Junior Broadcast Journalism major Michelle Nigro does more than just attend classes and club meetings. In addition to keeping up with the everyday busy life of an Emerson student, she has nearly completed her first year as a New England Patriots Cheerleader. Yep, there you have it, Emerson: a female, Emersonian cheerleader for the Patriots (as in the pro football team). Her Campus Emerson got the chance to interview Michelle and learn more about her double life, her individual philanthropy initiatives, and her position as philanthropy chair for Emerson’s Alpha Epsilon Phi.
Q: So you’re a Patriots Cheerleader. What’s that all about?
A: I’ve been dancing since I was three, taking jazz, tap, ballet, hip-hop. I danced on my high school dance team, and I did a little bit with the Emerson Dance Company my freshman year. I basically found out about the Patriots Cheerleaders, because my assistant dance team coach in high school was a Patriots Cheerleader at the time. I always looked up to her. She’s an amazing dancer, and I thought it would be amazing to be able to do what she does every weekend at Patriots games. I kind of looked into it, but I never really thought I could actually make the team and do it. During my sophomore year at Emerson, I decided to go for it. I tried really hard, about six weeks altogether with the different types of auditions. I really didn’t think I was going to make it. I’m so happy I did, because it’s been one of the best experiences of my life.
Q: Tell HC readers what you had to go through during the auditions. What did they entail?
A: Well, the first audition is a long day: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. There are two cuts that day, and if you make it through the second cut, you learn another dance. Two weeks later, final auditions take place, and you compete against the current Patriots Cheerleaders, as well. Before that, you do an interview one-on-one with the coach, so then if you make it after finals — which still includes a swimsuit, an introduction, and the dance portion — there is a two-week boot camp where you do four practices with the team, and then the coach makes the final cut.
Q: What was your initial feeling when you started auditioning? What about the feeling after you made it?
A: To begin with, there were 300 girls at the audition and I was very overwhelmed. I just thought I would have fun with it, try my hardest, and whatever came from it, I would learn from it and try again next year. When I made the first cut, I was ecstatic. I had no idea I would make it that far. I was just excited to keep going for another couple of weeks and keep learning their dances. I really like their style of dance, because it’s jazz, hip-hop, and a lot of kicks and splits. I knew I could get the style down. After finals, it was still surreal. I didn’t understand how I made it that far. The only time we had to wait for the last cut was after the boot camp because it wasn’t in person. The first two cuts they told you that day, and you went home knowing if you made it or not. After the boot camp practices, they let you know via e-mail, so it was the longest wait of my life. I don’t really know how to describe the feeling. I was shocked and excited when I read the e-mail and saw my name. I was in the Emerson gym and I went outside to look at it. I was freaking out.
Q: What’s your schedule like then? You have to balance school, and you are also in a sorority—certainly busy!
A: Last semester I had to live off campus so I could have my car and drive to Gillette [Stadium] two or three times a week, in addition to promos around New England. When I was living at home, I wasn’t as involved in the sorority because I couldn’t go to the sorority events, and I worked two other jobs. Every hour was booked last semester, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Even though I was always really stressed, it was all worth it.
Q: The team is made up of people who’ve been there for the three years and people who are just coming in. What is it like working with other people who’ve had more experience with the team?
A: I just completed my rookie year, which is what we call our first year. I really hope to be a veteran. You can only do it for three years, and I think that’s part of the reason why our team works so well, because we have almost half and half, rookies and veterans. The first couple of practices we got matched up with a veteran to go to the Dominican Republic. They were our roommates, and we stayed with them for a week and shot our calendar. They were our mentors for the week, showed us the ropes, and told us what to expect during the summer and during the season. They helped us with everything.
Q: What does being a Patriots Cheerleader mean to you? What was one of your most memorable experiences?
A: At first, I thought being a Patriots Cheerleader was going to be amazing because right away we leave for the Dominican Republic, we shoot a glamorous swimsuit calendar, and we get a trip going with 24 girls, which was a lot fun. I just thought that the whole experience of putting on a glitzy costume, cheering on the Patriots, my favorite team from New England, was going to be my favorite experience. But I’ve also realized, since making the team, that a part of what I really truly like is when we do promotions. I’ve gotten the chance to visit Camp Edwards, a base soldiers go to before they go to Afghanistan. They were so happy to see us, and we signed autographs, saw what they did at Camp Edwards, and gave them posters. We also visit young cheering teams. The promotions put in perspective what you’re doing. That’s been one of my favorite parts. My favorite experience was definitely the season home opener. I danced, and it was just a crazy experience. The crowd of 70,000 fans—everyone was packed in there—we won, and it was a beautiful fall day.
Q: The promotions are about giving back to your community?
A: Yeah, we do all different types. We can either do a promotion for business, or do charity work with the Patriots’ organizations. It’s cool to see how people appreciate what we do and to see all the Patriots fans wherever we go.
Q: How can college girls give back to their community and reach out to other people?
A: The way I give back is through my position as philanthropy chair for my sorority. I’ve also always given back through platforms at pageants. Mine was always breast cancer awareness and fundraising. It’s been something I’ve grown up with and learned to do in different ways. Now, I’m really happy I get to plan fundraising and awareness events for my sorority.
Q: So you were involved with pageants all throughout childhood? How is that different to the Patriots world?
A: I think I did my first pageant when I was eleven, and I’ve done a few of those here and there ever since. I think my experience with pageants shaped me and helped me get the position as a Patriots Cheerleader because it helps in every aspect of your life. For some of the pageants, you do talents, so I got to showcase my dancing on a solo level. You do interviews, and that was part of the Patriots Cheerleader audition. You learn to be competent in front of groups of people. You learn to speak publicly. You learn pose and appearance. I think every pageant—win or lose, good experience or bad experience—really helped me to get to where I am today.
Q: How come you chose breast cancer awareness specifically as one of your causes?
A: When I was born, my grandmother was battling breast cancer, and she always said that she wanted to survive to see me grow up, and she did. Learning my grandmother’s story gave me the push to do something about this. My aunt is a survivor and, just recently, I’ve had another aunt whose become a survivor. So, it is definitely something that runs in my family and is something that I have to be aware of, as well as every woman in America. I found my niche in fundraising for the Young Survival Coalition. Ironically, right around the time I found out about it, my latest aunt who survived breast cancer was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she was only 36. The Young Survival Coalition is advocating for women under 40 that they can, and do, get breast cancer. So that coincided, and I really fell in love with the organization. I’ve put on fundraisers the past year and raised money for them. I’m trying to get Boston aware of them, because right now they don’t have a Boston chapter. We’re working with the Manchester, New Hampshire chapter, so that’s my platform now for any pageants or fundraisers I do.
For any who’d like more information about the Young Survival Coalition or would like to get involved, you can visit the foundation’s website here.