Lawton senior Zaria Porter knew cheer was always something she wanted to try, but it wasn’t until middle school that she finally decided to give it a go.

“I’ve been cheering since seventh grade,” she says. “I was always interested in cheer because of their pep and spirit but the main thing that pushed me to try was the coach at my middle school. I knew what kind of coach she was and plus my friends joined the team so I just said ‘you know what? I’ll just put myself out there and try something new!’”

All of these years later, Zaria still loves to go out there, cheer, and perform. Beyond the enjoyment she gets from cheer, Zaria says cheerleading was a big boost for her self-esteem.

“I love how cheering brought out my confidence,” she says. “As one of the faces of the school, you have to be bright and smiley and I really like doing that. At first, I was kind of scared to do that but cheer forces you to be that person and I appreciate that.”

Porter also loves the bonds that are built among her and her teammates.

“Your teammates make it fun,” she says. “It’s great to spend all your time with people you love.”

Porter is one of six seniors on the Lawton High School cheer squad and she says that each of the seniors has a unique role when it comes to leading the squad.

“Our coach made each of the seniors a leader because she believes we each have something special to bring to the team with our leadership,” she says. “So, each senior has a certain number of girls they are responsible for. She told us that she likes us as leaders and she pushes us to do different things. My role is to encourage everyone and see the bright side of things. My coaches also have said I’m the most patient on the team.”

Along with cheer, Zaria is member of the choir, NHS, youth action health leadership, student council, senior leadership and unified club. Following graduation, Zaria plans to move back to her native North Carolina where she plans on majoring in secondary English education and social work.