This month, Coach Lisa Berg and the Newberg High School Cheer Team won their fifth consecutive state championship, which is NHS’s 11th title in the past 12 years. Amazingly, the NHS Cheer Team’s many wins are founded on an even longer history of success, starting with Carolyn DeCrevel, who has been serving Newberg-Dundee Public Schools since the Eisenhower administration.
After a year of student teaching, DeCrevel became a full-time PE and Health Teacher in 1960, the same year she became the Head Cheer Coach. As if she wasn’t busy enough, she also coached tennis and gymnastics over the years. She retired as a teacher in 2003, the same year the Oregon Cheerleading Coaches Association (OCCA) inducted her into their Hall of Fame.
But she had more to give. While she retired from teaching, she remained as the Head Cheer Coach until her second retirement, this time from coaching, in 2011.
But she still had more to give. She currently works for the School District as the Event Manager at almost all NHS home athletic events, and she is also the Special Assistant to Athletic Director Mark Brown.
“I love the students and want to help them enjoy their high school experience,” DeCrevel said. “Newberg High School is my second home, and I enjoy seeing the students work hard and be successful in athletics.”
She shows no sign of stopping, even now, after achieving so much and receiving so many accolades, including the OCCA Hall of Fame honor:
- To ensure her legacy endures, the NHS Athletic Department bestows the Carolyn DeCrevel Award annually to one female athlete and one male athlete. The award is the top honor that NHS gives to student-athletes, and winners are selected for their high character and positive contributions to their teams and their school.
- She has also been honored by having a place named after her, Carolyn DeCrevel Court in the McGrath Gymnasium at NHS.
- DeCrevel fans even created a Facebook page just for her where former students and athletes can write her messages, mainly to thank her: https://www.facebook.com/thanksdecrevel.
DeCrevel says she is proud of all she has accomplished in her time with NHS, but, most of all, of her role supporting girls sports.
“I was able to be involved in helping to start girls sports both at Newberg High School and in the state of Oregon,” she said. “I am very proud of the work we did to give girls the opportunity to compete and participate in sports.”
But she still has more to give. Look for her on campus, making a difference in girls sports and for all NHS students, still an enduring and beloved inspirational figure 65 years later.