
A little-known secret of professional sports is that some of the smartest people in stadiums aren’t in the boxes; they’re on the field, holding pom-poms. A group of about 300 current and former professional cheerleaders pursuing science and technology degrees led by an ASU professor are working to encourage women to join technical fields, inspire younger generations and entice the public into citizen science projects.
“There’s two takeaways from this … ‘I didn’t know you could be smart and a cheerleader.’ Or ‘I didn’t know that scientists are happy and have a social life and can look me in the eye when they talk, and enjoy what they do.’ We don’t force either definition when we go to events.”
(image from this article from last year)