Valedictorian by day, captain by Knight

When the cheer season begins early August, the cheerleaders are practicing their stunts and ensuring their routines are perfected for game days. For senior captain Hannah Van Houten, the Class of 2024 valedictorian, that means planning practices in the morning and practicing in the afternoon, all while balancing her heavy coursework.

One of the biggest factors that initially drew Van Houten to the cheer team at McCallum was the fact that freshmen could be on the team.

“For many other schools you have to wait till sophomore or junior year to try out, so that was a big factor for me,” she said.

Many of the members on the cheer team initially tried out to cheer for their school and knew that it was a great opportunity to make friends and become close with their teammates.

“

I just have to be on top of my time management because during football season cheer takes up a good chunk of my time.

— senior Hannah VanHouten

“When I tried out for cheer, I made a bunch of new friends,” Van Houten said, “so I think it was good, you know, and a lot of my core friends came from cheer.”

Van Houten has juggling both academic and extracurricular aspects of her life down to a T.

“It’s not too bad,” Van Houten said. “I just have to be on top of my time management because during football season cheer takes up a good chunk of my time.”

She first heard she was ranked first in her class shortly after winter break during her junior year and was surprised because she wasn’t expecting her rank to shift around despite all the work she had done.

“I was both excited and proud that my hard work had paid off,” she said, “but it is definitely a little difficult at times.”

Close friend Sarah Hauck attributes Van Houten’s achievements to the fact that she is always on top of her schoolwork and very prepared.

“I have known her since sophomore year and she is very studious,” Hauck said. “She is always going to put 100% into all of her assignments and help out other people that need it. It is definitely something she prioritizes.”

“

[Hannah] is always going to put 100% into all of her assignments and help out other people that need it.

— senior Sarah Hauck

Van Houten works hard to create a balance between her academics and athletics so that she doesn’t burn out on either priority.

“It is definitely a little difficult at times,” VanHouten said, “but I am pretty good at managing my work so that I have time for all of my commitments.”

During football season, the cheerleaders have to be at every single game and have after-school practice often, so completing school work to maximize her free time is essential.

“During basketball season, our schedule lightens up a bit, so balancing cheer and school becomes a little easier,” she said.

Doubling up in the spring season, Van Houten has run track freshman through junior year and notes the time commitment it requires.

“Track practice is early in the morning, so I got less sleep and didn’t ever have time to do any school work in the mornings, which was difficult on some weeks,” she said. “Most of the time, I would just check with my teachers ahead of time to see what work I would be missing on track meet days so I could not get behind in my classes.”

First year and newly appointed head cheer coach Sydney Schriever hasn’t been a part of the team for very long, but was interested to be a part of the program.

“

Hannah is super organized, so she’s very good about making sure we’re on time for what we’re doing.

— cheer coach Sydney Schriever

“Originally I wanted to help Mr. Klein because he was in charge of it and it was a lot to deal with by yourself, so I agreed to help,” she said. “Right now I am trying to learn as much as I can about cheer so I can be a useful coach and not just a warm body in the room making sure that they don’t get hurt.”

As caption, Van Houten has been very helpful to first-year cheerleading coach Sydney Schriever.

“Hannah is super organized, so she’s very good about making sure we’re on time for what we’re doing,” Schriever said. “She’s pretty good at cleaning up dances and giving back critique in a way that is heard by her peers in a productive way.”

Van Houten’s friends and coaches believe her to be an important part of the school.

“Overall, I think she just has her priorities straight,” Hauck said. “She puts her friends and school and just cheer first and that just makes her a really great person.”