ANDERSON, S.C. – With an eye on spending more time with her husband, daughters and on her teaching career, head cheerleading coach Nikki Arroyo has announced that she is stepping down after nearly four years at the helm of the Anderson University program.

Arroyo has deep, ongoing threads that connect the Upstate native to the Black and Gold. During her undergraduate days at Anderson University, she met her husband, Nathan - a graduate of Newberry College. After receiving her bachelor's degree in english from AU in 2011, she served as the Spirit Squad Coordinator at the University of Northern Iowa for three years. Following her stint with the Panthers in Cedar Falls, Arroyo earned her master's degree in elementary education from AU and served as the Competitive Cheer Coach at Powdersville High School from 2015-17 before being named as head cheerleading coach for the Trojans in mid-July 2017.

""For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1) "The past four years at Anderson have been great experiences, and I am thankful for the opportunities that this position has provided me," said Arroyo. "Despite my passion for cheerleading and my love for coaching, I feel I can no longer give this positive the dedication and drive that is needed. I in turn must devote my time to my family, finishing graduate school and my full-time career as a teacher at Midway Elementary.

While earning her undergraduate degree from AU, Arroyo was a member of the Trojan cheerleading squad from 2007-10 and served as an assistant coach at Eastside High School in 2010-11. During her career, she has choreographed routines and worked camps for University of the Ozarks in Arkansas, Missouri Valley College, Northern Iowa, Liberty High School and Liberty Middle School, along with Powdersville High School. Arroyo also served as an instructor with The Universal Cheer Association from 2008-13.

"This program deserves the absolute best and has come so far since my days at Anderson," added Arroyo. "As an AU alumni and former Trojan cheerleader, it has been truly amazing to watch the transformation. I never thought that exactly 14 years to the date from my first tryout to be an AU cheerleader, I would host my last tryouts as the coach for Anderson. I will forever be connected to AU and will be an avid supporter always. I cannot wait to see how the program grows, as there is amazing talent on the 2021-2022 team."

After teaching third grade at Midway during this past year, Arroyo will graduate in August with yet another degree from AU – this time with an M.Ed in Administration – and is looking forward to returning to teaching fifth-grade and splitting her time between Midway and Nathan, and their three daughters - eight-year old twins, McKenna and Raelynn, and one-year old Adriana.