CLEVELAND, Tenn.-Melissa (Stander) Scannapiego brings 20 years of experience to the Lee University cheerleading squad as she takes over for the 2023-24 school year. She replaces Jessica Frazier who worked with the squads for the past 12 years.
 
"We are excited to have Melissa join our athletic family, or I guess I should say return to our athletic family," said Lee athletic director John Maupin. "Melissa played for our softball program and is a proud Lee alum! She is going to do a great job of heading up our cheer program and having a positive impact on our student athletes."
 
Melissa has been coaching, choreographing, and training dancers and cheerleaders for the last 20 years. "Over those years my squads have performed in many different venues and have been invited to perform on the Tomorrowland Stage at Walt Disney World," she noted.
 
The cheerleaders and dancers she trains have won various competitions and scholarships, including Distinguished Young Women. "I am so excited to be part of the Lee University athletic family once again and look forward to a great first year as the cheerleading coach," she added.
 
From the Cleveland area the new cheer coach grew up playing softball and was engaged in many different performing arts, such as classical ballet, tap, jazz, baton, and cheerleading. Scannapiego attended Ooltewah High school where she was a member of the State Champion Softball team. 
 
She graduated from Lee in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and served as an officer in the Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society. 
 
While attending Lee and working on her degree, the outstanding student also took time to continue with her athletic career, playing softball from 1998-2002 under Coach Andrea Orr Hudson for the first two years and Autumn O'Bryan her junior and senior years. 
 
Scannapiego is also the current principal at United Christian Academy. She has been married to her husband Dave for 12 years and they have two children. Bear is 10, and Brinkley 7. Bear plays baseball and basketball, and Brinkley plays softball and cheers.