Today we’d like to introduce you to Ernie Barrera

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

My name is Ernie Barrera and I am currently the President and a co-founder of Cheer Austin. Cheer Austin is part of the Pride Cheerleading Association (PCA). PCA is an affiliation of member teams that raise spirits, awareness, and funds for causes in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond. We have teams in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle (to name a few). I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas and moved to Chicago for grad school. While living in Chicago, I became a performing member and President of the Chicago Spirit Brigade. I moved back to Austin in 2017 to be closer to family. I was sad that there was no PCA team in Austin or in all of Texas. Just as I was moving back, there was chatter in the PCA group chat that two former PCA cheerleaders were trying to form a team in Austin. I reached out to those individuals, and we started Cheer Austin. Cheer Austin comprises 3 former members from Cheer New York, Cheer San Francisco, and Chicago Spirit Brigade. Cheer Austin became an official 501(C)3 organization in Feb 2018. Since then, we have raised over $11,500 in lifetime donations (even through COVID). We are hopeful that the lifetime total will exceed $15,000 after this season. Cheer Austin has donated to local Austin charities like Out Youth, Strong Family Alliance, and Project Transitions. This season, Cheer Austin is raising money for ASHwell.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

The biggest struggle Cheer Austin has experienced so far was during COVID. We were a new organization and didn’t want members to move on or lose interest. We held Zoom practices and did workouts and dances in our living rooms, hoping it would end soon and we could all practice together in person. When we could finally practice together, we had to wear masks. That would make it very challenging to do dances and stunts since they made it difficult to breathe and would sometimes get in the way. It was also a safety issue that we had to forgo any physical activities that required us to be close in proximity and have contact with each other. We normally use cheerleading and dancing as a vehicle to raise funds. Since we were unable to so, we had to get creative in fundraising. We used social media like Facebook to request donations and participate in drawings. We were fortunate enough to survive COVID and still able to continue our mission today. Some of our newer challenges is that when we get invited to participate in events, we are unable to since we have grown in popularity.
We currently have a total of 33 performing and non-performing volunteers.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

Outside of Cheer Austin, I am an academic advisor for the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas in Austin. I love helping my students archive their goals and dreams. I want all my students to be able to look back at their time in college and know they are able to accomplish everything they wanted. Two initiatives that I work on are orientation and helping students who are on probation. Orientation allows me to work with students who are new, excited, scared, and so many other emotions that come with going to college. The probation students allows me to work with students who have made mistakes but also learned and grew from the experience. I love when students tell me that they know what went wrong, were able to fix, adjust, or make changes and hopefully it wont happen again, Being able to help my probation students succeed academically can be so rewarding. My job gives me a work life balance that also allows me to dedicate my free time to my partner- Rick, fur babies- Mylo (Golden Retriever) and Bear (Pomeranian), and Cheer Austin.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?

My partner Rick has been my biggest advocate and supporter. When I learned about other PCA teams and there was none in Texas, he encouraged me to start one in Austin. I didn’t think I would have been able to have started Cheer Austin or form a 501(C)3 non-profit organization that raises money for local non-profits that provide direct services to those living with life threatening challenges and helps support the LGBTQ+ community without him. Whenever I tell him that Cheer Austin needs something donated or needs a volunteer, Rick is always willing to step up and help. Also, Cheer Austin would not be the organization that is today without its current and former board members. It was through their vision and leadership that helped build the foundation and grow the organization. Also, we wouldn’t be able to raise money or showcase who we are without our performing members. They make Cheer Austin look so good, organizations and businesses want us at their events.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cheeraustin.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheeraustin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheeratx