Faith Palmer, a senior at Auburn University, is representing Auburn and the SEC in round four of the 2008 Athlon Sports Sideline Spirit contest. Cheerleaders or members of dance teams at universities are nominated by their school and selected to be in the competition. The competition consists of five rounds of voting. Each round lasts three weeks, with Palmer's round lasting from Nov. 1 until 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 21. The final round will consist of a run-off with each of the previous round winners, which starts on Nov. 29 and lasts two weeks.

After cheering for three years for the Auburn Tigers, Palmer feels like Auburn is a part of who she is.

"For me to have the opportunity to represent the university and be a face for Auburn is something I will never take for granted," Palmer said. "I feel very blessed to uphold the title and would love to give back to Auburn. I am so proud to say I'm an Auburn cheerleader, and I want the university to be proud of me as well."

Palmer was selected to represent Auburn after her cheerleading sponsor and the head cheerleader for Auburn nominated her by sending in pictures and filling out a form about her. Palmer found out she had been selected when she and her sponsor received an e-mail from the Athlon Sports Sideline Spirit director.

To vote for Palmer, there are two available options. The first option is to log onto the Athlon Sports Web site at www.athlonsports.com/spirit. Then create an Athlon Sports account by clicking on the registrationi/voting link in the upper right hand corner and fill out the requested information. Log in to your account and vote for your favorite contestant. There is a maximum of 20 votes allowed per account per day. A second voting option can be done by logging onto your Facebook account. Join the Athlon Sports Sideline Spirit Facebook group and add the voting application to your account. Here you can vote up to 10 times per day.

The winner of the competition receives numerous prizes including $1,000 cash and a 42 inch LCD JVC TV with an integrated iPod dock. Other prizes include a JVC full HD hard disk camcorder, a JVC Everio hard disk camcorder, a JVC mini system with build-in iPod dock and a photo shoot in Athlon Sports' 2009 College Football Annual.

Palmer is currently majoring in Public Relations and is a member of the Delta Gamma sorority. She plans to try out for head cheerleader in April for her final year on the squad. Palmer will graduate in May 2010. Oher involvements include Homecoming and SGA campaign committees, model for the AU Body Image Awareness, Miss Glomerata nominee, Encounter and the Backyard Campus bible studies. When not on the field cheering for her Tigers, Palmer enjoys running, dancing, working out, modeling, pageants, shopping, scrapbooking and hanging out with her friends.

Kendra Moore, a close friend of Palmer said, "Faith is always been an inspiration to others and me. She is a great friend and will do anything for anyone. She's always there to give me an uplifting quote or bible verse to pick me up when I'm having a bad day. She definitely deserves this wonderful opportunity."

Palmer sees herself in five years in the sales and marketing communication area. "Because the Auburn spirit runs deep within me, I can see myself staying at Auburn and working within the athletic department, giving me the opportunity to give something back after receiving so much," Palmer said. Another area of interest for Palmer is becoming a pharmaceutical sales representative. "Being in the field of public relations will allow me the opportunity to deliver positive messages to the community in times of need or celebration."

When asked to pick a most memorable moment while at Auburn, Palmer had trouble. "I feel that I am on a ride of a lifetime and consider everything memorable." Finally, she said the last two cheerleading banquets stood out in her mind. She said it is at these events that outgoing cheerleaders tear up as they recount their experiences to the squad. Their concurrent theme is to enjoy this unforgettable experience while you can. "It makes me realize that this time will be over before I can realize it," Palmer said. "I want to make sure I take it all in because we all have our story to write and this might just turn out to be my best chapter."


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