By Derrick Smith

Emily Slingerland is a senior at Summit Christian Academy. Cheering has been a part of her life for about as long as she can remember. She started at the age of three years old and she is currently a base in stunting on the Summit cheer team. 

Throughout her years of cheering, Slingerland has worked hard to continue to progress and grow both as a cheerleader and as a person. She says that it takes a lot to become your best.

“It has taken drive, determination, and diligence for me to be successful,” she said. “I had to put time and effort in to get where I am now. I work on routines every night and perfect my motions so that I can perform to the best of my ability. To improve my jumps, I worked on stretching and jumping on my trampoline in my backyard every day.”

Emily has had a lot of amazing experiences throughout her years of cheer, but she says that there is one accomplishment that stands out as her favorite. 

“The highlight moment of my cheerleading career was at the 2021 UCA cheer camp when I made All-American,” she stated. “I practiced so hard for it, and I was happy to see that it paid off. I had always wanted to make it, so this was a dream come true for me.”

While she has had some great coaches and teammates along the way that have helped her become the cheerleader that she is. But she says that there are two other people that have been huge influences on her life. 

“My parents have made the biggest impact on my life,” she said. “We are a very close family and they have taught me many life lessons. They encourage me to follow my dreams and support me in whatever I am doing. They have come to all of my cheerleading events since I was a toddler, and they cheer me on the whole time.”

Slingerland is also a member of the National Honor Society.