Kindergarten Teacher Brings School Spirit to New Level

Lilly Groshell wasn’t surprised; she half expects this kind of reaction by now.

Groshell was part of an interview panel made up of Peninsula School District representatives and community members speaking with candidates for the recent Vaughn Elementary School principal position.

As one community member introduced herself to other members of the panel, she came up to Groshell and enthusiastically asked her, “What grade are you in?”

Unfazed, Groshell responded, “I’m actually a teacher here.”

It’s not uncommon for anyone to mistake the 4-foot, 6-inch youthful-looking 28-year-old kindergarten teacher for a student. “It happens literally all the time,” Groshell said. “I find it more flattering now that I’m getting closer to my 30s than I did when I was growing up. So, if I can look like I’m in my 20s when I’m 50, I’ll take it.”

She’s not only used to it; in fact, her smaller stature has suited her well. Before she was Ms. Groshell, who is starting her seventh year at Vaughn in September — third in the kindergarten classroom — she was Lilly Hasenkopf, one of the top cheerleaders in the country for the University of Alabama.

From 2014 to 2018, during one of the Crimson Tide football program’s most dominant periods, Groshell was on the sidelines when the football team won two national championships (2015 and 2017 seasons) and lost another (2016) but won three consecutive Southeastern Conference championships (2014-16).

Her pathway to becoming a top-tier cheerleader started at age 2 in her hometown of Lawrenceville, Georgia, a small suburb of Atlanta. Early on it was a mix of gymnastics and dance, but when middle school rolled around neither were sparking joy: gymnastics was too demanding, and dance was too slow. Around that time, she got involved with competitive cheerleading, which seemed to strike a good balance between the two. Unlike sideline cheerleading, in competitive cheerleading teams perform 2 1⁄2 minute routines judged on precision, timing and creativity. Her petite size made Groshell an ideal “flyer,” which is exactly what it sounds like. She was lifted and thrown in the air to perform stunts, poses, tricks or other movements.

Not until her senior year did she consider cheerleading after high school. “(Cheerleading) wasn’t a longtime dream of mine or in my long-term plans,” she said. “I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but I didn’t know where I wanted to go to college.”

Then the University of Alabama came calling.

“Alabama cheerleading is one of the top programs in the country,” said Groshell, who never cheered for another sports team until her first Crimson Tide football game.

“I wouldn’t have made it there if I hadn’t learned what I did in competitive cheerleading.”

And when she wasn’t cheering for championship teams at Alabama, she was winning championships of her own. She was part of the 2015 Universal Cheerleaders Association National Championship Team during her freshman year of college. She was selected as one of 30 cheerleaders to represent Team USA at the International Cheer Union World Championship in Florida in 2016, which USA won. Groshell has the distinction of being one of the few to cheer in a national championship game and cheer for a national championship in the same season. She even met her now husband, Elijah, a Tacoma native, on the cheerleading team.

Soon after graduating in 2018, she brought her school spirit to the Pacific Northwest and Vaughn Elementary where she started her teaching career. Now instead of prepping for football games in August, she’s prepping her classroom for the new school year. Though she recognizes a lot of similarities between cheerleading and teaching, she also highlights one big difference: keeping 100,000 fans on their feet versus keeping 20 kids in their seats.

“It may sound funny but teaching in front of 20 kids is way more nerve-wracking than cheering in a stadium full of people,” Groshell said. “When cheering, you’re just a small seed in a huge stadium with so much going on. When teaching, all eyes are on you. You’re the leader, you’re setting up that structure.”

A key part of her structure is building a safe, inclusive classroom for her students.

“We start and end the day by greeting everyone, looking each other in the eyes, and using silent signals to show we’re listening to each other. This gives every one of my students a chance to know they have a voice that matters.”

And because of her cheerleading background, Groshell believes in relying on a team. After all, when being tossed 15 feet in the air the expectation is someone will be there to catch you. She feels reliance breeds empathy, and she continues to learn that in her classroom as much as she tries to teach it. “Big emotions happen constantly, and when someone is having a big moment, we rely on our team to be there for one another,” said Groshell, who added that the teaching and administrative staff at Vaughn are equally supportive. “Everyone, kids and adults, will go through a time when they need each other.”

Then there are the other “big moments” Groshell has to deal with. Her former students — some going into fourth and fifth grades — use her as their literal measuring stick to see how much bigger they get. “It’s super fun. They come up to me regularly and look forward to passing my height, even though some were already taller than me even when they were in my class.”

Groshell hopes to eventually reconnect with cheerleading, possibly in a coaching role, combining her two passions but doesn’t have a timeline for that yet. For now, she’s just enjoying being in the classroom each year.

“I never thought I’d be teaching kindergarten and now I love it so much,” she said. “We’re here to work together, grow together, and learn together. That’s my only goal right now.”