We found out what Alumni Cheerleaders member and former Philadelphia 76ers cheerleader, Darlene Cavalier, is doing and asked how cheerleading and dancing changed and influenced her life.
Darlene: Dancing every weekday after school provided me with a glimpse into “what could be“. I spent a lot of time with my instructor who understood the challenges my single mom faced raising four kids in a low-income community. I wouldn’t change my life experiences one bit but I certainly recognized at an early age that I had two options: reach beyond my grasp and probably fail, or become a victim of my circumstances and settle for status quo. My family supported my interest in dance (ballet, tap and jazz) and, along with my “new dad,” uncles and aunts sat through every one of my endless dance recitals. At a young age, I was performing duets with my instructor (my mentor who would later die of breast cancer on her 40th birthday) and winning competitions and awards such as “Ms. Sunshine!”, despite the fact I was quiet and shy (still not convinced I was entitled to any of this). Eventually, I gained more confidence in high school and went on to earn the distinction of “most talented” and something like “best personality”. I never considered myself “pretty” but I did believe I could tackle the world, one move at a time. I’ll spare you the long version. In short, dancing, followed by cheerleading at Temple, back to dancing for the 76ers absolutely built my confidence, kept me in shape, got me into the hottest clubs 😉 and of course introduced me to nontraditional connections. Wouldn’t be the Science Cheerleader without dance and cheerleading!
After a couple of exciting years in the 90’s sharing the spotlight with Sir Charles Barkley, Darlene retired the pom poms, as “serious” work was calling. Darlene is the founder of ScienceCheerleader.com that promotes the citizens involvement in science and science-related policy. In addition, she is developing a major multi-functional Web site called ScienceForCitizens.net. The former 76ers Cheerleaders was always interested in science and holds a Masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied the role of the citizen in science. Darlene is a writer and senior advisor to Discover Magazine, on the Steering Committee for Science Debate and organizing an effort to restore the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, with citizen involvement. To add to her list of accomplishments, she has held executive positions at Walt Disney Publishing and worked at Discover Magazine for more than a decade. She was the principal investigator of a $1.5 million National Science Foundation grant applied to promote basic research through partnerships with Disney and ABC TV. Currently, she and her husband live in Philadelphia with their four young children.
Check out Darlene’s site www.sciencecheerleader.com and get a brain makeover!!
Alumni Cheerleaders 