus.”

She also has a special memory directly connected to her sorority. “ At State, I am a part of the Chi Omega sorority. One of my favorite moments was winning Kappa Sig Charity bowl for Chi Omega. I was involved in the cheer competition part of it, and it was an absolute blast. We actually performed in Davis Wade, so not only have I gotten the honor of representing my University in there but also my sorority.”

In closing Anna said that attending State and cheering for her university will always be a special time in her heart. Anna, like all of us that fell in love with State as we grew up there said she will come back as often as she can to Starkville and Miss. State University. It is a tie or bond we will always feel.

Thanks Anna for the special young lady and ambassador you are!

You can follow Anna at : Instagram- @annascholes