Courtney Spiller is a stand-out kind of girl. One of Centreville’s very own students, Courtney Spiller, is taking the world by storm. Born in 2001, Courtney serves as the senior captain of the varsity cheer team and is described by peers as trustworthy, kind, and responsible. At home, Courtney lives with parents Michael and Vanessa Spiller. Her older brother, Cole Spiller, is a currently a student at the College of William and Mary and will graduate in 2022. Spiller’s interests include competitive cheerleading, eating Chick Fil A, listening to music by Shawn Mendes, and “being studious.” She plans to attend Virginia Tech in the Fall of 2020.

Let’s delve into one of Spiller’s largest passions: cheer. According to Spiller, her favorite part of cheer is “seeing [Centreville’s] amazing student section and band!” In high school, Spiller made the varsity cheer team her freshman year. Astonishingly, this was her first time ever cheering. Her natural talent amazed the coaches and landed her a spot on Centreville High School’s most competitive cheer team. In her first year of cheer leading, Spiller greatly advanced her skills by being surrounded by more experienced members.

By her senior year, Spiller had advanced so much that she served as the team’s sole senior cheer captain, alongside junior captains Rahel Williams and Julia Stookey. Spiller spent hours a week devoted to cheer to progress to her captain position. Due in part to Spiller’s hard work, Centreville‘s varsity cheer team made it to the regional level championship. The combination of attendance to every football game, practices, fundraisers, and competitions make competitive cheer a very time consuming sport that requires dedication and maturity. A coach of the Centreville Varsity Cheer Team, Mrs. Nadine Taylor, describes Spiller as always having a great attitude, behaving maturely, and performing greatly as a cheerleader.

One of Spiller’s favorite pastimes is going to Chick-Fil-A. In her own words, Spiller states that “[she] love[s] Chick-Fil-A,” and that Chick-Fil-A “makes [her] very happy.” Spiller’s normal order at Chick-Fil-A consists of chicken nuggets, Chick-Fil-A’s signature waffle fries, and a lemonade. Spiller describes her experience at Chick-Fil-A as being thoroughly enjoyable, eating their “perfectly cooked golden nuggets,” and “perfectly salted fries.” Spiller is often accompanied to Chick-Fil-A by her friends, including close friend Tiffany Sun.

The two of the met at Rocky Run Middle School, and have been close friends ever since. Sun describes Spiller as a “[L]ovely 5 foot 6 [sic] egg who is a grind machine and there for her children. [S]he brings a smile to everyone’s [face] and somehow makes me excited to go to school LOL. [S]he is trustworthy and offers good advice when I need it most which is like [every day]. I just love Courtney [sic] Spiller.” According to Rhys Maza, another of Spiller’s friends, she is an “avid sudoku player” and a “wizard” at sudoku. Aisha Goni, yet another friend of Courtney Spiller, Courtney is “very studious…She tries to finish assignments as soon as the teacher gives them to us. She is not distracted easily.“ As Tiffany Sun, Rhys Maza, Aisha Goni and many others note, Spiller is a kind and loving friend that would be greatly missed were she to go away.

Another of Spiller’s favorite things to do is spend time with her friends. Spiller frequently posts pictures on social media of her friendships; most notable of these friendships is her close relationship with Anna Toy. Anna Toy is a former student of Centreville, and has since moved to Fredericksburg, attending Riverside High School. Despite her move, Anna is a regular at Centreville games, showing her support for Courtney Spiller as she leads the cheerleaders in their chants and routines, front and center. Spiller describes Toy as “an avid tik-tokker” who “enjoys accompanying [her to] Chick-Fil-A”. Additionally, Spiller and Toy have found other ways to spend time with one another, including attending a Shawn Mendes concert in August, and a skiing trip in December 2018.

Another key trait of Courtney Spiller is her devotion to her own education. Many students and teacher rave about Spiller’s work ethic when it comes to her classes. Courtney can oftentimes be seen wearing college paraphernalia as she works intently on her classwork. She has been spotted in College of William and Mary, James Madison, Virginia Tech, and University of Virginia shirts and sweatshirts all on separate occasions. Spiller’s goal is to attend Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the Fall of 2020. An unnamed student has stated that “while in class with Courtney, [they] would always try to talk to her, but [they] always failed miserably because she was so focused on the teacher. [They]’ve never seen someone be so focused on a teacher. Is it even necessary to be that focused? Can’t you learn things online?” Based on this student’s observations, Courtney Spiller’s dedication to her studies outweighs even her love for friendships. Spiller is a focused and talented student who won’t settle for less than greatness. Courtney Spiller is an outstanding role model for younger students at Centreville, as well as students everywhere. 

Courtney Spiller undoubtedly brings light to many people’s lives at Centreville High School and beyond. As her friends and peers describe her, Courtney Spiller is a great student, friend, cheerleader, and sudoku player. She will undoubtedly make an impact at the college she attends, and in the workplace later in her life. Spiller’s multi-faceted persona is unique and remarkable at the young age of 17. Her unmatched advice to friends, passion for school, and natural cheerleading talent make her a student worthy of the spotlight. The Sentinel wishes Spiller success in her future as she takes on the world as she is surely bound to do.

*Credit for the title “Spilling with Personality” to Marissa Perrone, English teacher at Centreville High School.”