Isle cheerleader living out her dream in Philadelphia

Linebacker and special teams player Kamu Grugier-­Hill won’t be the only Kamehameha Schools alum performing for the Philadelphia Eagles in today’s Super Bowl.

Corinne Chun of Aiea is a member of the Eagles cheerleading squad.

Chun, 28, was a member of the Warriors cheer team that won state championships from 2004 through 2006. The team fell short of the state championship in Chun’s senior year in 2007 but won national accolades.

“Corinne was one of those multitalented athletes you could put in any position,” said her high school coach, Dolly Wong. “She’s was outstanding as a gymnast, as a dancer. She was the kind of kid any coach would want to coach. She was always willing to do whatever we needed. That team was low-maintenance and very talented.”

Chun’s Warriors teammate and friend, Savannah Wolfe, preceded her as an NFL cheerleader with the San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush squad. Wolfe is now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ famed Laker Girls dance and cheer team. (Another Kamehameha graduate, Marysa O‘oe Carr, Chun’s classmate, was also a Laker Girl, and is now director of the University of Hawaii Rainbow Dancers.)

Chun’s contract with the Eagles wouldn’t allow her to interviewed, but Wong and her father, Duane Chun, filled in her background.

Chun cheered one year at Oregon State, and then she focused on her education studies and was a residence assistant. The education major was in the Teach for America program, and was hired at Leihoku Elementary School shortly after graduation in 2012.

She taught at Leihoku in Waianae for five years, and hopes eventually to return. But she always wanted to get back into cheerleading. An unsuccessful try for the 49ers squad just strengthened her resolve.

“Just going through that experience kind of lit a fire in me, knowing that it was possible for me to live out this dream of cheering again,” Chun said in an interview with the PhillyVoice last May.

When she learned the Eagles were holding tryouts last year, Chun went for it despite the distance from home, her father said. She traveled back and forth from Hawaii for auditions and found she liked Philadelphia.

When she made the squad, Chun had to leave her teaching job. She also works at an Olive Garden restaurant and a gym in Philadelphia.

Her father and mother, Betty Chun, won’t be in Minnesota for the Super Bowl today. But they saw her perform at five games during the season.

“Although she looks very glamorous, I’ll always remember her in her T-shirts and shorts,” Duane Chun said. “Where I’m really proud of her is seeing her at their appearances and camps and how she interacts with kids. They support the community as role models and that’s really heartwarming.”