Lizzie Butts has been cheering since she was in kindergarten. Now a senior, the Trigg County High School senior is accepting the fact she only has a few weeks left on her cheerleading journey.
That’s when her path will likely switch to college and the medical field.
“I’ve been taking a lot of dual credit college classes to get me ahead for when I go to college at Murray State,” Butts said. She already has a 26 ACT score in her pocket but the goals-driven Butts wants a higher score and plans to retake it soon.
She is one of several 4.0 students on the Trigg County High School cheer team. She intends to study either pharmacy or radiology.
“I’ve always been interested in the medical field but mostly pharmacy,” she said. “There’s a lot of room for medical breakthroughs and improving people’s quality of life and growing up, I helped my grandpa with his medication so that just kind of inspired me to do it.”
She also draws inspiration from her anatomy teacher Kim Adams.
“I love her. She just motivates me to work my hardest and just keep me going.”
Butts is a member of Trigg’s chapter of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) where she recently placed second at the regional competition and will compete at the state level in medical terminology.
She is also a member of the Beta Club, National Honor Society, Interact Club, and youth leadership.
As her time in a cheer uniform winds down, Butts is cognizant of her timetable.
“I’ve been cheering forever, but don’t plan to do it in college so it’s very bittersweet.”
One person who will miss Butts is her coach, Katie Reed.
“She brings a positive energy and a team mindset consistently with a strong work ethic to our team. She is truly an ideal athlete to coach and the kind of teammate you want to be around,” Reed said. “She is an amazing person who shows kindness towards others, listens, and leads by example. She strives for success, and demonstrates an awareness and maturity beyond her years.”
What will Butts miss the most?
“Honestly, the environment that these girls create. And I just love the sport. Competing, doing stunts, everything about it has been really great. It does cut into time for studying and all that, but you’ve got to make it work.”
One thing helping make it work better is Trigg County’s new on-campus co-curricular building that opened in the fall. Its construction gave cheerleading, wrestling, and archery a new practice home instead of rotating gyms, practicing in the library or the lobby of the gym.
“It’s safe and honestly amazing. We don’t have to roll out mats every time before practice and we can just go in and get started. It’s honestly a lot safer with how much room we have before we were in the library, with limited space and not safe,” she said.
Once she is finished with college, her future destination isn’t known just yet.
“I’m not sure yet, but I do think I want to stay in Kentucky, maybe Lexington or Owensboro. But I might settle back here. You never know.
