It took hurricane force, literally, to get Basketball Cheer Coach Elizabeth Elger to Piedmont College. 

“I was teaching in St. Thomas with my husband when the hurricanes came through and relocated us here,” she said. “So, if Hurricanes Irma and Maria had not happened, I would not be at Piedmont College.”

From Habersham County to the Northern Mariana Islands, Elger and her husband have taught for many years at different schools in various locations. 

Elger and her husband became teachers in 2005 and have been teaching ever since. After teaching in Habersham for five years, the Elgers decided to begin teaching internationally. They have lived internationally from 2010 to 2017 in places like Saipan, the Republic of Georgia and the island of St. Thomas. 

“After the hurricanes, we came back here to take a minute. We’ve been here for two and a half years, and we will move to Europe in August to teach abroad again,” said Elger.

The Elger family consists of more than just Elizabeth and her husband, Joey, who have been married for almost 16 years. They also have five children, two daughters and three sons. Their daughters are five and seven and their sons are twenty, nineteen and eighteen. 

Being at Piedmont for two years has given Elger some time to connect with her cheerleaders, especially the ones that she got to coach for two years straight. 

“My favorite moment from last year was the fact that Savannah Quinn resurrected the cheerleading team and did an awesome job with that. My favorite moment this year was to see how far we’ve progressed as a team from last year,” said Elger. “I’ve loved that I really got to develop a deeper relationship with each girl as individuals. Being the second-year coach, I think just knowing personalities and personal stories more so than just as cheerleaders is really awesome.”