Saint Mary’s alumna Madeline Molloy took off to Texas after graduation this past May in hopes of pursuing her dream of being a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.
Knowing no one in Texas and having no steady job lined up, Molloy said she was excited because the opportunity to try out as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader — after receiving an invitation to the team’s training camp — was one she could not pass up.
“It was intense,” Molloy said. “I’m not from the South at all, and I didn’t know the area and I didn’t know anybody going into it, so it was a little intimidating. But it was one of those things where I knew I had to go for it or I was going to live in such regret. This is such a dream of mine so I just had to do it.”
Molloy said people thought she was crazy for picking up and leaving home, but she liked the craziness of her new adult life.
“I graduated and I went home to Illinois, where I grew up. I got all my stuff and I moved down to Texas and found an apartment,” Molloy said. “I was actually living on an air mattress for my first week of training camp. There was just so much going on in that certain amount of time, I don’t even know how I did it.”
Molloy then went to training camp to try out for the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading team. The camp began with 400 hopeful women, according to Molloy, but she eventually found herself amongst the final 44 candidates after a number of rounds of cuts. It was at that point Molloy was cut from the team, however.
“I have absolutely no regrets,” Molloy said. “I made the best friends I think I ever had. I think I see a lot of room for improvement.”
Even though she was cut, the network of the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders eventually landed her a job. The owner of a startup called Live Love Gameday — which sells game-day apparel — found a picture of Molloy on Instagram that she had posted about training camp, and she immediately offered Molloy a job.
“The person I work for now owns a company, and she was on the Dallas Cowboy cheerleading team for seven years,” Molloy said. “I was just cut, and I didn’t have a job yet, so I was like, ‘Yeah, I would like to make any money at all.’”
Molloy said she loves the excitement of her new job, and she really enjoys helping out her boss in any way she can.
“It’s been really cool. Every day is so different,” Molloy said. “Sometimes I model for them, sometimes I do the dirty work of filling orders, sometimes I’m answering emails.”
Molloy said her life continues to be crazy, but it’s working for her. She said she thanks Saint Mary’s for giving her the confidence to branch out because now she is doing what she loves.
“I think a lot of people get scared to graduate,” Molloy said. “I love Saint Mary’s more than anything, and I definitely miss it every single day, but I think Saint Mary’s does such a good job of preparing you for what the world can offer you. If I were to offer any advice, it would be to not be scared to take the world on.”
