The two seemingly distinct worlds collide in the anomaly known as the Georgetown cheerleader. Girls who practice up at Yates for six to eight hours a week, who show the same academic intensity of the other future leaders on the Hilltop, but who also show the spirit of those stereotypical loud-mouth girls of “Bring It On” fame.

Several Georgetown cheerleaders boast that “umm . shopping?” is one of their favorite extracurriculars, and if you’re wondering if they’ve got spirit. Well, yes they do. But there’s a lot more to these pom-pom bearers than pep.

Making the Squad

Waiting for practice to begin, the girls are sitting outside the large dance room at Yates, their hair tied back with ribbons, chatting with each other and smiling while they stretch. There is not an apathetic girl on the squad – even when they’re not cheering. The squad is close-knit, with many of the upper-class cheerleaders choosing to be roommates this year.

Seventh-year cheerleading coach Samantha Hunter interviews every candidate before try-outs to see if her personality fits with the squad.

“I like to see who’s meshing with the other girls,” Hunter says. “We want to have a good mix on the team.”

Co-Captain Genny Obregon (COL ’07) describes her experience on the squad as “challenging.” She explained that being able to work with the other cheerleaders enough to perform as a single unit is not as effortless as it looks on the field. “It’s not just `rah, rah,’ like most people think,” she explains. “Learning to cooperate with other people is not that easy.”

Most of the girls have experience cheerleading in high school and others have even more impressive backgrounds. Obregon spends her summers coaching for the National Cheerleading Association in Texas. Lauryn Stevens (COL ’08) was a cheerleader in her hometown’s Police Athletic League and was on a competitive All Stars team shortly thereafter. For these Hoyas, cheerleading is more than just a pastime.

Beyond Cheerleading

Aside from the three days a week they spend practicing, the cheerleaders are involved around campus – beyond shopping – just like any other typical Hoya.

Co-Captain Grace Lee (SFS ’07) spent the last few months preparing for last weekend’s LSATs, has interned at CNN and now works at a law firm. Agnes Usoro (NHS ’09) and Megan Vetula (COL ’07) also plan to attend law school and are members of the pre-law fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta. It would be a mistake to associate these cheerleaders with their stereotypical counterparts in movies like “Bring It On.”

In fact, many of the cheerleaders are also performers in other groups. Some are involved in ethnic clubs like Obregon who is a member of the dance group Ballet Folklorico Mexicano. She performs Latino-style dances for events like Dance D.C. and the Latino Welcome Dinner. Jennifer Hanson (COL ’07) and Vetula have been dancers in Rangila, the annual South Asian Society event.

Several of the girls participated in other sports before making the commitment to cheerleading: basketball, volleyball, softball, lacrosse and track.

Not Just for Girls

This year, Georgetown students may see something unexpected during their next half-time show. Eric Cusimano (SFS ’10) just joined the squad as its first male cheerleader in five years.

“It’s the aspect of the crowd, not the cheery part that I like,” Cusimano explains. “It’s inspiring how we get thousands of people to do the same thing at one point . it’s really impressive.”

Coming from an all-boys Catholic high school in New Orleans, La. with a shortage of male cheerleaders, Cusimano joined his high school squad during the basketball season of his senior year “to make sure the program survived.” He spent the first three years of his high school career as a football player.

A Blue and Gray tour guide and a member of Hoya Blue, Cusimano shows an impressive level of pride in his school. “It irritates me how no one goes to football games,” he says.

Although he confessed that many people thought he was bluffing about joining the squad, he and Hunter share the hope that his role with the cheerleaders will help recruit more male students to the team.

No current cheerleader has been on the Georgetown squad with a male student before, and Hunter admits that this adds a different dimension and a change in dynamics.

“The mechanics are different – stunts may go higher and things like that,” Hunter says. Cusimano will not be a part of the dance routines but must learn the motions of the cheers, the words and, of course, the stunts. He is assigned to lift Stevens, who has had experience with male cheerleaders on her PAL squad.

“When guys cheer, it’s because their team is doing well,” Hunter says. “Georgetown basketball kind of leveled off before, but now it’s peaking again. Hopefully, now more guys will try out.”

Georgetown cheerleaders, shopping aside, are what they’re names imply: they lead the cheers. These are Georgetown students with a genuine love for pumping up the crowd.

“I love being able to stand center court in Madison Square Garden and the Metrodome and Verizon Center,” Hanson says enthusiastically. “Even if I weren’t a cheerleader, I’d be watching anyway.”