Mayowa Odele is a sophomore at DVHS, and this is her fifth month doing cheer. While she’s fairly new to the world of cheerleading, she has a strong background in sports and performing arts. 

“I did tap dance when I was three or four,” Odele said. “I also did a couple of other dances, like hip-hop, lyrical and contemporary.” 

This background in performing arts led her to consider joining cheer in DVHSwith her friends. She states that the cheer flyer at DVHS caught her eye, and next thing she knew, she was sporting pom-poms and leotards.

She also says that cheer has taught her a lot of things that she uses in her daily life, mainly teamwork.

“You really have to work together. You guys can’t be doing your own thing. You have to really rely on other people,” Odele said.

 This sense of camaraderie leads to a lot of blossoming friendships, some of which Odele is very blessed to have.

“ I actually have [made a lot of cheer friends], they’re actually really nice people.” 

The cheer team did a lot of bonding over the summer, especially at the camp most of the cheerleaders attended, which has paid dividends in terms of improving synergy and team morale.

Going forward, Odele says that she’d like to continue her high school cheer career, but she’s on the fence about doing cheer  in college. 

Odele said, “I definitely think I want to [cheer for]  the rest of high school. I don’t think I would make it if I did it in college.”

Regardless of her decision in the future, she’s adamant about continuing at DVHS and working closely with her cheer peers to succeed, proclaiming, “The rest of high school is something I want to cheer for.”