Brittany Gordon, first-year law student

Brittany Gordon is a former Division I cheerleader. She attended this fall’s Registered Student Organizations Fair and asked Jessica Hempel whether graduate students could join the cheer squad. “Wait—you’ve cheered undergraduate?” Hempel responded. “Of course you can come!”

For how long have you been involved in cheerleading?

I was a gymnast and dancer throughout middle school. During my sophomore year of high school, I started cheerleading for my school and got into All-Star Cheerleading. Then I cheered at the University of Florida. Florida has football and basketball cheerleaders as well as a competitive squad—I was on the competitive team. We went to competitions like the Daytona Nationals. When I explain that to people, they always say, “Oh, like Bring it On.”

How have you used your prior experience to help bring the U of C cheer team to the next level?

I’ve brought some of the things we did at Florida to Chicago. For instance, I met with the U of C pep band director and got a list of game songs. This past season, I’d wait to hear a song begin, then I’d call out a dance that went with that song. Next year, I’d like to ask the band to shout down the name of an upcoming song so that we’ll be ready when they start playing.

What is it like to be the lone graduate student on the squad?

I love it. Some of my best friends from Chicago are girls on the team.