Jessica Hempel, Class of 2009

Jessica Hempel is a former dancer who joined the cheer squad in the fall of 2005. Now a seasoned veteran, Hempel is the team’s lone fourth-year.

How do you and your teammates benefit from being on the cheer team?

At Chicago you spend so much time doing schoolwork, and that’s really important, but being on a team helps you develop loyalty and responsibility—especially for first-year students. Cheering is a pretty big commitment, especially when you consider the Friday and weekend games.

During the men’s basketball game against Brandeis you guys did a great dance routine to The Final Countdown. It was toward the end of the game…

The one where we step to the front, then step to the back, and repeat that over and over? Right, that was our grapevine!

As a graduating senior, what are your hopes for the team in the years ahead?

Honestly, every year that I’ve been on the team, we’ve gotten better. My first year, no one had done a stunt before, and the furthest we got was lifting the flyers to shoulder level. So I just hope that the team keeps improving.