Leading up to the basketball season, the Centurion Sports section will dedicate a weekly profile to a member of the Bucks Dance Squad. We thought it best to begin with the Dance Squad president – Jessica Fletcher.

At 18-years-old, this is the first time she will head a dance team of any kind.

Jessica lives in Newtown, PA with her mother and grandmother. From the time she was little, she had a passion for dance.

“I’ve done ballet since I started walking,” Jessica said.

She attended grade school at St. Ignatius of Antioch in Yardley. It was there that she developed an interest in cheerleading.

Throughout her time there, Fletcher tried – in vain – to start a cheerleading squad. A lack of interest from other students cut down her efforts up until her graduation in 1998.

Things changed for the better at Conwell-Egan High School in Fairless Hills, PA. Jessica was a member of the varsity cheerleading squad and helped her team win several local competitions.

She graduated from Conwell-Egan in 2002 and enrolled at Bucks. Since the school has no official cheerleaders, Jessica made the decision to join the Dance Squad early on.

She dedicated much of her time and effort to the success of the team. Other members of the squad began to take notice. This fall, she became the squad president, in this, the fourth year of the squad’s existence.

Jessica will head a team consisting of six former members and seven newcomers. Despite the challenges, she is pleased with the opportunity she has been given.

“We’ve got really good girls,” she said.

This season, there will be a new performance squad headed by Jessica in addition to the original dance team. She will design the choreography for both squads for at least part of the year.

Jessica is excited about the squad’s upcoming November competition in Pittsburgh. The regional event, sponsored by Atlantic Cheer and Dance, will be the team’s first tournament under her direction.

Jessica has some other new things planned for the club as well. She is actively recruiting male members and is currently searching for new squad uniforms.

Above all, Jessica hopes to restore the cheerleading program at the college this year. She believes the new dance performance team will help reach that goal.

“Hopefully, out of that it will come,” she said.

In March, Fletcher and other squad members will be trying out for spots on the Philadelphia Eagles’ cheerleading squad. But until then, Jessica plans to continue seeking employment as a waitress.

Besides being an avid dancer, Jessica is also a talented writer. She writes poems and stories in her free time.

Jessica is currently a journalism student at the college. She hopes to transfer to Temple for the Fall 2004 semester. There, she plans to continue cheerleading and finish her journalism degree.