Science Hill High School

Angela Herget

Angela Herget 1975

Whether it was for the Hilltoppers or on Rocky Top, cheerleading always made Angela Herget feel as if she was on top of the world. Herget cheered at Science Hill in the mid-70s, and later made the squad as a senior at the University of Tennessee, where she reunited with ’Toppers teammates Anne Runyan-Littleford and Gayle Hawkins-Hughes. Herget soaked up every moment. There were photo ops with Bear Bryant, cheering for Don Devoe and Pat Summitt in Stokely Athletic Center, and two days at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago before a football game at Notre Dame. The Science Hill days lacked the glamour, but were just as gratifying. “I liked getting together at Anne or Gayle’s and making signs for the pep rallies,” said Herget, who is an office manager at Knoxville Reflexology Group, Inc. “The pep rallies were always awesome fun. I loved the maroon and gold uniforms … wool skirts with pleats … white oxford shirts and those brown and white saddle oxford shoes, the most comfortable shoes in the world.” It was hard to beat football Friday night. Herget remembers buying candied apples, but waiting to eat it after the game while watching the highlights on the local news. “Angie was the beautiful ballerina, very prim and proper,” Hawkins-Hughes says with a laugh. “She never liked to sweat.” Herget laughs at the description. “The guys would get on me and say ‘You hold your arms like a ballerina,’” Herget said. She’d taken ballet at the Holloway School of Dance. “I still take dance, believe it or not,” she says. Her spirits are still high, some eight years after heart surgery. And it does her heart well to remember cheering. “We had such great school spirit – at Tennessee and Science Hill,” Herget said. “It was the experience of a lifetime.” And Herget enriched the experiences of others. “Angie had such a wonderful, kind way about her,” Hawkins-Hughes said. “She loved cheerleading and was always such a positive role model for the school.”