Did you recognize anyone during this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade? Maybe a blonde haired, blue eyed, girl cheering in the front row of 500 other cheerleaders?

If you thought it looked an awful like Senior Emma Holland, you thought right. Emma, along with ODA’s Upper School cheerleaders, tried out at their annual cheer camp this year to be named an “All American Cheerleader”. Emma ’14, Zoe Genkin ’14, and Jilly Scott ’16 all received scores high enough and were invited to cheer at the Macy’s Parade or the London New Years Eve Parade. Emma had been invited the last three years and this year, her parents finally allowed her to go.

The All American Cheer Camps are held all across the country and only 25 made it from our region. While in New York, Emma made new friends with a girl from California and another from Nebraska.

The perks of being rewarded with this opportunity was getting up at 4:30 AM before the parade. The group was up and ready to cheer at 6:00 AM and continued on till 11:00 AM. They walked three miles in 30 degree weather and despite being frozen, cheered the whole way until the final performance.

Emma said, “[a friend and I] took a selfie during the parade. We found that you could attach a phone to a pom pom with a head band and still dance. We also took a picture of the Spiderman float.”

Emma’s extraordinary cheer talents earned her a spot in the front row of the performance. Originally, Emma was in the sixth row unable to be seen, but an adviser moved her to the front row!

The parade was on Thursday, but through Spirit of America Productions, Emma and her group were able to stay in New York City from Saturday to the following Friday.

They saw the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the rockettes, the show Newsies, walked down 5th Avenue, toured Ellis Island, and even started a flashmob on a subway!

“I would do it again if I could; I would suggest it to anyone” Emma finished with a grin.

Congratulations Emma on your achievement! Lets go ODA!