Danny Wells stays busy.
“I just take it day-by-day and try to survive it,” Wells said. “It’s fun and I love it.”
Not only has Wells, a senior sustainable biomaterials major, been a Virginia Tech cheerleader since the beginning of his collegiate career, but he is also he is also a member of the Citizen-Leader Track within the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and a wildland firefighter.
Wells was one of the cheer captains for the 2024-25 season and enjoyed helping his teammates grow as individuals and athletes.
“Danny did a great job last year of really taking the role of our only junior captain,” said Josh Larrick, head spirit coach. “He really took that responsibility to guide his teammates and push them all while still pushing himself.”
Wells said cheerleading has led to him developing long-lasting friendships within Virginia Tech and at schools across the country.
“I love it,” Wells said. “It’s definitely given me a community in and outside of the school.”
While balancing cheer practice, games, and appearances, Wells still manages time to fight wildland fires as a part-time member of the Mountain Valley Strike Team with the Virginia Department of Forestry.
Wells even managed to complete an extra credit assignment while walking a fire line on the Brush Mountain fire in Catawba, Virginia. He was tasked with finding a Table Mountain pine and snapping a picture of it.
“I was just walking along the fire line and making sure that the fire didn’t jump, and there it was,” Wells said. “A Table Mountain pine on fire.”
For now, Wells wants to focus on making it back to the Universal Cheerleaders Association College Nationals in Orlando, Florida. Wells said his most memorable collegiate moment so far has been stepping onto the national stage with his team each January.
“The most rewarding experience has been being a captain of the team and going to nationals,” Wells said. “The feeling of getting to coach someone and watch them grow is just such a rewarding and exciting thing to get to do.”
Depending on the current climate, Wells plans to join the U.S. Coast Guard after working as a structure firefighter for a few years.
Written by Emily Southern, a senior majoring in multimedia journalism and student writer for Virginia Tech Marketing and Communications
