Ethan Dabareiner has led tens of thousands of fans in cheering for the Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium, Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and stadiums across the country.

The Naperville, Illinois, resident didn’t plan to try out for the Iowa Cheerleaders when he started at the University of Iowa. But he’s sure glad he did.

“Spirit Squad and cheerleading gave me a great opportunity to be a part of the university in a way that I had never been a part of any school atmosphere before,” says Dabareiner, who will graduate in December 2024 with a BBA in accounting. “It’s given me a lot of opportunities to travel and meet new people. It really has made me feel like Iowa is my home.”

It also gave him a front-row seat to the most memorable moment of his college experience.

“The women’s basketball team was playing Michigan State, and Caitlin Clark hit a three-pointer to seal the win,” Dabareiner says. “The second that she shot it, I knew it was going in. I just had no fear that it was going to go in.”

It wasn’t just at sporting events where Dabareiner and his teammates shared the Hawkeye spirit. One of his favorites was visiting the Iowa State Fair.

“That was a very surreal Iowan experience,” Dabareiner says. “From the mini cookies all the way down to the Caitlin Clark butter statue, which is objectively an insane thing to have, coming from Illinois. But that really made me feel like a Hawkeye.”

Why did you choose the University of Iowa?

The opportunity to go to a great university relatively close to home was something I couldn’t pass up.

The biggest thing that stuck out to me when I first visited the University of Iowa was how it felt like home right away. The Pentacrest and Tippie College of Business were just beautiful.

The University of Iowa is a unique place. There’s no other university like it. There’s nowhere you can get a good football program, great women’s and men’s basketball teams, great wrestling, and, at the same time, have great academics as well, especially with accounting. It’s just a unique experience that nobody else gets except for University of Iowa students.

What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned in your time at Iowa?

The most valuable thing that I learned at the University of Iowa was being myself. There’s no other person like me, and it was such a great experience to learn that. I found a group of friends that allows me to be myself and a business school that allows me to be myself and grow to my fullest potential.

How would you describe what it’s like to be a part of the Hawkeye community?

Being a Hawkeye is a way of life. I think the whole state of Iowa encapsulates that — it’s a Hawkeye state through and through. Being a Hawkeye is kindness and joy, but also serious dedication and hard work, putting one foot in front of the other.

Who have been the most important mentors you have found here?

All of my TAs have been really great, especially in accounting. They’ve helped me decide that accounting is something I want to do the rest of my working career. A few professors, Kevin Den Adel, David Stubing, and Greg Hall, have all really been influential in why I chose accounting. In all their classes, I struggled a little bit getting the ball rolling and had a hard time grasping the concepts. But I’d go to office hours and they would sit, listen, talk, and help me really understand the concepts to the point where I’d feel comfortable going into an exam.

What advice would you give to future Hawkeyes?

Just be yourself and get out there. The university has a ton of clubs and activities and sports. Everybody I’ve talked to has gone out and done something, and it might have taken them a few tries, but at the end of the day, they found something that they really enjoyed, they found people who they really enjoyed, and they made lifelong friends because of it. So, just because one club doesn’t work out your first or second semester here, keep giving them a try. You know you’ll find something that you really enjoy.