Brendan Cruz is living out his cheerleading dreams at what
some might consider an unlikely location – Salt Lake Community College.
Cruz, 19, was born and raised in West Valley City. He didn’t
cheer in high school but would occasionally do cheer stunts with friends. He
tried out for and made a competitive cheer team with a private cheer facility,
but it quickly became too expensive for him to participate and he had to quit.
Cruz, second from left, and the squad on photo day.
Finances would again alter Cruz’s path when he went looking
for colleges. He wanted to start at a four-year school, but it cost too much.
SLCC became his best option. “Now that I’m going on my second year at SLCC, I
have realized that it has been a huge blessing in disguise,” Cruz says. “It has
treated me so well, and I’m happy to go here.”
Cruz currently works at an Intermountain WorkMed clinic and
is getting his general education requirements out of the way at SLCC before
transferring to a four-year institution. His goal is to someday work as an
anesthesiologist, a CRNA or a nurse anesthetist, maybe in an operating room
where his uniform will be hospital scrubs. These days when he’s at an SLCC
game, he dons his cheer uniform – blue pants and a blue shirt with SLCC in big
gold letters.
An early incarnation of this year's SLCC cheer squad at the annual Bruin Bash.
Cheerleading has had an on-again, off-again presence at SLCC
over the years. SLCC sports teams have been without cheerleaders for the past
few years. Some students among the 60,000 who are trained and educated at
SLCC’s many locations each year are surprised to learn that the college has
sports teams, let alone a cheerleading squad. “When I had an opportunity this
year to cheer on a team, I couldn’t let that opportunity slide,” Cruz says. “I
knew this could be my last chance to cheer.”
Husband-and-wife coaches Ulbby and Reginald Dyson earlier
this semester held two days of tryouts, which included learning new stunts,
dances, cheers and tumbling maneuvers. Many tried out, cuts were made, and Cruz
is now one of four men and eight women who comprise the newly revived SLCC
cheer team.
Cruz, far left, and the rest of the squad's male cheerleaders.
There are no scholarships for members of the cheer team (as
in the past), and participation is self-funded by the SLCC students. Uniforms
alone cost $300. There is no school-funded budget, so, the team won’t be taking
part in competitions or traveling out of state in the early going. Their main
presence will be at some SLCC home games and events taking place on the
Taylorsville Redwood Campus.
“I love the amazing stunts and bonds created within the
cheer family,” Cruz says. In a way, the risky stunts that require lots of trust
between cheerleaders strengthens those bonds. “Cheer is a dangerous sport and
takes a lot of hard work, just like any other sport.”
Cruz says he plans to cheer for SLCC as long as he’s a
Bruin, and then hopes to cheer at a university.
SLCC Cheer poses for a holiday photo.