Written and Media by Sara Dawson.
Shannon Niehaus is a Greenville University cheerleader. Niehaus is a 19-year-old sophomore from Mulberry Grove, Ill., who graduated from Hillsboro High School in 2016. She helps Panther Cheer teach a tumbling class here in Greenville. She is a very good tumbler and great at teaching the skill.
Niehaus is a biology major on the Dean’s List and plans to become a nurse anesthetist. She said, “I have always found the field interesting. I want to be able to work closely with physicians in order to provide the best anesthetic care for the patient.”
Fellow cheerleader Emily Koberlein mentioned, “Shannon is athletic, beautiful, kind-hearted, and a great listener. She shares her talents with the small children at tumbling.”
Niehaus transferred to Greenville early in her college career. She stated, “I started my college career at Blackburn College, but quickly decided it was not for me. I transferred to Greenville the second semester of my freshman year. I’ve grown up around this community, so it wasn’t a shock to come into. I really love being here. I’ve always loved this community and I’m happy to be a part of it. Everyone around here seems to care about one another. I honestly wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
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High School Sports Career
During Niehaus’ high school years she played volleyball while also competing in tumbling for nine years. Niehaus was part of a club in high school called Born Brave. The club helped promote self-awareness and raised money to help young people. Niehaus graduated with A/B Honor Roll. She said,
“I went to a small-town high school in Hillsboro, Ill. I graduated with a class of 89. The school is old, but I love it. As with Greenville, everyone seems to care about one another. The school and community have a lot of school spirit. You can see most of the town at a sporting event. Although it had it’s downs, it was a great place to go to school.”
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College Sports Career
Niehaus has been cheering for the Panther Cheerleaders for two years now. She was part of the National Championship-winning cheer team last year at Christian Cheerleaders of America. She also won the versatile award (base, flyer, and tumbler). Niehaus stated,
“ I never thought that I would begin cheering again. It was crazy coming back to cheer after several years off, right in the middle of competition preparation. It pushed me, but I loved every second of it. I’m so excited for this year and can’t wait for competition. I never pictured myself cheering after junior high, but I was just led to cheer at Greenville. It was hard transitioning to college cheer. I came in halfway through the season with very little experience. At first, I thought it was going to be very difficult, but I caught on fast. After being here for a while, the team became my family. I’m glad that I chose to start cheering again.”
Shannon Niehaus is doing a great job cheering on the Panthers–make sure to watch her cheer on the sidelines.
