A different person from Charlotte Latin Athletics is featured on the first Tuesday of each month with twenty questions to help the CLS community get to know some of our athletes, coaches, and supporters a bit better.
 
Our February focus is on Sam Alexander. She's a senior captain on the cheerleading squad and has been a sprinter and pole vaulter for the track team. This well-rounded athlete is also an artist, whose giraffe sculpture stretches far overhead in the lobby of the Inlustrate Orbem building. Read on to find out about the process behind building "Jeff," and the work Sam is putting in to pursue cheer in college.
 
1. You're the daughter of an alum. Who makes up your immediate family?
It's just my mom, Tracy, my dad, Chester ('84), and my cat and dog, Jangle and Rex.
 
2. Did you ever wish you had siblings?
It's like fifty-fifty. Sometimes I get bored and wish I had siblings, and sometimes I'm glad I don't have to share.
 
3. As a Latin Lifer, what have been some of your favorite subjects or teachers?
I've always liked art and I've had Mr. Hawgood and Mr. T (Thomason) and they've both been really good. I liked Mrs. Coble last year in bio. I didn't like bio, but I liked her. I liked Mr. Weiss as a teacher, and Mr. Edwards, sophomore year in history. And I love Mr. Downing.  He's super energetic and always wants to talk with us, but it's also a very chill class. It feels like a conversation.
 
4. What have been some of your most challenging subjects or classes?
This year it's probably psych. It's a lot to memorize, but it's fun at the same time. You have to put in a lot of work. The day I had to keep the baby was the worst day. My baby cried a lot, and it was so annoying. The class is interesting though and even though it's challenging I like the material.
 
5. You mentioned art, and recently your huge giraffe sculpture was installed in the Inlustrate Orbem lobby. Have you always aspired to be a giraffe sculptor?  
Not exactly. My freshman year, I made a painting of two giraffes. I'm not sure why, because they're not my favorite animal. I had Mr. T (Thomason) that year and he suggested I do a sculpture so I just decided to keep the theme going. I didn't get to start it until the next year, though, because Covid happened, and even then we were only in school every other day, so it was hard to make progress. I kept at it junior year, then decided to finish it this year.
 
6. It's really tall, and you're not. Was it intentional to make it that big? How did you build it?  
The height difference is kind of ironic. I looked up giraffe heights and they can get up to twenty feet tall, but that was unrealistic so I had to go baby giraffe. Or maybe teenage giraffe. The height just kind of came from the materials. I bought a bunch of PVC pipes for the frame and used those to make a sort of box for the body, then the legs and neck. I stuffed newsprint all around the pipes and then put plaster over that. The final step was painting. The hardest part was building the head and neck so that they weren't too heavy and falling over.
 
7. Is this your preferred form of art?
Not really. I've always liked painting and photography. I have a photography/mixed media piece in the (senior) art show, and there's a picture of the giraffe there too. He's bolted into the floor of the IO building now, though, so he's not going anywhere for a while.
 
8. Let's switch gears to athletics. What sports did you do growing up?  
I started with dance. I did some horseback riding, gymnastics, and soccer. I was fast and would sprint to the ball and get there first, but then didn't know what to do with it. I did some tennis. I think it was in 1st grade when I was doing cartwheels with a friend at recess and she told me I should do cheer because she was doing it. That's how I got into competitive cheer, which I did until eighth grade when I fractured my spine. I was a tumbler on the team and I couldn't really compete with my injury. My mental health was also not in a good place, so I left the sport. That spring, I started track in Middle School, which was a really good thing to keep me active. Then my freshman year, I did cross country, which was awesome but also terrible at the same time. I am a sprinter. If I have to run more than 200 meters, it's terrible.
 
9. What brought you back to cheer?  
Competitive cheer is very different from school cheer. It's hard to explain, but I didn't think I wanted to do school cheer until Jane Cotchett told me she wanted to do it in the winter. We joined together and I've really come to love cheering for my school. I get to do what I love with flips and stunts, but it's more low-key in the best possible way. There's a strong bond within the team and then cheering for your classmates is really cool, especially now as a senior because I know the people on varsity.
 
10. Basketball season is winding down, so you'll be transitioning to track and field soon. Are you looking forward to the spring season?   
I am actually not doing track this year. I decided to pursue cheer in college, but there are still some skills I need to work on for the tryout process, so I'm going to focus on training for that this spring. The tryouts for most colleges are in the end of April or early May.    
 
11. How does the tryout process work and where are you trying out?  
Appalachian State, NC State, Clemson, and Virginia Tech are my top four. The tryout process varies depending on the school. For some, you submit a video first and then if you make it through that evaluation you go to an open practice or an in-person round. At App, it's a three-day tryout process and they make cuts along the way. The schools don't really recruit. They have clinics throughout the year, so you go when can and try to get to know them and let them get to know you.
 
12. That sounds intense. What are you doing to prepare?  
I'm trying to get my full (a layout with a spin) and trying to get more stunt skills. I work with a partner at a gym on the stunts. (Click here to see a video of Sam and her partner, Cam Peebles, perform a rewind after last Friday's basketball games.)
 
13. As your time winds down as a CLS cheerleader, what have you loved most about it?
I love how even though we're a new team, we've worked really hard to make a good name for ourselves and gain respect. We've pushed ourselves to keep improving to become the best we can be, and in the process, we've built a really strong foundation of what the team stands for. I've also made so many amazing friends through all my seasons that I will be forever grateful for.
 
14. What has been your least favorite part about school cheer?  
I really dislike basketball games on Tuesday nights. It always feels like a Friday during the day and while cheering during the games, but then I get home and realize I still have homework to do and have three more days of school before the weekend.
 
15. How would you describe Coach Atwell?
Coach Atwell is one of the most amazing people you'll ever meet. She puts so much into the team and she cares about every single one of us. She pushes us to be our best and is always there for us.
 
16. Alright, let's finish with some fun questions. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? And now?
I think I wanted to be a dog! Now, I still have no idea what I want to do, I just know that I want to do something I love!  
 
17.  Are you a good cook? What is your specialty?
I cannot cook to save my life. My specialty is using the microwave.
 
18. What is your favorite sports movie?
Does Talladega Nights count?
 
19. If you could have one super power, what would it be?
I think it would be sick to be able to read people's minds.  
 
20. What has been your favorite Latin sports memory so far?  
Cheering at the away football game at Charlotte Christian last year, where we won in the final seconds with the field goal kick and we got to rush the field with all the students. That was so fun!
 

  

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