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Teen of the Week: Parkersburg South grad Abbi Francisco eager to teach, continue cheerleading

By Douglass Huxley 4 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Recent Parkersburg South High School graduate Abbi Francisco said she has always loved hanging out with children and that is what led her into wanting to pursue a career in early childhood education.

"I think teachers can make your experience in school, and it's just something that I've always felt passionately about," Francisco said. "I just want to really get to be someone's rock in their lives when they're little."

Francisco said she has spent her last two summers babysitting Aniah and Aspen Ritchie, 7-year-old twins, and Adley Ritchie, 11, and got to spend some time in the Co-op Program at Edison Middle School, and it was these experiences that cemented her idea of becoming a teacher. She said she wants to teach third grade because that's when the students' interest in school starts to peak.

"It's when you start getting A's and B's on your report card," Francisco said. "They're still young and fun but they start to care a little bit about school."

Francisco will be attending West Liberty University in the fall where she will pursue a degree in early childhood education and also continue her career in competitive cheer on their Acrobatics and Tumbling team. She said she has been cheering since she was 4 and that she cheered on the varsity team at PSHS her freshman through junior years. She said her best friend then asked her if she would like to join the Famous Superstars out of Hurricane, which Francisco describes as a mixture of gymnastics and cheerleading.

"She asked me to just try it and see if I liked it, and I loved it!" Francisco said. "So, I just stuck with it."

Francisco said her dream school for the longest time was the University of Kentucky, but after receiving a message from the Acrobatics and Tumbling coach at West Liberty inviting her down for a visit, things changed.

"I met the coach and I just loved her instantly," Francisco said. "She walked me around campus, and told me everything, she knew everything I asked, and let me come in and sit through their practice. And I just fell in love with it. And I loved the campus."

Francisco said the campus is small but not so small she would feel like she was trapped. She said she got to meet some of the members of the Acrobatics and Tumbling team and they were very receptive and had positive personalities.

"They're all really sweet and welcoming," Francisco said. "I want to try something new. Acro and tumbling is a newer sport, so I don't know a lot about it, and I'm just excited to learn something new."

Francisco said she hopes to also be a cheerleading coach one day and that she plans to move to Folly Beach, S.C., after college where her family has vacationed since she was little.

"It's small, it's an older town, and I just like how calm it is there," Francisco said. "And everyone is so friendly."

Francisco said she enjoys staying active and busy and that a close friend told her one time when she was in a bad place that, "The sun always rises, and so do you."

"And that just kind of stuck with me," Francisco said. "Even when you got to get up, and it's a bad day, you got to get up, and you got to make it better for yourself. And I just think that just kind of stuck with me, no matter what."

In her free time Francisco said she enjoys going to concerts with her brother, Landon Francisco, spending time outdoors with friends, practicing her tumbling and hanging out with her four dogs, two who stay with her dad and two rescues at her mom's.

"I love that my mom does that," Francisco said. "I like that she has a big heart for that kind of stuff. Both dogs were abused and my mom, she just looks for that, and she took them in. I commend her for that."

Francisco said she also likes spending time with her grandmother. She said she used to spend her hour of lunch everyday with her and they would just sit and chat.

"She's done a lot for me, and anytime we need something, she's there," Francisco said. "If you need help, she knows what to do. I admire her that. She's awesome."

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com

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