Blonde hair. Blue eyes.  Extraordinary laugh.  Kind.  Beautiful.  Is this not the typical Barbie doll that every girl aspires to be?   She is so much more.

Seventeen-year-old senior Alexandra (Alex) Murphy participates in several activities, including cheerleading, at Walsh Jesuit High School. She has been cheering since the age of seven.  Her positive energy, motivation, and sharp movements help the team become better each year.

Alex is a flyer—the person lifted into the air during a stunt. She noted, “Flying was terrifying at first, but after a while you get used to the butterflies in your stomach as you’re thrown up into the air.”

“I learned very quickly to never look down while I was in the air,” Murphy added. Freshman year she caught on pretty easily, and now she helps new flyers to get over their fear. Maddy Moten, a junior teammate, noted that “Alex makes one of the best teammates because she cares so much about other people.”

Alex would not be where she is today without the support of her family, including her brother, Tyler, a junior wide receiver on the WJHS football team. Alex loves cheering for him under the Friday night lights.

Tyler and Alex have always been close. Tyler said that one of his favorite memories with his sister took place “when we were about five and six and would listen to one Toby Keith song on repeat because it had a funny word in it that we kept wanting to laugh at.”

Another important member of the Murphy family is their dog, Ruffles. She appears in Snapchats virtually every day, and “she is the best dog anyone could ask for,” said Alex. Every morning Alex wakes up to Ruffles cuddling with one of her own stuffed animals on the floor—the perfect “streaks” picture opportunity for her Snapchat friends.

She spends a lot of her time with the cheer team, so those girls are like a second family. Her two best friends, Marisa and Emily, also cheer with her.  They spend every Friday night together, and they could not be more excited to continue cheering their final football season.

Alex hopes to attend a college in Florida because she loves warm weather and the beach. She hopes to own a boat when she’s older and to become a dermatologist.

Murphy. Murph.  Little Murph.  Smurphy. Alex.  Amazing daughter. Teammate. Sister. Friend. Alexandra Murphy.