Pop Quiz! Caroline Wooten- North Davidson High School

When anyone asks me what I like best about covering prep sports so far, I have an easy answer: I'm constantly reminded that our community is filled with bright kids who are into much more than video games and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

In fact, later today I will be creating a separate page strictly to display this season's Pop Quiz! participants.  I would encourage all visitors to this blog to read through each profile, even if it is about a student at a rival school. Each student's answers have been impressive in his or her own way, and this week's entrant is no different.

This past weekend, I got an unsolicited email in my inbox that said the following:

"Hello, my name is Caroline Wooten, and I am a varsity cheerleader at North Davidson High School. I just wanted to thank you for featuring North Davidson on your blog for the past two weeks! We're having a very good season, so I hope you drop by another game soon! Your blog is great and I'll make sure to tell everyone about it! Keep up the good work and have a great day!"

What?

I was shocked and moved at the same time.  I immediately asked Caroline if she wanted to participate in our Pop Quiz! and she readily accepted.  To my ultimate delight, Caroline fits right in with all of our other participants this year...but I'll let her tell you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Caroline Wooten!

1)     Identify yourself! Name, school, age and class please!

Caroline Wooten, North Davidson High School, Junior (2014)!

2)     What is your claim to fame? What do you do? (Sports, clubs, class offices, etc.)

I've been a Varsity cheerleader since freshman year. Additionally, this is my third year as a member of the Student Council: I currently hold the office of Executive Council (Student Body) Treasurer. I am a member of the North Davidson spirit club, Brutal Black, and last year I was inducted into the math honors society, Mu Alpha Theta. Outside of school I participate in competitive cheer.

3)     I spent the last two years watching my step-daughter cheer, so I’m aware of the work that goes into, and the time demands.  I can only imagine that it’s double at a school with an athletic program like North Davidson.

As you said, North Davidson has an amazing sports program (number one in the state according to SI.com), so our cheer team is held at a very high standard by our school, fans, and especially our principal, Mrs. Lipe. We practice multiple times a week perfecting our cheers and creating new and exciting stunts in order to meet our fans' expectations! We make sure to have two new stunts each week to ensure the fans don't get bored (which with a football team like ours, getting bored isn't very easy)! We love keeping the fans entertained every Friday Night!

4)     While we’re on the subject…y’all take your football seriously.  I know it sounds like Friday Night Lights, but is North one of those schools where you grow up dreaming of being a cheerleader, player, band member, homecoming queen, etc.?

I'd definitely say North is one of those schools! Being located in a small town, it's expected. As a little girl I went to the games to watch the cheerleaders, and I knew I wanted to be one of them! Now that I actually am "one of them," I see little girls looking at me the same way I looked at the cheerleaders years ago. The same goes for the football players. As I'm sure you saw last Friday at the game, the local elementary school football players got to run out on the field with our Black Knight players. I'm positive that every one of those boys wants to grow up to be a Black Knight football player. I've even seen little boys ask certain football players for their autographs! The football players truly are celebrities to the little boys!

5)     This is important:  One Direction or Justin Bieber?  

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of either! However, if either decides to pursue a career in country music, I might reconsider!

6)     Apart from the awesome spectacle that is a Football Friday in Welcome, what makes North Davidson High School a special place to you?

On a personal level, North Davidson is special to me because my dad also went to North, so it's fun being able to share stories about "then and now" with him! On a less personal level, I think North is special to everyone because of the great people that make the school what it is. The students, teachers, and faculty are all so great, and it's a truly great community atmosphere that I wouldn't trade for anything!

7)     The “Pink-Out” on Community Night last week was cool (I wore a pink shirt in the press box, thanks to the students who gave me a “heads-up” at the Tabor game).  Do you know in advance what the themes are for your student section, or are you surprised every week?

 The "Pink-Out" was so fun and it was nice to see everyone supporting a great cause! As for the other theme nights, they're usually planned out ahead of time, so I typically know the themes each week! The Student Section chooses the themes for each football game. If we make it far in the playoffs (which I'm hoping we will), there will be many more theme nights to come!

8)     What are your plans after high school? (College, professional ambition, etc.)

This is a tough-y. My college plans change LITERALLY every week. Right now, my plan is to go to a prestigious 4-year university to pursue a pre-med path. After completing undergrad, I hope to go to Medical School to pursue a career as a Radiologist. Of course if all that works out, I will have many years of residency following graduation from Med School. If that doesn't work out, I plan to be a housewife. Ha-ha just kidding. Kind of.

9)     If you weren’t a Varsity Cheerleader, what sport or activity would you choose?

I have always been interested in learning how to golf or play tennis. I would definitely choose one of these sports (or both)!

10)  If you read our first Pop Quiz, you know that I’m a firm believer that cheerleading is a sport.  What do you think is the biggest misconception about cheerleading?

I think the biggest misconception about cheerleading is that it's just "pom-poms and high kicks." While we do still love both of those things, cheerleading has evolved over the years. Now that we have tumbling, stunting, and jumping, we have to practice hard to perfect our skills and learn new skills. The best thing about cheerleading is that you never stop learning new skills! I challenge anyone who thinks cheerleading is just about "pom-poms and high kicks" to attend a cheerleading competition. There's no doubt in my mind that within 15 minutes of being there, their view of cheerleading will change.

Go Black Knights!

And another successful installment of our Pop Quiz! is in the history books!  Thanks to Caroline for her participation and her thoughtful note of encouragement to this blog.  If you want to participate in the Pop Quiz or know someone who should, please drop me a line at finallyfriday@outlook.com!