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| photography by Misty Keasler |
Lori Lewis is no stranger to success. As the rookie coach of SMU’s Pom Squad, the group won the national title in the university’s first appearance at the Chick-fil-A Cheer and Dance Collegiate Championship. After becoming newspaper advisor at Hillcrest High School halfway through last year, Lewis’ students won the National Scholastic Press Association’s Pacemaker award, the premier prize in student media. She says her winning track record is a result of the right motivation. “You make them believe in it and they buy into it, and there you go,” she says. The UNT alumna was a Mavs Dancer from 2000 to 2002, but the grueling rehearsal schedule and performing at up to three games each week took a toll on her. While she’s also got a stint in public relations and time as a dance instructor on her résumé, Lewis’ next career move is motherhood. “I want to be a great mom,” she says. Until then, she’s living her dream. “How many people get to go to work every day and do the thing that they love to do?” she says. “I get to do journalism and dance every day, and I wake up and I’m happy to go to work.”
