Her average school day wardrobe: heels and pearls. Her Friday night wardrobe: fuzzy wings. Underneath the giant white head, Maisie Dyer is Rocky the Eagle.

Along with being the mascot, Dyer is an associate editor of The Eagle’s Tale school newspaper, the executive vice president of the varsity choir, a member of the ASL Honors Society, the senior class publicist and one of the head youth leaders at her church. She also takes ASL Dual Credit, AP English and AP Biology and is the fifth of seven kids. She was inspired by watching the video of her oldest sister trying out for the junior high mascot.

“In my family, we really like to watch a lot of old family videos,” Dyer said. “I just thought that my sister was so cool. When I was a sophomore, I really started thinking about it, but I had work and so I couldn’t try out at the end of the year.”

Dyer became the mascot as a junior when the previous mascot moved away in the middle of the basketball season.

 “I was thinking about quitting my job because I was getting so busy with it,” Dyer said. “I was mascot for the rest of that year. It’s something that just grew on me, and I wanted to keep doing it.”

This past summer was Dyer’s first cheer camp. For mascots, the camp gave out a “Mooshee,” an inflatable whale, every night to whoever that was the most spirited and involved.

“I got that the first night, and every other night I got a spirit stick,” Dyer said. “The last night, I got the “Mooshee” for the entire week.  I was voted by all of the other mascots to get the leadership award, and then my instructor also awarded me with a UCA Cheerleader pin. That one made me feel really honored, but I didn’t realize the significance of that it until I showed my coaches and they said, ‘You need to let colleges know that you received that because that’s a big deal.’”

During the football season, she most enjoys working with the band.

“If I just start dancing to a random rhythm that I’m making up in my head, people in the crowd won’t get it because it’s only funny in my head at the moment,” Dyer said. “But if the band is doing some cool, funky rhythm, I can dance along with it, and it’s a lot more fun. Sometimes I feel like I’m being a little bit intrusive, but the band is always so accepting.”

Dyer said the she loves volleyball because her younger sister has played it, and so Dyer has an understanding of the game.

“I have a lot of friends that are on the team,” Dyer said. “I’m cheering for the entire team but at the same time the excitement that I get is fueled by how much I care for everyone that plays it.”

She said basketball is her absolute favorite sport to watch.

“I’m so proud of our girls’ basketball team,” Dyer said. “We are so successful because of the coaches and the girls that work out and play so hard, and when our boys play, I just get so excited.”

Dyer said that stereotypically, mascotting is a whole lot of dancing around and being ridiculous, but people don’t realize that at any given time during a performance, at least one spectator is watching.

“Sometimes students tell me to do something funny that may be a little inappropriate or rude, and I struggle with that because at times it may be disrespectful to Canyon,” Dyer said. “You’re representing everything that is Canyon, Canyon High and Canyon ISD, and knowing that every move that I make represents Canyon is sometimes a little bit stressful. The eagle is the first thing most people see when they think of Canyon, and I feel so honored to be a part of that.”

Dyer said that mascoting has helped her realize that every single move that you make really does make a difference.

“The biggest thing that I want to leave everyone that I come in contact with is that I want them to know that I love and care for them,” Dyer said. “I feel that I’m not very good with words, but I can always express the happiness that I feel whenever I’m mascoting.”