Evans junior excels in academics, cheerleading
Kasey Bandy hopes to pursue a career in the medical field, but she will take an anatomy class next year to help solidify that decision.
The Evans High School junior's parents, Lewis and Vickie Bandy, of Evans, both work in the medical field; her mother is a personal trainer in the nutrition field, and her father works in hospital administration.
"I'm not sure what I want to do yet," said Kasey, who is a member of the Evans High School competition cheerleading and varsity football squads. "I'm going to try to take anatomy next year and see if it still interests me."
Kasey knows for sure that cheering is a passion. As a young girl, she cheered for the Columbia County Parks & Recreation Department. It was after her older sister, Erika, now a sophomore at Georgia Southern University, became a cheerleader that Kasey became hooked.
"I've been cheering since I was in the seventh grade," she said, adding that she used to play basketball, but decided that cheerleading was her greater passion. She tried out for the Evans Knights' cheerleading squad as a freshman and was picked for the team. As a member of the varsity football squad, she automatically became a member of the competition squad.
"I like it a lot," said Kasey, also a member of the school's student-led Bible study group, Discipleships, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. "In the ninth grade, it was a little bit intimidating, and practice can be a little hard. I think I like spending time with the squad and the aspect of just competing and trying to win the most."
Kasey Bandy, a member of the Evans High School competition and varsity football cheerleading squads and an active member in several clubs, is thinking about pursuing a career in medicine.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
When she isn't at cheerleading practice, which runs from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and an occasional Friday, Kasey has plenty of meetings to attend. She serves as secretary of the Junior Student Council and vice president of the school's Beta Club.
"It's a lot of work sometimes," Kasey said. "Sometimes it is very stressful."
Mary Stout, Kasey's advanced placement language teacher and chairwoman of Evans High School's communication skills department, said her student excels in her studies.
"She has taken the most strenuous courses we offer and has maintained outstanding grades," Ms. Stout said.
Kasey admits she isn't one of those students who automatically absorbs everything taught in class and must work hard at keeping up her good grades.
"I have to do my homework," she said. "That's the most important thing."