Owen Rocha Details Rise Through Cheerleading and Shift From California to Pennsylvania

The Bay Area of California and Erie, Pennsylvania differ in a lot of ways. The Bay area is warmer, more culturally accepting, and advanced technologically at a higher rate. However, Erie, Pennsylvania has some of the most intense winters, is a bit more slower adapting, and is still heavily a manufacturing based economy. There truly is no right or wrong, but it is just different.

For Penn State Behend sophomore, Owen Rocha, he’s experienced each region and has found ways to make each feel like home. A native of Castro Valley, California, a city of around 67,000 people, he headed to Erie beginning in 2021 because Penn State’s nursing program is one of the top in the nation. Still, it was difficult to fit in and there were some things missing. Rocha left cheerleading in high school and also felt uncomfortable as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

While he almost considered leaving Penn State, he decided that getting more involved could possibly be the change he needed. “I felt as if I did not belong in the community and was considering applying to other colleges. I was also missing not cheering my freshman year. I knew that my college experience would be good if I tried to make the best out of it.”

Having been a cheerleader since the eighth grade, he decided to get back into the sport in college. This decision has helped him form friendships and connect with people who cared about him as an individual. “I felt a sense of community where I belonged with genuine people. I have made friends that have become my best friends. My coaches support me in everything that I do and are always someone to lean on. I am now very happy to represent Penn State while continuing the sport that I love.”

The Behrend Lions competition cheerleading team will be competing at the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) College Nationals for the first time since 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The program has been preparing with local completions, including one at nearby Gannon University this past weekend.

While there is likely to be some nerves, Rocha has competed on the big stage before. In high school, he had the opportunity to compete at Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) International All-Star Championships at the ESPN Wide World of Sports with his club team, California All-Stars Pink. They also competed at The Summit in 2021 in the Senior Coed 3 Division. The team secured a first place finish and became the first team from the Bay Area to win a senior level Summitt championship. The California All-Stars organization helped take him from a D2 caliber competition cheerleader to become a Division I competition cheerleader. “This program taught me discipline, a strong mindset, pushing through adversity, and overall turned me into the athlete that I am today,” he said.

Rocha also had four years of high school experience at the junior varsity, varsity, and competition levels with Castro Valley High School. During his sophomore season, he earned the opportunity to compete in Rome, Italy as a varsity cheerleading All-American.

With this upcoming competition at Behend, he feels equipped to help the program to their best finish in the young history of their competition cheerleading program. But, being a cheerleader is far from the only part of his college experience.

On top of a full plate as a nursing student, Rocha works as a nursing assistant and also as a barista at Starbucks. Each are teaching him the skills he will need to become a nurse in the coming years as these are positions in which you are forced to deal with difficulties. His path to nursing was one that started years ago as his days serving others started with Boy Scouts.

“Through Boy Scouts, I have a background in service to the community. I learned that this is something that is very fulfilling and healthcare workers are an essential part of our community. I was able to give back to many organizations, such as local churches through my Eagle Project. The skills that I learned from becoming an Eagle Scout I carry into my everyday life.”

The Bay Area native recently found a way to combine his passion for cheerleading while also serving others as he was named a UCA staff member earlier this month. He will be an instructor for summer camps across California and hopes to develop his knowledge in the sport to become a coach of his own program after his college years.

In his journey through cheerleading and as a Penn State student, he’s thankful for the chance to have connected with his California All-Stars coaches Ceddy Bushnull and Marlon Biete, his college coach, Kelli Carpinello, and his professors, Rebekah Nottingham and Meg Ferri.

From almost leaving Penn State to now leading them to nationals. Owen Rocha proves that being involved and putting in work is worth it. “If one thing, cheerleading has taught me how to work as a unit. You are only as strong as your weakest member. Mindset is everything. Through my years of cheer, the work is worth it. I have always pushed my hardest because I want no regrets. I take that aspect into my life. I do not want to think what my life could’ve been. I think of my life as making the most of the opportunities that are available to me and owning up to my full potential.”