Marisa Roath has been a part of the MIA cheer team since her junior year. She was looking for a new sport to get involved in at school, so she chose cheer. During games, Marisa was always supporting the players and her fellow cheerleaders, making a huge impact on the team. In college, she is aiming to major in psychology so she can work with kids with autism and down syndrome in the future. “Being on the cheer team has made me a more social person and kept me more involved with the school,” said Marisa. “The team always had a good family atmosphere.”  Her favorite part of being on the team was getting to try new stunts and doing new activities.  

Jenna Palumbo has been involved in many sports her entire life, including cheer. She has been doing competitive cheer for seven years, and that experience led her into doing it during high school. “I missed tumbling and stunting and the aspect of being on a team,” she explained. Jenna is planning on going to FSU for college and is aiming to major in criminology. Being on the cheer team has taught her to have a positive outlook on any situation, big or small. Her favorite memory of being on the team was going to the cheer camp over the summer, and she said that “it taught us a lot of new material and we did harder stuff than we did previous years on the team.”

Prestley Irvan had always wanted to cheer in middle school but never found the time. When entering high school, she finally decided to join the team and do something different. She says that the MIA cheer team helped her create family bonds and branch out to try new things. Prestley wanted to make cheer a part of her high school experience because it was something she had never done before. Her favorite part of being on the team was getting together to perform the halftime routine during football season. “It took a lot of hard work to put it together but overall it turned out really fun,” she said. After high school, she wants to study hospitality and/or tourism and include some theatre into her college experience too. She is planning on spending two years at FSW and possibly transferring to UCF to complete her college education. 

Katie Portu has been cheering for a big portion of her life. It all started with the Marco Magic competitive cheer team when she was younger. She spent four years on that team, and then picked up sideline cheer in middle school. This all led her to join the MIA cheer team her sophomore year and go into her senior year. Katie’s favorite memory of being on the team was going to the University of Miami this past summer for Cheer Camp. “Being able to get closer with all the girls and making a ton of hilarious and sore memories was the highlight of my trip,” she explained. Her plans for after high school are to continue education at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. She plans to double major in Marine Biology and Environmental Science and join the equestrian team at FSC.