When fall arrives, it’s time for the Friday Night Lights. Families love to go and watch the football games, and little girls like to go watch the cheerleaders. Many of those little girls cheer along with the cheerleaders and dream of the day when they can be on the field cheering too.
Alex Parker has always had a love for cheering. Her love for cheer blossomed at a very young age, and she started taking classes to be able to do what she loved.
“I’ve been cheering and doing gymnastics since I was two years old,” stated Alex.
Naturally, she did cheer when she was in high school, and her cheering helped her attend college.
“I am from Waynesboro, MS. I attended Wayne Academy and met my husband, Reed Parker, at Wayne Academy,” recalled Alex. “I also did competitive cheer and got a full ride for cheer in college. It’s literally my favorite thing to do.”
Although Alex has enjoyed participating in various competitions, she does have a favorite: NCA Dallas.
“My favorite competition I’ve ever been in is NCA Dallas,” explained Alex. “It’s one of the largest national events. People from all over the country come. This is my favorite competition because you meet all kinds of new people and watch creative different routines that people with different styles come up with.”
She is very good at what she does, and she has won several titles with her team.
“I’ve won several national titles throughout the years with my competitive team, and my team took the stage in the beginning of February and is eighth in the world,” expressed Alex.
Although she is only 21 years old, Alex is extremely responsible. While she was only a young teenager, she had to become responsible in order to run a business. It was easy for her to do her business since it was something she loved to do so much.
“The only job I’ve ever had is teaching gym. I taught at Ace of Jackson for about five months, but I’ve run a gym since I was 15,” said Alex. “My parents decided to open it for me because they knew that’s what I wanted to do as a career. They said let’s get a head start and see if it takes off, and it did.”
Eventually, she married Reed Parker and started up a family here in Clarke County. She loves her family tremendously and enjoys spending time with them when she has any free time.
“I’m happily married with two beautiful children, a two-year-old and a two-month-old, and I have lived in Clarke County with my husband going on four years,” explained Alex. “My favorite thing to do, honestly, is to watch Netflix with my family.”
Although she now lives in Clarke County with her family, Alex has not given up on her career teaching cheer and gym. She has started United Cheer and Dance of Quitman in the building between Pizza Hut and the Quitman Volunteer Fire Department. In fact, she started teaching classes on the first week of March.
“I have classes for gym on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday,” stated Alex. “I offer private classes, group classes, dance, and Zumba.”
So far, her classes have been going great, and she is very excited to get started with this endeavor. She would happily take more students, and anyone who would like to get in touch with her about joining a class can reach her at 601-381-1474.
Alex’s optimistic nature and kind heart allows her to not only push herself to succeed, but she also pushes others to succeed as well. She wants to see everyone be able to achieve their dreams the same way she has. It comes as no surprise when the main advice she has to offer all those around her is this:
“It’s never too late to be whoever you want to be! Go for it!”
