Hello Texas Twirl Fans!
As we cross into October, which puts us almost halfway through football season, we are excited to feature our next collegiate twirler. We hope you enjoyed following her Instastory Takeover on Saturday, and we know you will enjoy learning more about this sweet twirler.
This week’s Collegiate Twirler Spotlight is the Lamar University Feature Twirler!
Lamar University, located in Beaumont, Texas, is the home of the Cardinals, as well as the Showcase of the Southeast Texas Marching Band. A big part of the Showcase is their Feature Twirler, also known as the Cardinalette. This year’s Cardinalette Feature Twirler is Kristin Hebert!
We asked Kristin what brought her to attend LU and she told us, “I chose to come Lamar University as an early college high school student in the Texas Academy. I completed my junior and senior years of high school while attending Lamar University. I chose to stay here because both of my parents and sister are alumni of Lamar University.”
With already having experience at LU through her high school program, we asked what she had to do to earn the position of the Cardinalette. “For an audition, I had to perform a solo for the twirling sponsor, and she called out a list of tricks afterwards to make sure I had the necessary skills for this position and to earn the $2,000 Feature Twirler scholarship. Also, I do not have to re-audition annually. There will not be another tryout for this position until I graduate.”
Having a family legacy of Cardinals, we wanted to know what Kristin loves the most about LU. “My favorite thing is the small class sizes at Lamar University allow me to form relationships with all of my professors. It also allowed me to chose to stay in Texas for college because of the amazing opportunities I have received from Lamar University. The best part about staying in Texas is I am still near all my family. I stay in the dorms on campus, but my parents’ house is only a 10-minute drive from the university. Honestly, I go home almost every night to have dinner with my family, so I still see them very frequently.”
Game Days at LU are always a big deal, and Kristin has a lot of fun performing for the Cardinal community. “Before every game, the band performs in the middle of tailgating before heading up to the stands. This is my favorite thing about game day seeing everyone gather around to watch us have a small performance.”
With this being her second season as the Cardinalette Twirler, we wanted to know what she is looking forward to the most this year, and she told us about the annual band trip. “Every Mardi Gras, the Lamar University Showcase of Southeast Texas marching band takes a trip to New Orleans to perform in the Krewe d’Etat Parade. I didn’t get to go on the trip this past year, but I am looking forward to it this upcoming year.”
Now that we have learned about life at LU, we wanted to learn more about Kristin!
Kristin is a Junior from Nederland, Texas, that is majoring in Exercise Science and minoring in Public Health and Healthcare Administration. In addition to being the Feature Twirler for LU, Kristin is also in the Honors Student Association for the Reaud Honors College and a member of the Helping Hands Club, which organizes food drives for local homeless areas. She has been twirling for 15 years and was coached by Phyllis Mosley at ‘Twirls and Swirls’ twirling studio. “She taught me everything I know about twirling and shaped me to be a better performer.” At LU, she has been working with the Cardinalette Twirling Sponsor, Lauren Stepan. Kristin’s favorite field trick is juggling 3-batons. “The crowd always loves when I go onto the field and start juggling.” After college, Kristin plans on getting a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology. “With this degree, I hope to become a cardiovascular epidemiologist.”
Fun Facts!
Favorite Color – Sage Green
Favorite TV Show – Grey’s Anatomy
Favorite Book – “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio.
Favorite Food – Chick fil A chicken nuggets!
Favorite Quote…
“Always be my best self.”
Something most people might not know about me…
“I had to have Hand surgery.”
The best non-twirling life skill they have gained from baton twirling is…
“Perseverance. Whenever I am working on a new trick, it takes a lot of practice for me to master that trick. However, no matter how long it takes, I will persevere until I have mastered the trick. I also apply this in my everyday life by continuing to persevere in every situation no matter how difficult it might seem.”
Most memorable advice from her coach…
“One thing I learned from Phyllis Mosley was always show off my hardest tricks to a judge, but avoid dropping my baton at all costs when performing on the football field.”
Advice to future Collegiate twirlers…
“One thing I would tell future twirlers would video yourself during practice. I have done this for years while trying to perfect tricks. By going back and watching the videos, I can see exactly what I need to improve on.”
Favorite memory as a baton twirler…
“My favorite memory as a baton twirler was hosting a Cardinalette twirling camp. We had girls from kindergarten to high school seniors who spent the day with me learning routines to perform during our halftime performance at the football game. It was amazing getting to teach girls of a variety of ages and skills to perform alongside me.”
What advice would you give to a twirler about to go into college auditions…
“Remember that you are prepared for this audition. You have practiced and perfected your routines as much as possible, so don’t stress and just go twirl!”
We want to say thank you to Kristin for sharing her LU Game Day with us, and we wish her an amazing rest of her season. Go Cardinals!
We hope you have enjoyed this blog post. We are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com
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