Senior Spotlight: Tea Tahchawwickah

Pawnee High School senior and Co-Captain of the Pawnee Black Bear Cheerleaders Téa Tahchawwickah won Basketball homecoming queen on Friday, December 16.

“I've been getting attendant for the past like two years now and I was really excited to get voted for this,” she said. “So, it's been exciting getting ready for it and getting to buy a dress and go shopping and everything, get ready and get all dolled up. It's my favorite part.”

Tahchawwickah said she’d been accepted to Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater, Southwest Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Clary Sage in Tulsa and Cowley College in Kansas. She said she’ll most likely attend OSU.

“I want to go for graphic design, and they have a graphic design program there, but ideally, I'd like to go to like an art school of some sort,” Tahchawwickah said.

She said her dream school is Parsons in New York.

Tahchawwickah cheers, runs track and is involved in the Student Council and other clubs.

“I like being like peppy. I like getting to hype up the crowd and see everyone like get up, and I don't know,” she said. “I don't know how to explain it. I just like seeing everyone get up and cheer. It's so fun to me.”

Tahchawwickah is also in the high school band and enjoys reading and dancing.

“The flute, and then I can play a little bit of the piano,” she said. “I've been learning here and there. Dabbed in a little bit of the saxophone.”

Tahchawwickah said her favorite books are the ones that keep her up at night.

“I like a lot of the crime, like thriller. The kind of books that keep me up at night. Those are so fun to me,” she said. “I mean, I get kind of scared afterward, but…they're fun in the moment. It’s like the climax and everything leading up to it.”

Tahchawwickah enjoys it when teammates ask for help because she loves helping others.

“I've just had like girls come up to me and cheer and be like, ‘Oh, I watched you.’ and it helped me like get better,” she said. “Or it helped me notice what I might need to do to become a better cheerleader.”

But Tahchawwickah’s mentors include one of the teachers from the school.

“My teacher, Miss Mittasch, Laurie Mittasch. She is so inspiring, and she's so supportive in everything I've ever like wanted to do,” she said. “So, I really like that about her, and she's such a sweet person, and she's like another mother.”

Before a game, Tahchawwickah is excited and hypes herself up.

“I have to be hyped from the crowd so the crowd can feed off of my energy,” she said. “So, if I'm feeling down, they're going to get it, and they're going to be like, ‘Well, I don't want to stand up because she doesn't even look like she wants me to stand up.’ So yeah, my whole thing is just trying to like, get hype and get happy and get excited for the game.”

Although Tahchawwickah is motivated, remembering her happiness keeps her going.

“Sometimes I don't want to do it. Sometimes I'm like, I really don't want to go out and cheer today, or I don't want to go play my instrument,” she said. “But I know when I do it, I'm going to like be happy, like I'm going to get happy, and I'm going to be excited to see my teammates or like hang out with the other people in bands or play music. So, that's what gets me.”