Valeria Trujillo ’26: cheerleading

The lights are bright as energy pulsates through the crowd. Taking a deep breath, Valeria Trujillo ’26 steps onto the mat and faces the audience with a smile. The music starts, and she follows every beat with precision. After receiving their score, Trujillo and the team raise their first place trophy into the air to the roar of the crowd.

Trujillo began cheerleading as a freshman after spending her childhood exploring different sports, such as cross country. This time, however, she decided to stick with it for the rest of her high school years.

“I’ve always liked dancing, so I thought that cheer would be a good way to be able to still dance,” Trujillo said. “So, I joined my freshman year.”

Her love for music and dance came from her parents and her dance teachers. Growing up, she and her parents would often dance together to Spanish music, especially salsa.

“[I learned] techniques, like when you’re carrying the girls, or the routine has a lot of stuff, so I think that I learned a lot of more new skills other than [just] dance,” said Trujillo.

Head Cheer Coach Veronica Foreman noticed Trujillo’s dedication right from the start. Even as a freshman and a newcomer to the sport, Trujillo stood out for her effort and determination, putting in large amounts of time to learn all the dances beforehand and consistently practicing.

“My first impression of Valeria was freshman year, during tryouts, literally the first day she knew everything ... all the routines ... I was just so amazed,” said Foreman.

She added that Trujillo has become more confident and organized, taking on greater responsibilities within the team. Over time, she has learned how to use her voice as a leader — encouraging her teammates, communicating clearly, and setting an example both on and off the mat.

“She’s the first one to reply to emails, and she’s always helping to make sure that we get the things out to the girls,” said Foreman. “I feel like Valeria has grown by being able to realize her worth ... and I see now that ... she knows that she is confident in what she does.”

Along with co-captains Nava Brito ’26 and Suki McNulty ’26, Trujillo led the cheer team to a first place overall win at the cheer CVC competition. The team took first place in the traditional category and second in the game day category.

“When there were five captains [last year], I think one of her weaknesses was just trying to figure out how she fits in to be a leader with the captains when there were still many and how can her voice be heard,” said Foreman.

Trujillo’s teammates share similar thoughts about her leadership. As one of the co-captains, Trujillo is known for her outgoing personality and patience.

“She’s a really good captain, and she teaches me many things. I’ve only been on the team for a month, and I’ve learned a lot from her,” said teammate Zoe Csefan ’29.

While balancing cheer with academics can be challenging, Trujillo has found a strategy that enables her to be able to focus on both. However, she continues to bring energy and focus to every practice and performance.

“I think I usually always try to kind of make time for my work outside of school, outside of practice, make that like my priority,” said Trujillo. “But when I get on the mat, or in practice, I usually try to take everything else off my mind and focus on [the] fun.”

As Trujillo reflects on her four years of cheer, she plans to pursue pre-med in college and look into college cheer teams.

“I think that [we] definitely have formed a community and I think that I used to do a lot of sports that were like single, more like it was just based off of yourself,” said Trujillo. “But I learned that cheering is a lot, you rely on everybody in the group. So I think that I definitely [learned] to work to communicate better and work together as a group."