Cheer Coach - Jaclyn Buhay-Castro
Contact - jbuhaycastro@luc.edu
Jackie Buhay-Castro will begin her fifth season with the Spirit Teams Program during the 2024-2025 season as the Head Cheer Coach for the Loyola Chicago Cheerleaders. In the 2021-2022 season, Buhay-Castro guided the team in its first year of competition at the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) College Nationals, helping them to a national Top Ten ranking in the Game Day division and creating a new standard in program history.
Buhay-Castro received her B.S. in Psychology from Illinois State University in 2019 and is currently pursuing her M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction. In addition to her role at Loyola, Buhay-Castro is a UCA head instructor, working with cheer programs around the nation to teach, perform, and judge cheerleading skills, techniques, and competitive routines. She is also currently a part of Varsity Spirit's All-Star apprenticeship, performing core roles in Event Production and Management.
At Illinois State, she was a four-year member of Co-Ed cheerleading team. In her first year of competition eligibility, she assisted in the development and implementation of ISU's nationally ranked Top Ten Game Day performance at UCA College Nationals in 2019. She also held a top leadership positions on the program's council and received the Legacy, Taylor McClain's "Heart of Gold”, and MVP awards.
Dance Coach - Gina Parenti
Contact - gparenti@luc.edu
Gina Parenti has been dancing for 20+ years and choreographing for the last 10 years. She is inspired and driven by the passion that surrounds dance and the ability to portray and demonstrate music through movement. Gina is trained in all genres of dance, and her style is often classified as musical, dynamic, and layered. She strives to work with dancers in a way that freely allows themselves to pull from their love of the art form and fill up space with confidence.
After growing up as a competitive dancer in the Chicagoland area, she received a Minor in Dance at Marquette University, was a member of the Marquette Dance Team, and was an instructor for Universal Dance Association (UDA). She had the opportunity to learn and grow at the collegiate level, while gathering her love for teaching high school and college dance teams across the country. Her diversified dance experience provided her with memorable opportunities performing across many stages and arenas in the Midwest, including dancing for choreographers such as Brian Friedman. At Marquette, she received her B.S. in Business Administration, and through the program, she was able to start an entrepreneurial journey building Virtuosity Dance - a series of master class events in the Chicagoland area.
Currently, this is Gina's fourth year as the Head Coach and Choreographer of the St. Francis High School Dance Team where she led her team to qualify for State each year. Gina also choreographs for Marquette University each year for their Media Time Out Routines. Lastly, Gina is also a Pure Barre teacher, where she translates her love of movement to fitness. Gina loves to apply her knowledge of fitness principles in her classes and choreography. Gina is eager to provide dancers with the same experiences dance has given her throughout her life. Each opportunity she receives is an opportunity to spread her love for dance - and it's an honor of her lifetime!"
Spirit Program Volunteer Assistant & Mascot Coordinator - Beccy Wrona Sullivan
Contact - Rsullivan2@luc.edu
Beccy Wrona Sullivan, a Loyola alum, serves as the Ramblers’ Volunteer Assistant to the Spirit Program and is entering her 28th year with the Loyola Spirit Teams.
Sullivan worked for Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA/Varsity Spirit Corporation) as a head instructor and assistant regional manager in the Midwest territory. She has administered events both domestically and internationally. Sullivan has also judged competitions at the regional and national levels.
She earned both her undergraduate degree in Operations Management and MBA from Loyola University. She was a four-year member and captain of the Co-Ed cheerleading team.
After completing her undergraduate studies, she received an invitation to join the Ramblers’ coaching staff to bring the student-run dance team club into the Athletics Department, expanding the Spirit Teams to include Cheerleading, Dance, and Mascot programs. Sullivan was awarded the department’s “Dan Conroyd” award in 2010 for outstanding service to athletics. Beccy remained the Spirit Program’s coordinator for 19 of the past 28 seasons. She currently assists the head coaches of the cheer and dance teams and handles Loyola’s LU Wolf Mascot program.
