From PPCHS pep rallies to NFL stadiums, alumna Stephanie Lynn De Leon’s journey to becoming the star she is today is nothing short of a touchdown. This class of 2014 graduate not only auditioned but also got accepted into the NFL cheerleading team, which ultimately led her to a new chapter in her life.
Lynn De Leon has been competitively dancing since she was five. She differentiated in multiple forms of dance: ballet, jazz, ballroom, and hip-hop. However, Lynn De Leon “didn’t start [her] cheerleading journey until [she] auditioned for the FIU Dazzlers in college.” College opened up many opportunities for her when she got accepted onto the FIU Dazzlers: “That’s when I fell in love with [cheerleading], which sparked my dream to make it to the NFL cheer world.”
Along with being on the cheer team for Florida International University (FIU), Lynn De Leon was also able to graduate with a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education. After college, she began teaching 5th Grade Math/Science at the Charter’s East Campus and eventually moved to Central Campus. As of right now, she will continue to be a teacher working to educate and inspire her students.
Ironically, “A few years ago, I saw auditions for Dolphins Cheer were being held on Instagram.” Although she had previous experience, Lynn De Leon “Made sure to go back and take more dance training classes and became really familiar with the MDC style the team had.” Lynn De Leon was determined to perfect her skills while still including her own sparkle so the critics could truly see all the potential she has.
Even though her audition went well in the long run, “It was one of the hardest audition processes I’ve ever been through.” With hundreds of ladies applying and showing up, these tryouts had to have preliminary and semi-final rounds prior to selecting around 50 girls to move on to the finals. After finals, only around 35 girls would be chosen to participate in the Miami Dolphin Cheerleading (MDC) Training Camp. “The training camp lasts about two months before the pre-season game, and you could be cut at any time during that period,” Lynn De Leon expresses. Although it was a very long and nerve-wracking process, “It was so incredible and rewarding when I [was able to see] my picture on the team announcement.”
Lynn De Leon slowly had to adjust her daily routine to fit both her personal life and cheer life. A typical day for her started around 6:30 am and concluded at 10:30 pm or later, which became very mentally and physically draining for Lynn De Leon. She used to be the Co-Captian for the NFL cheerleading team, but retired last season from the pressure of living a double life as an educator and a NFL cheerleader. Along with that, she also faced some challenges during her career. “Being a part of an NFL cheer team, you get photographed and spoken to a lot, [which] create[d] a lot of insecurities about yourself when seeing yourself online in photos and videos,” she exclaimed. But since MDC promoted diversity along with “Being around such uplifting women, [it] really helped me get out of that insecurity.”
Looking back, Lynn De Leon has been able to use a lot of what she learned from Charter and incorporate those lessons as she lives her life. Not only did her teachers push her to be her best, but also taking part in four years of theater in high school really shaped her into who she is today. Lynn De Leon believes that “It was great practice on how to not feel afraid in front of a large crowd, which was super helpful when I had to perform in our stadium.”
A lot of ambition and hard work also resulted in great rewards for Lynn De Leon. “This year during Miami Fleet Week, I was able to have breakfast with the Navy Commander of the Fleet Forces, Adm. Daryl Caudle, on the USS Bataan with Jevon Holland,” she says. Regardless of the 50+ routines she had to know, Stephanie Lynn De Leon would not trade anything for the world, knowing that she finally achieved her college dream.
