How can you sum up fifty years…600 months, 2,608 weeks, 18,262 days, 438,288 hours or 1,577,836,800 seconds? I sum up fifty years by the legacy on our walls: the handprints, the plaques, and the many trophies that tower over us as I teach. In the drill room, our saying “the Pride and Joy of Friendswood High School” is seen in big letters from every angle. That same pride and joy I had when I was a Wranglerettes is instilled in me even to this day.
I was a Junior at Friendswood High School for the 35th anniversary of the Wranglerettes. I can recall the amount of women who came back home to perform “One Night Only”. I soon realized in that moment, this organization was something special. As I rounded out my senior year, I knew I wanted to return to THE #1 High School in the nation and become the Wranglerette Director.
After my Senior year, I followed in my sister's footsteps and became a World Famous Kilgore College Rangerette. In 1940, the Rangerettes were created to keep people in their seats during halftime, which later evolved into the billion dollar industry of dance/drill team. The first of its kind, the Rangerettes are in their 83rd year of existence. Every high school drill team, including the Wranglerettes, have adopted, transformed, and created their own traditions, values, and culture. As a Rangerette, this is where my love of directing started. After my years at Kilgore College, I went on to Texas State to finish my Bachelor degree. I then began my student teaching at none other than Friendswood High School in 2014. I had the wonderful opportunity to become the Assistant Director the following year, and my highest honor of becoming the director the year after that. Currently, I am in my ninth year at FISD and could not be more thrilled to be “lighting up our legacy” for the 50th anniversary.
I would like to believe I was born with a Mustang Heartbeat. As a thirteen year alumna, it has become more apparent how special the Friendswood community really is. Our schools and community are something I am proud to be a part of, especially now that I am an educator and mother. Some of our favorite things to do as a family are the Fourth of July and Homecoming parades and any Christmas event in Stephenson Park. This town and our district truly wants the best for our students, and I am honored to partner with our city and local businesses. I also get to work alongside fellow Wranglerette alumna and longtime friend, Kyndal Kennedy, who had a huge part in getting Joy, the newest fairy in the “Keep Friendswood Beautiful Fairy Trail” established. Our fairy represents the “joy” dance can bring, and we hope it sparks inspiration in young dancers to join the Wranglerette organization later.
Wranglerettes is more than a dance team that competes or performs at pep rallies and football games, it is a fifty-year tradition of preparing young women to become their best selves for their future. We try to instill discipline, tradition, and the highest standard for our students, and we hope they carry these life lessons beyond their high school years. I am proud to say we have had Wranglerettes go on to become news anchors, members of their college dance teams, college professors, businesswomen, mothers, and even educators for FISD.
That Mustang Mindset has prepared me to be the best educator, the best mom to two beautiful children, and the best wife to my high school sweetheart. I truly try to embody our Wranglerette motto every day: “Take pride in how far you have come, and have faith in how far you can go”. I constantly remind our current Wranglerettes that they don fifty years of tradition and excellence on their shoulders. When we dance, we honor those that came before us, and as we exit the field and look up at the bleachers, we beam with pride seeing our future…the next generation of Wranglerettes.
-Alyssa Goza, FHS Wranglerettes Director
