DETROIT (9/29/15) – The University of Detroit Mercy dance team is quickly approaching the season. On Tuesday, DetroitTitans.com sat down with one of the juniors for the 2015-16 season for a set of questions in a feature called #TitanTuesday.
Junior
Haleigh Ethridge is in her third season with the Titan dance squad and is extremely active in student life on the UDM campus. In addition to her duties on the team, she is a member of Alphi Phi Omega and Tri Sigma. She spent part of the summer on a backpacking trip with Father Cavanaugh and Dr. Caspers and also serves as a tutor in the learning center. Ethridge answered questions ranging from her favorite moments on the dance team to the experience of hiking the Appalachian Mountains.
How did you get into dance?I started dancing when I was 3. I was pigeon-toed when I was a baby, like really bad. So I think my parents thought that would help turn my feet out. I started competing when I was in fifth grade, and I competed all the way through high school.
What's your favorite music to dance to or style to dance?My favorite music is anything that's upbeat. At my studio, we did a lot of heartfelt, meaningful pieces, which is a lot of fun, but you feel kind of sad at the end. It's not fun to walk away sad, so anything that's happy is great.
Favorite dance team memory or game you were at?Homecoming my freshman year. I don't think I was expecting that big of a turnout, and everyone was so hype and in a good mood and excited to be there and excited to cheer on basketball.
Any tricks for dancing in front of big crowds?Well especially when it's your peers, the biggest thing for me and what makes me the most nervous is when I see my classmates in the audience. But the biggest thing is to just stay confident.
Favorite part of college?I think just the people you meet. I think getting to know my team and getting to know everyone from all my different activities is great. It's a lot more diverse than high school. I like getting to see where everyone came from and hearing their views.
Outside of the dance team, what kind of activities at UDM are you involved in?I'm in Alpha Phi Omega, a service fraternity, I was on the E-board for that, which was a blast because I got to educate the new pledges and show them what we're all about. I set up service events for them and fellowship activities, which was a lot of fun. I am a tutor at the learning center, which is a lot of fun. It doesn't feel like work, you pretty much go and study with people. It's also great review for grad school tests. I also just pledged to Tri Sigma, so I'm in that too.
With Alpha Phi Omega, what kind of service have you done?We do everything from can drives, help out at Gleaners (Community Food Bank), there was also a big volunteer opportunity at the zoo a couple weeks ago. We have another event where it's kind of like an old abandoned school, and a ministry has taken it over and they're revitalizing it to make it a community center. So we've been involved with helping them make that a reality. We do everything.
You went backpacking with Father Cavanagh and Dr. Caspers, how did that happen? What was that trip like?They've actually been doing this for quite some time, but they go through and they find students from different divisions of the school that they think show good leadership, and then they take them on this big trip to integrate the school and make some changes where they can. So Father Cavanagh saw me on E-board for APO and on the Dance Team, because he's at every single game and he rocks, so he asked me to go and it was amazing. There was no electricity, no showers, no communication, nothing. For a whole week. We went to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, so we got to hike some big mountains. He gets around, he's older but he can hike up those mountains.
As a tutor, what's your favorite subject to teach?Biology. General biology has always been my favorite. After taking so much anatomy and genetics and everything after Gen Bio, it makes it seem so great and simple and fun to teach because I have such a good understanding of it.
How do you think being so involved has impacted your collegiate experience?I think it's made it so much better. I wasn't as involved my freshman year and I really didn't have as much fun. So I think getting involved and getting to know so many new people has made it so much better. And seeing people you know on campus and being able to say 'Hey, what's up?' You just know people, instead of putting in headphones and walking around like a sad person.
What would you say to someone thinking about getting involved in student life or with another activity?Do it. It's a great decision. I think its just great to make friends and network, and pretty much anything you can think of. It's going to take up some time, but it's going to be worth it in the end.
What are your plans after college?I was really thinking of med school for the past two years. But working in a hospital and seeing what the doctors do, I'm not entirely sure. If I don't do that, I would love to go into physical therapy. That's what I'm looking into right now. I've never seen an unhappy PT. They seem to love their job and you get more face time with patients.