When Florida Alpha Alexandra Toben left her home in southern Pennsylvania to attend school in Deland, Florida, she did not know what kind of community she would develop on the small campus of Stetson University (SU). Alexandra cheered since she was nine years old on competition teams and later on varsity cheer in high school, so it was no surprise she was recruited by the cheer coach to be on the Stetson Cheerleading and Stunt Team.
“Stetson is a small school with a lot of spirit,” Alexandra says proudly about SU. The cheer team supports the university athletics programs and practices at least five times a week. In the fall season, the whole team cheers for football often meeting at 8 a.m. prior to the game.
This spring, she is also a member of the competition team that meets to practice at 6 or 7 a.m. in the mornings to prepare their competition routine. Alexandra enjoys practicing her tumbling skills and believes that is her strongest skill. “[It’s] a totally new experience. It’s a lot harder and tedious,” she says. Cheering helps Alexandra get away from the stress of school and, of course, is a great workout.
As her cheerleading career was the primary reason for Alexandra to attend SU, she did not, at first, consider joining a sorority. In fact, she had not intended on joining a sorority, as her cheer coach wanted her focus to be on cheer. Florida Alpha Sierra Railey is not only Cheer Captain, but she is also Alexandra’s big sis in Pi Beta Phi. Sierra showed her all the positivity that cheer has in the long run and was a huge influence in Alexandra doing both. Now, Alexandra has managed to serve Pi Beta Phi as the Vice President of Event Planning too!
Alexandra has been able to balance everything well and thinks she benefits from the structure of having a busy schedule. She must prioritize times to practice, attend meetings, go to class and more; being busy helps with her time management. She enjoys doing homework in the chapter room because there is always a sister there to help her with questions or help her de-stress. Alexandra has created strong bonds with the teams she has been on, and has created similar strong ties with the Pi Phi sisterhood.