SHERWOOD, Ark. – A Sherwood native is becoming a household name after starring in the Netflix top-trending show “Cheer.”
University of Central Arkansas cheerleader Cassadee Miller-Dunlap is a small-town girl who doesn’t take herself too seriously.
“Anybody who really knows me, knows I’m just this goofball,” she said
After a childhood spent on the cheer mat, Cassadee wanted to stick around Sherwood after high school, but her parents had other ideas.
“They didn’t let me!” she recalled. “They were like, ‘No, you have to go away,’ like, ‘We’re sending you somewhere. You’ve worked your entire life for this one thing.’”
Cassadee landed a spot on the repeat national championship cheerleading team at Navarro Junior College in Texas under the direction of world-famous coach Monica Aldama.
“That program and just Monica,” Cassadee said. “It’s amazing.”
Cassadee’s journey to the college national championship is all documented on the Netflix hit “Cheer,” where the tumbling standout was portrayed as an upbeat, positive role model.
“Being a part of it, it’s just so surreal,” Cassadee said. “I want to be the best version of myself, not only for me, but for everyone else around me.”
Her family took fellow teammate Gillian Rupert under their wing, even inviting her to Arkansas, a visit that was supposed to last just a few weeks.
“Well, I bring her here and she never goes home!” Cassadee explained, adding that the Southern hospitality has rubbed off in more ways than one. “Everyone is always like, Gill, where did your accent come from because she has gotten that Southern, Southern twang on her right now.”
The cheerleading champion has a message for little girls who have big goals.
“If you really want that dream, you go get it,” she said. “You find a way and you make it work because nothing is impossible when you set your mind to something.”
Cassadee said she plans to earn her business degree from UCA. She’ll then take over her mom’s cheerleading gym in Sherwood.
This Arkansas girl is now known all around the world, and she’s making the Natural State P-R-O-U-D.
“I’m just like, there’s no way like this is my life!”