Lexie grew up in the Chicago area. But probably not the Chicago you picture.

"I grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago," she says. "My hometown is Lindenhurst, it's very small."

And she's not kidding. The latest census has the population of Lindenhurst at less than 15,000 people. Not exactly a thriving metropolis. But for Lexie, it had everything she needed – most of all a dance studio.

"I started dancing when I was three years old," she says.

Her first performance got off to a shaky start.

"I got up on stage and immediately started crying because I couldn't find my parents in the audience. So, my dad had to come rescue me off the stage and my parents swore that I would never dance another day in my life after that traumatic experience."

But 19 years later, she's still dancing.

"I just loved getting to be there with my friends and getting to perform. That was something I excelled at. I did well in school, but I just felt a deeper connection to dance," she says. "There was a special kind of accomplishment that I felt when I mastered a dance skill as compared to what I learned in school."

Dance took Lexie all the way through her school years.

"I was studio trained and then in high school, I was on the varsity dance team all four years. And then when I graduated from high school, that's when I went to Purdue and became a Golduster."

All the while, she was following in the footsteps of former Colts cheerleader Cassia, who was four years ahead of her in high school.

"She was the one who really recruited me to Purdue and I just always looked up to her and knew that definitely the next stepping stone would be professionally and cheering for the Colts."

And now, she's almost through her rookie season.

"I think one of the best parts about it is getting to know the community, especially since I'm not from Indiana, and I'm not from Indianapolis. It's so cool getting to be at all of these events and getting to know the people that are here and see the city in different ways that you probably wouldn't get to see if I wasn't involved."

Lexie is also half way through her rookie year as a first grade teacher. She says this year has been a learning experience for her and her students. She credits her coworkers with helping her through.

"It's just another team that I'm very, very happy to be part of," she says.

Lexie says her favorite thing about being a teacher and a Colts cheerleader is being able to share what she does with her students.

"We come to class and we talk about the Colts game or I tell them about all the things that I'm doing in the community or depending on the appearances and depending on the photo shoots, I'll show them pictures and I'll show them videos. They'll come to class and tell me that they looked for me on TV. It's so special that we get to share that bond together."

It's something her students will always remember – and so will she.