Dance began for me at age 2 1/2 when the Easter Bunny brought a pair of “play” tap shoes and I began to question when my “dance school” started. What perfect timing when Miss Michelle decided to open a local studio that next fall! Little did I realize that dance would be the center orbit of my childhood and would help form the adult I have become.
As a junior high student, I began taking lyrical and pointe with Jenny Baxley-Gutierrez at The Dance Studio in Onalaska. By committing myself to dance twice a week for almost 15 years, I gained lifelong best friends, a mentor who loves me and taught me so much more than just “shuffle step”, and lessons in tenacity, responsibility, and organization. Who knew something as simple as styling my own dance bun and packing my own dance bag would pay off exponentially later on?
During high school, I was a 4-year varsity cheerleader, serving as captain my last two years. I also participated in Student Council, National Honor Society, American Sign Language Club, soccer, cross country, and track. All of this while never missing my weekly dance class. As a senior, I was honored to be chosen as Miss Polk County 2017. To me, none of this would have been possible without the time management and work ethic that was reinforced from a young age by dancing with Studio C.
I am a spring 2020 graduate of Texas A&M University-College Station graduating cum laude in three years with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a minor in New Media Art. While living in Aggieland, I served as a counselor for Impact Ministries, small group leader for the Aggie Baptist Student Ministry, worked part time for First Baptist Bryan, and served as a Campus Missionary Intern for the Aggie Baptist Student Ministry in College Station, Texas - but I haven’t forgotten my “Red Dress Annie” roots. Studio C is forever in my heart.