Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Passing On Pom Poms
TIGER CHEERLEADER GOES TO NEXT LEVEL
PRAIRIE GROVE — The disappointment of not making the varsity cheer squad her senior year hasn’t kept Prairie Grove senior Grace Smith from pursuing her dream.
In March, Grace signed a national letter of intent to cheer for John Brown University, of Siloam Springs, a springboard toward earning a degree in graphics design.
“I wanted to continue doing what I love to do,” Grace said. “Since John Brown ( University) has a good graphics design program and they just also happen to have cheer, I decided I’ll try out and I made it.”
Little Girl Dreams
Ever since she was a little girl Grace has longed to lead the cheers during sporting events and athletic competitions. She began when she was in first and second grade.
“Ever since I’ve done little kiddie camps for cheer I’ve just loved it,” Grace said.
Grace was a cheerleader from fourth through sixth grades. She grew up in the Fort Smith/Greenwood area until she was in sixth grade when the family moved back to the Fayetteville area. Grace’s aunt Maranda Wilson was a cheerleader at Huntsville High School graduating in 2003, and Grace took advantage of every opportunity to watch Wilson cheer. Wilson knew her niece was thinking of the day when she would step into the spotlight leading the cheers.
“I went to all of her games when she was in high school,” Grace said. “When she was done, she gave me her poms as an inspiration.”
Disappointing Cut
Informed she hadn’t made the cut after tryouts in the spring of her junior year at Prairie Grove was disappointing but not devastating for Grace, who, along with this year’s cheer captain, classmate Brittany Brazell, and 2016 graduate Sydney Williams, accompanied the Prairie Grove varsity football team on a December trip to War Memorial Stadium at Little Rock when the Tigers played for the 2015 4A football state championship.
Grace’s parents, Neal and Michele Smith, of Prairie Grove, told their daughter not to give up in the face of disappointment.
“My parents, they always give me words of encouragement,” Grace said. “They just told me to keep trying, never give up, especially when you love something so much.”
Making JBU’s Roster
“Moving to Prairie Grove my tenth- grade year I wanted to do cheer,” Grace said. “I loved making it my junior year, it was a great experience. Getting cut, it was hard cause you want to be a part of something your senior year, but I felt like I got to enjoy my senior year. Since try- outs for college were coming I was ready and it was just a confirmation that hard work does pay off.”
Grace tried out in January for the 2017-2018 JBU cheer squad. In mid-February, she received word she had made the team.
“I was really excited,” Grace said. “I had actually had surgery a few days before. I was on medicine, so I was a little loopy when I found out, but I was pretty excited. It just proves when you love something so much, you don’t let one thing stop you, you just continue to reach for more.”
Giving Back
Along the way, Grace has been giving back, coaching Prairie Grove’s fourthgrade pee wee cheerleaders, including her younger sister, Kylea, 10, who is currently in fourth grade.
The day Grace celebrated receiving a cheerleading scholarship from JBU, her family, including her parents and grandparents, Roy and Marylin Wilson, plus Marcos Gutierrez, admissions counselor for JBU, joined her.
Williams, now attending the University of Arkansas, is thrilled for Grace.
“I’m really proud of her for getting the cheer scholarship,” Williams said. “I’d like to come see her cheer sometime at JBU. I miss not being able to see her as much as we used to. I hope she enjoys what’s she’s been given with this opportunity.”