On a September afternoon, freshman Kelly Kogen came home from practice and told her mom that her team was going to sleep over at her teammate’s house for cheerleading team bonding. Kelly Kogen’s mother Maureen Kogen said she had to ask her daughter what “team bonding” was and wanted to make sure her daughter was included.

“I grabbed [my daughter’s] phone and texted Sydney, the girl who was hosting the sleepover,” said Maureen Kogen. “I said ‘Kelly tells me you’re having a sleepover. It’s not a big deal, I just didn’t know if she was included.’ She responded, ‘Of course she is. Drop her off at 7 [p.m.].’”

Maureen Kogen said the entire high school cheerleading experience has helped her daughter, who has Down syndrome, in many ways. She has seen Kelly Kogen become more independent, more connected with her peers and more involved in school since she joined cheerleading. She said situations like the sleepover have encouraged this growth.

“[The sleepover] was just kind of like nothing, like it was no big deal, and they treated her just like one of the other girls,” Maureen Kogen said.

Freshman cheerleading coach Lisa Kauth said she has also seen Kelly Kogen become more independent and determined to be her best at practice.

“We were learning this dance and some of the girls were working on stunts and without me even asking her to work on the dance, she went over a little on her own and was just practicing the dance and the counts all on her own,” Kauth said.

Kauth said Kelly Kogen seems to really enjoy cheerleading. One struggle she does face, Kauth said, is “doing the physical stunting.” Kelly Kogen remains involved, however, by either helping spot or working on dancing or cheering with the help of her teammates. Kauth said the other girls are always kind and helpful and treat her as any other girl on the team.

Kelly Kogen said she finds cheerleading easy and fun. She said all of her teammates are her “BFFs” and she likes to spend time with them.

“I like [my teammates] because they make me laugh,” Kelly Kogen said.

Kauth and freshman Grace Schwandner said it is Kelly Kogen who makes the whole team laugh.  According to Schwandner, she always arrives at practice with the right attitude and a smile on her face that brightens up the room.

“Sometimes when the team is having a tough time doing a stunt or doing something correctly, she’s always there to add support, which is good, and she’s always there to help us, whether we need help or not,” Schwandner said.

Freshman Kylie Weiner said the team would not be the same without Kelly Kogen because she provides an easygoing attitude and is fun to be around. Weiner said Kelly “brought [the] team closer as a whole.”

Not only is Kelly Kogen fun and supportive, but Schwandner said she is also very good at the dances and “brave enough to perform in front of everybody.”

Kelly Kogen said she loves being a cheerleader because she likes to perform at games.

According to Maureen Kogen, her daughter was inspired to become a cheerleader through her love for theater and sports.

“She absolutely loves football and we’ll watch basketball…on TV,” said Maureen Kogen. “It’s fun to see her put the two of them together.”

Maureen said everyone has been encouraging and willing to work hard to include her daughter and completely integrate her into the team.

“I think from the athletic director down, they have just promoted a culture of ‘Let’s include her, let’s make it work [and] let’s do whatever it is we have to do to make it work,’ and that has filtered all the way down to her coach and the girls on her squad,” Maureen Kogen said.

The school has been able to include Kelly Kogen and Kauth said she is always happy at practice or performing.

“She doesn’t care what other people think,” said Kauth. “She just gets out there and has a good time.”