Heiry Pena, Social Media Editor
5 March, 2024
The Port Light conducted a student athlete spotlight interview with the three cheer captains this year, on a variety of topics such as their upcoming future plans and cheerleading. These three remarkable cheerleaders, Allegra Burke, Mayelin Gonzalez, and Allison Recinos are known well amongst their peers and teammates as hard workers who have demonstrated immense leadership skills and effort. They’ve shown dedicated commitment not only within sports but also their academics as well. So in this edition of the Port Light, we are shining the light on these three students.
What colleges are you considering? Do you have a major in mind?
Allegra: “I’d say SUNY Binghamton, Seton Hall University, University of Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and there’s a couple of more colleges I’m also considering.” “Biology with a potential minor in neuroscience. I am very interested in the medical field.”
Allison: “I like the University of New Haven, So I’ve been looking into the exercise science program there and I’ve been interested in physical therapy.”
Mayelin:” I’m going to be a nursing major, the colleges that I have are Siena, Suny Binghamton, Sacred Heart, Stony Brook, and the University of Buffalo. Those are my top that I’m thinking about attending.“
What sparked your interest in this major?
Allegra: “I had surgery when I was a young child and spent some time in the hospital, so being in that environment and getting to be around medical professionals a lot sparked my interest. Since my childhood, I have always known that I had a huge interest in science and biology.”
Allison: “After many hospital and doctor visits from injuries I got from cheer it made me want to kind of go into the sports medicine field and help other athletes that have endured an injury. I got to experience being the athlete who needed the treatment and help, now I’d like to experience what it’s like being the doctor helping an athlete.”
Mayelin: “I love the idea of helping people, I want to be a NICU nurse because I love working with children and helping children”
What’s one of your goals?
Allegra: “My goal is to achieve my career in the medical field, it’s been my dream my whole life. I just want to live a fun life while also working hard to reach my career goal.”
Allison: “I think my biggest goal as of right now is to figure out what I really want to major in and actually have a passion for that major so that I don’t suffer in school and once I do settle in that major I do plan on moving out of New York. I want to move to California and learn about life styles there compared to New York while possibly pursuing a career in physical therapy.”
Mayelin: “My main goal is to become a NICU nurse and work in the hospital. I would love to work in a hospital in Florida. That’s where I want to move. That’s my main goal.”
What classes do you enjoy the most?
Allegra: “I enjoyed IB Biology last year; Calculus, Chemistry, and Human Anatomy have also been some of my favorites. They are the classes that I find the most interesting, and I get to talk about stuff I like with like-minded people.”
Allison: “I really enjoyed Earth science, it was definitely something I really enjoyed because just learning more about the earth and stuff and getting deep into the more biological things of the world that’s really cool. Mrs. Aubry had a really big passion for it so I feel like that passion transferred to me and It’s really cool having a teacher that really enjoys what they are teaching.”
Mayelin: “I really loved Human anatomy, I am taking IB Bio I like it sometimes there are times I don’t. I loved Chemistry last year. It was my favorite subject and class I’ve taken, and I like English too.”
What hobbies do you enjoy?
Allegra: “I love EMS, I get to go on 911 calls with a professional crew. It is a very tough and rewarding field of medicine.”
Allison: “My favorite hobby when I’m not practicing or putting in some extra work on cheer, is probably also hanging out with my family. Specifically my uncle because he kind of like he’s at the age where he is trying to figure stuff out as well and what he wants to do with his life and I feel like I’m kind of at that stage and we kind of just relate to each other. We usually go on late-night drives for ice cream or food drives and have deep conversations usually ending in what I want to do in life or where I want to go to college. I really like having genuine conversations so yeah I would say that’s my favorite hobby.”
Mayelin: “I love reading, and watching shows. Sometimes I even watch anything with human anatomy related. I write sometimes about my emotions and thoughts when I do have the time. Other than that I spend my time at practice.”
What do you like about cheer?
Allegra: “The team aspect, and how it teaches you leadership, organization, and mentorship”
Allison: “I kind of relate to Mayelin when she says the life lessons that we learn. Our coach’s main goal was to teach us about cheer but also use those coaching skills to kind of help us learn what we want to do with our lives and what we want to do after high school. He kind of just gave us lessons every single day that will go on with us in our lives.”
Mayelin: “ What I love about cheer is the leadership skills that you learn as well as the coaches try to interpret life skills into cheer like being responsible and on time. You have to be able to manage your time on and off cheer like with your class and learning the movements and motions and taking the time to learn that so you don’t feel lost during practices. Also the friendships that we make throughout the years everybody becomes like a family.”
What got you interested in Cheerleading?
Allegra: “I did gymnastics my whole life, and when I stopped, I wanted to find a sport that was similar but I also liked the team aspect of cheer, since gymnastics was an individual sport.”
Allison: “Honestly it was my cousin, Samantha, because 7th grade was when we were able to pick a sport we wanted to do. She had already been doing cheers for two years now so she kind of just threw the idea out there to try it. So I decided why not because it was better to try it than being unproductive. At first, I was just doing it to have something to do. What really got me into it was stunting because it’s more than just stunting you’re kind of working with three other people to achieve something that we had been working on for months. So what really drew me in was the teamwork.”
Mayelin: “I became interested in cheer during middle school, my 8th grade year, just the fact that I loved dancing and cheer interpreted that in a way. I did end up loving the stunting part of it more than the dance because it shows that cheer isn’t just pom poms and just cheering. We put a lot of strength into it and more mental strength so it definitely showed a whole side of cheer that I loved when I joined the team.”
Did you ever consider quitting?
Allegra: “Yes I have, Just because I was so busy and I had so many extracurricular activities and a lot to handle at once, but I just kept working hard and time managing it all that I was able to juggle it all.”
Allison: “I’ve definitely thought about quitting but always in a joking way, because at the end of the day I’ve been doing cheer for so long that if I wasn’t going to practice I would be like this is so weird I should be practicing to cheer with my team. I’ve never thought about seriously quitting, it was just more so complaining, I always knew that I never wanted to quit because it was something I was so used to doing and it was basically my entire life.”
Mayelin: “Well yeah, I feel like a lot of athletes when stuff gets hard you get tired and burnt out and you want to quit. You never really do because you love what you’re doing so you just kind of have to remind yourself why you’re here and why you love what you’re doing.”
Are you considering pursuing a career in it or just for recreational purposes?
Allegra: “It’s just for recreational purposes, I want to focus on academics and my career in life which is a physician’s assistant.”
Allison: “It’s just for recreational purposes because the 6 years that I’ve devoted my life to doing cheer for it gets tiring. At first, I did think of going to college and being a cheerleader. I realized it’s a lot sweeter and better to have senior ceremonies and have the sweet last moments with everyone.”
Mayelin: “I am not thinking of continuing this throughout college. I feel like my career choice is very hard and demanding, I’m very adamant about pursuing a career in nursing.”
Do you think it’s something you’d continue to do in college?
Allegra: “Yes maybe as a club sport but not as a competitive level that I’m currently doing right now.”
Allison: “I’ve thought about it but just now I’m kind of burnt out from it.”
Mayelin: “No, I’m not going to continue this in college. I feel like my major is very demanding and I want all my attention on it. I am going to miss cheer and the connections I’ve made but I am very happy and lucky that I was able to be part of this team all four years of high school.”
How did you feel about making it to nationals?
Allegra: “I was very excited for the team, we worked very hard on both of our routines so it was quite rewarding.”
Allison: “It was really relieving because every single year I’ve been on varsity, I’d put myself in the senior’s shoes and be like thank god we got to go to nationals their senior year. Now being a senior and going to nationals it feels like I’ve done my part to achieve that. At regionals, it was very rocky, and we were unsure of if we were going to. It’s probably the best part about cheer, going on a little business trip with your teammates, and showing off a routine that you’ve been working on for months.”
Mayelin: “This was my third year going to nationals. This year was different because it felt bittersweet. I know it was my last time and I worked hard because it was my last year and I wanted to make sure we did better than the year before. I was just happy to be there with my team and knowing that we all wanted to be there for the same reason and I didn’t care what we placed I was just happy to be around my teammates.”
How did you feel about the overall season this year?
Allegra: “It was definitely a success, my favorite season so far, I’ve never had a bond with the team as close. Although it was definitely stressful, the hard work paid off in the end and I am so proud of everybody on the team.”
Allison: “In all honesty, it was stressful, because as a senior you really want to make sure you do everything with as much passion as possible, but it’s also scary knowing that at local competitions if something were to go wrong. Now I’m gonna look back at this and know wow I could’ve done more, every single moment good or bad is what makes the season unique, so I’d pretty much say yeah this season was unique.”
Mayelin: “I felt like overall everybody was closer this year than any other year, we were more like a family than just teammates. We all had a close connection with each other. I felt like I had brothers and sisters and we were more than just teammates.”
How did you feel about the team this year?
Allegra: “They are like my second family, I love all of them. They are very hard workers and we wouldn’t have gotten to where we are without their work ethic.”
Allison: “I’d say our team this year has had a bond that I haven’t experienced with any other team in my previous years. It’s really nice to know that once I leave there’s a team full of boys and girls that are willing to work hard to achieve so much because they are really hard working.”
Mayelin: “I agree with Allegra, there are a lot of good people on our team who are respectful and nice, our team is full of hilarious people as well but we always know when to turn it off, I’ve never seen people work so hard for a goal, we all knew what we wanted to do we all knew where we wanted to go. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend it with any other team for my last year.”
How do you feel about your fellow captains?
Allegra: “They are great people to work with, it’s a stressful position and it was great to work with them. It was reassuring to know that I was working alongside people who I had been friends with for years and knew I could trust.”
Allison: “It was honestly really good to be able to be co-captain with people I’ve been friends with throughout high school. It made things a lot easier to communicate with each other instead of just someone that I’ve been on the team with. So it was really good to have those friends on and off the mat.”
Mayelin: “I love them, they are like my best friends. We are always constantly together on and off the mat. We just hold such a close connection that it was so easy to work with them, and if we ever had a disagreement, it wasn’t a big issue because we knew how to communicate with each other, and I wouldn’t have wanted to share this leadership position with anyone else.”
How do you feel about it being your final year as a Cheerleader in PCHS?
Allegra: “It’s definitely sad knowing that it was the last time competing with some of my best friends, but I’m ready to move on to the next chapter of my life.”
Allison: “Honestly it came a lot sooner than I expected because I remember just being on JV in freshman year and being like oh I have so much more time. Honestly, I feel like I’ve time traveled or something because it came so quickly. I’m just so grateful that this year was full of people who really did put their all into our routine and our practices and just everything in general. It’s great to have been on a team with people who have been willing to put in a lot of work. If I were on a team with people who didn’t put in a lot of work my senior year, I would’ve felt disrespected.”
Mayelin: “It’s bittersweet. I honestly knew that last year I couldn’t wait to be done. I feel like everybody was like that during high school but now, I wish I could come back and do it all over again. I still feel unfinished but I know that the team is going to continue doing great with all of the rest of the girls and boys on the team and I know that their hard work and determination will take them to do bigger and better things.”
Advice for PCHS students?
Allegra: “Get involved and take the opportunities that you are given, work hard.”
Allison: “The biggest aspect of high school is time management, at the end of the day it’s the choices that you make that define how your experience goes.”
Mayelin: “I honestly think that as students going here, enjoy every moment. I know a lot of people tell you that it goes by fast and you have to enjoy it and I didn’t believe it but it is true. One second you’re a freshman and then you blink and all of a sudden you’re a senior with a couple months left until graduation. Cherish the moments you make and the friendships you have and you end up making in these four years.”
Advice for PCHS athletes?
Allegra: “Keep pushing towards your goals even when times are tough.”
Allison: “It’s very important to have a really good balance between being an athlete and a student because if you’re not doing so good in school, not only are your grades not so good but you could also lose your spot on your team because at the end of the day you’re a student before an athlete.”
Mayelin: “For athletes that go to Port Chester High School always practice like it’s your last game. I know for cheerleaders we do a lot of comps every single time we go on that mat and put 100% on that mat because you never know when your next competition is gonna be. I don’t know how it is for other sports but make sure that you cherish every moment you’re on that team with your teammates because you never know when it’s going to stop.”
What Legacy do you hope to leave behind?
Allegra: “At nationals we all wrote letters to each other, and many of the girls said that they look up to me and I inspire them. So I hope to leave behind a legacy that inspires girls to push to be the best they can be.
Allison: “The legacy I want to leave behind on my team is making sure people know when to switch on and off from being serious and putting 100% into what you’re doing to having goofy moments, but practices are to improve so you don’t want to be wasting time laughing or goofing around when coach has a goal for the team.”
Mayelin: “During nationals, we have started a new tradition where other teammates write letters about you and how much they are gonna miss you. A lot of them said I have always been an easy person to talk to and become close to. So I would love to keep the family that I’ve made and hopefully, after I graduate it continues and everybody stays close.”
Allison, Allegra, and Mayelin overall have similar interests in helping people in different ways. This could be said about the way in which they helped lead their team into going to nationals. Each of their responses show what interests them outside of cheerleading but they also show how much they care about their team. Through the advice they each give on sports, it is crucial to put effort into the sport you’re playing as this will help in you being better. These seniors will leave a sense of leadership and a sense of motivation for their teammates.