Record details
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When I was 3 years old, I got a pair of boots for Christmas.
They weren’t just any boots. They were Apache Belle boots.
From then on (until my feet could no longer squeeze into them) I was in uniform, dancing with the world-famous dance and drill team as they marched in parades, performed during half-time at TJC games and Super Bowls and traveled across the world as goodwill ambassadors.
From my backyard, near the TJC campus, I would listen to the sounds of the Apache Band practicing and I would dance and high-step to the Tyler Junior College Fight Song!
Even before I got my boots, I was an Apache Belle at heart. I was captivated the first time I laid eyes on them: long skirts flowing in perfect unison as they gracefully took the lead in the Tyler Rose Festival Parade. Every year after the parade I would go home and re-enact it with my neighborhood friends.
I may not have truly realized it at the time, but being a part of TJC was natural to me and it always would be. My dad started the tradition for our family by playing trombone in the band led by long-time bandleader Pinky Fowler. I continued it by getting a real pair of Apache Belle boots in 1977 and performing as a member of the real Apache Belles in such venues as the half-time show at Super Bowl XII.
The tradition continues to this day. Although he may not have longed for it like I did in my youth, my youngest son now shares in the legacy of the Apache Belles as a member of the Belle Guard.
What’s more important, of course, is that I know he is receiving a quality education from professors who really care about students and don’t want any of them to miss the opportunity to succeed academically.
My TJC experience was filled with many faculty members who put their heart and soul into teaching beyond the four walls of the classroom, and I know my son will realize that as well.
I was a member of Harmony and Understanding, the traveling choral group directed by J.W. Johnson, whose passion for music, life and learning was contagious. He was my mentor and still continues to be one of the most influential people in my life. I am also indebted to educators like Dr. Robert Glover, my Civil War history teacher, who made history come alive by giving his final exam at a historical log cabin under candlelight.
Today, each time I see the Apache Belles link up for the traditional walk around the rim, I am reminded that my service to education and the advancement of students began because of TJC.
- Biography
- TJC Hero and Friend Cindy Nick is currently a middle school history teacher, thanks to the inspiration she received from Dr. Robert Glover. Shortly after her time as an Apache Belle she became the director of her own dance team, the award-winning Whitehouse First Ladies Drill Team. The First Ladies marched in the Inaugural Parade for President George H. Bush, performed for the opening ceremonies of the World’s Fair in Brisbane, Australia in the presence of Queen Elizabeth and dazzled audiences in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 1991, she directed the John Tyler Blue Brigade and Brigadettes Drill Team. Under her direction, the Brigadettes performed half-time at State Championship games, earned two National Championship titles and received hundreds of state and regional awards. Also in 1991, she served as President of the National Drill Team Directors Association and started the National All-Star Drill Team. From 1999-2006, she owned and directed the Star Dance Productions Studio of Performing Arts and her students were featured in a special performance on the Tomorrowland Stage in Disney’s Magic Kingdom.
