In someway or another everyone at WVU knows Lauren Barsa. Lauren is a cheerleader who has become the face of WVU athletics with her picture in USA Today and Sports Illustrated. Lauren comes to West Virginia from New Jersey. Lauren is also a member of the Alpha Phi sorority and works in downtown Morgantown..
Q. When did you begin cheerleading?
A. I started cheering in middle school. I was a gymnast all my life then I decided to make the switch over. Being a gymnast there was a lot of mental stress, cheerleading seemed to be more fun.
Q. Did you find yourself having a hard time transferring over into cheerleading?
A. I was kind of shy. Cheerleading helped me open up as a person.
Q. Have you found it to be hard being a student athlete?
A. Travel season can be a little tough. It’s the beginning of the year and I’m just figuring out my classes then all of a sudden I’m traveling to Texas or Oklahoma for a football game. The school does a great job helping out with this though. I have a tutor for my classes that helps me stay organized.
Q. Did you always plan to cheer at WVU?
A. I was looking into Kansas University, and I was really interested in going there to cheer. I had went to a cheer showcase and was pretty much set. Then I decided to check out WVU at the last minute. When I came here I loved it, I knew this was where I wanted to cheer at.
Q. What have been some exciting moments you have had while cheering?
A. Football games are always the best. Fan day is pretty exciting as well. Little girls come up and ask for autographs and pictures, it’s pretty surreal.
Q. Your picture was in USA Today, how did that feel?
A. I was pretty shocked. When I saw it I didn’t believe it was the actual page.