Class of 2016: Senior poms dance their way towards a diploma

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Senior poms celebrate seven days left for seniors. (Back L to R) Maggie Hall, Rachel Huston, Emily Rieland, Rachel Femiano. (Front L to R) Harper Lindsay, Lexi Duda, Olivia DuBro. (Not Pictured) Abigail Montgomery

by Alyse Montgomery, Reporter

Senior pom members Olivia DuBro, Lexi Duda, Rachel Femiano, Maggie Hall, Rachel Huston, Harper Lindsay, Abigail Montgomery, and Emily Rieland have made their last four years of poms one for the books.

The pom and dance team has been battling school rivals Urbana and Oakdale, as well as other schools across the state, for the prestigious title of State Champions since before they can remember.  

After rising to the top and being named Grand Champions at the 2015 MAPDA State Championships, placing them in Division 1 and making them the first Linganore pom and dance team become state champions, they were able to defend their title at the 2016 MAPDA State Championships in both short pom and jazz.  They also placed second in the lyrical category.  In addition, both Olivia DuBro and Abigail Montgomery won first place captain for jazz and short pom.

Although the seniors are heading to different colleges next year, the memories of their time spent on the pom and dance team will be something they share for the rest of their lives.

Rachel Femiano is continuing her dance career as a Towson Tiger.  She plans to major in dance and hopes to one day open a dance studio of her own.  Her favorite memory was her senior pep rally, as she enjoyed getting to the school early and performing in front of her peers.

Lexi Duda will also be using her dance experience while away at college as the feature twirler at the University of Maryland, while continuing her academic career at FCC.  Similar to Femiano, Duda’s favorite memory was dancing in front of the school under the Friday night lights with “the most amazing team.”

Olivia DuBro, Abigail Montgomery, and Emily Rieland all share the same favorite memory: winning states their junior year.  This memory was particularly special, as the girls were not expecting to win Grand Champs, making the moment their names were called even more shocking..  DuBro specifically remembers crying off all of their stage makeup when they learned they had won the title.

Rieland will attend Salisbury University.  She plans on majoring in communication arts with a minor in marketing. Maggie Hall plans to spend a year at FCC and then join Rieland at Salisbury University where she too plans to study communication arts, in hopes of becoming an event planner.  Hall’s favorite memory was winning their dances as a part of Division 1.

Both DuBro and Montgomery will become tigers in the fall at their dream schools.  DuBro will be attending Clemson University, where she plans to study Pre-Medicine in hopes of one day becoming a psychiatrist.  Montgomery is attending the University of Missouri, where she will major in journalism in one of the top ranked journalism school in the country.

Along with DuBro and Montgomery, Rachel Huston will be attending her dream school since she was little, the University of Maryland.  Huston plans on majoring in either history or archaeology, in hopes of one day becoming a Smithsonian curator.  Her favorite memory while being on the poms team was becoming closer with all of her friends through the experience.

Like Hall, Harper Lindsay will be spending a year at FCC.  Although still undecided where she wants to attend school after FCC, Lindsay knows she wants to move far away from home and major in some sort of medicine, possibly nutrition.  Lindsay’s favorite memory while on poms was being able to meet her best friends and being a part of the school.

With four years of commendable achievements under their belts, these seniors are ready to dance their way into the next chapter of their lives.