Parker reflects on growth at Northwest, impact on twirling program

Parker reflects on growth at Northwest, impact on twirling program

Whether she was twirling fire batons, winning a world championship or preparing to student teach, Kendall Parker built her experience at Northwest Missouri State University around growth, resilience and school pride.

Parker, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, plans to graduate next December with her bachelor's degree in early childhood education. After completing her degree, she hopes to teach kindergarten.

Parker will begin her student teaching journey in the fall. With three practicums in the early childhood education program, she feels prepared to step into the classroom.

"I feel at this point like I've already been teaching, and taking that next step is something I feel completely ready for," Parker said. "I feel like Northwest has given me the steps needed to prepare, including the interview process with the mock interviews. I've made a lot of connections and was able to see what kind of questions they were going to ask me."

Her interest in Northwest started with her parents, who are both alumni. During high school, she considered attending Northwest, but said it felt like taking the "easy way out." Parker toured other schools but eventually returned to the University.

"My mom was like, 'Why don't we go back to Northwest? Of all of them, that's the one you always talk about,'" Parker said. "So, I went back and toured it and got the same feeling - like I just knew it was home. Everyone here was so supportive. When you come onto campus, you can just feel it."

Before even stepping onto the campus as a full-fledged Bearcat, Parker had already started thinking about how she could leave her mark. She began her twirling career when she was just 10 years old.

"The very first thing I did during my audition was an interview part," Parker said. "I knew I wanted to grow myself, and I wanted to grow the program. I think that I can say confidently that I've done both. Then, I wanted to take it a step further. I was like, 'Oh, let's add fire baton.' That was a very hard process to do, making sure that we had all the information because obviously fire seems very dangerous and it's very controlled."

Dr. Kathryn Strickland, director of bands at Northwest and associate professor of music in the School of Fine and Performing Arts, was a "huge blessing," Parker says, when she was working toward introducing fire batons into her routine.

Strickland says Parker consistently went above and beyond as a featured twirler with the Bearcat Marching Band.

"She particularly grew in the leadership department," Strickland said. "She's always been a fantastic performer. In her junior and senior years, she created a 'Bearcat Twirler for a Day' program that brought young twirlers onto campus from the ground up. She organized it, scheduled, recruited, taught the routine and even made them shirts. It was one example of her work to go beyond what was required, much like the fire baton performance."

While at Northwest, Parker continued her involvement with Sue's Stepper-ettes in La Vista, Nebraska. Last summer, she competed with its senior team and earned gold in the exhibition corps category at the World Championships in Turin, Italy.

After previously earning silver in 2020, the team entered the competition determined to prove themselves.

"It was absolutely insane," Parker said. "We had worked so hard to do that. We worked for hours all year round while I was here, and they were practicing at home. I made sure that I was getting into the Student Recreation Center and keeping up with them. When we hit the floor, we just felt like it was the best performance. Everyone was crying afterwards, and you could just feel it in the whole stadium that was the best we could've done."

Parker was also a member of Sigma Kappa sorority and Council of Exceptional Children, and she served as a supplemental instruction leader. One of the most important factors in balancing her many commitments, Parker said, was maintaining a positive attitude.

"Everything I was doing, making sure that I had a growth mindset," she said. "If you're not thinking positively, you're not going to grow positively."

Although Parker was initially unsure of her decision to attend Northwest, she said it has provided her with opportunities and experiences that couldn't be replicated elsewhere.

"I could not imagine myself anywhere else," Parker said. "The opportunities that I've gotten and the growth that we've had in the program and within myself, probably would not have happened nearly as much as if I had gone somewhere else. Coming here was definitely where I was meant to be and where I was supposed to grow. I don't regret that decision at all."