Heaven Chappell sanctifies the lore of ‘Bleed Purple’

BY GAVIN PATRICK

Sports Editor

They say a chapel is a place of refuge, and that heaven is the realm of all things holy.

If only there were someone who embodied those conceptions, and where both ideas came together in a singular image.

I give you Heaven Leigh Chappell. No, it’s not a place. It’s a person.

“There really was no special reason [my parents] decided to do that. They just liked it,” Chappell said. “And I’m so glad they did name me that because nobody ever forgets my name.”

Nor will people ever forget the impact Chappell made on their lives in her four years at Tarleton State University.

Chappell is as decorated as they come in purple and white. She won three consecutive national championships with the cheer team, three consecutive Yell Contests with Alpha Gamma Delta, was a TTM (Tarleton Transition Mentor) at Duck Camp for two years and spent three semesters as a social media intern in the marketing and communications department.

And, as a coronation for her reputation and accomplishments, she ran for Ms. TSU in October and cemented her ascension in the purest image of a Texan.

“I have poured so much into Tarleton during my time here, and I feel like being on homecoming court and running for Mr. and Ms. TSU is the perfect thing for somebody to do that literally just bleeds purple,” Chappell said. “It was an opportunity for me to appreciate Tarleton back in a way for all the things that it’s given me.”

Chappell often finds herself in the spotlight, but she never grasps for attention. Her popularity became a product of her personality and power to connect with anyone in her circle.

“She has an incredible ability to make people feel seen and to notice when someone is struggling, even if they never say a word,” assistant cheer coach Madison Scott said. “Whether it’s offering a compliment, a quick ‘you’ve got this’ or simply showing up at the right moment, she always goes above and beyond.”

Chappell is someone people want to be around, and that doesn’t happen by accident. It all started with how she was raised.

Chappell grew up in Christoval, Texas, a tiny rural town about a 20-minute drive from San Angelo. Her parents drilled values into her from a young age, and two in particular stuck with Chappell every time she walked out the door.

“Literally every single time I would leave the house, they would say, ‘Be a leader,’” Chappell said. “And I would think about that all the time whenever there were kids around me doing things they weren’t supposed to be doing, whenever there were people that weren’t talking kindly to each other. It was always in the back of my head.”

The second sounds cliche to some. But to Chappell, “honestly is seriously the best policy,” especially in times of denial and frustration.

“I’ve found out that if you just own up to your mistakes and you’re honest all the time about everything that’s going on, it’s always going to work out in your favor in the end,” Chappell said. “Even if you’re the one that messed up, as long as you’re honest about it, it’ll be OK.”

Honesty and kindness. That’s all it took for Chappell to blossom into one of the most sincere, authentic and accessible students on campus.

It was only a matter of time before her spirit started to rub off on others.

One of those people was Dalton Baldridge, a sophomore construction science major who was a TTM at Duck Camp with Chappell this summer.

Baldridge had only known Chappell for a few months when she convinced him to try out for the cheer team.

“She wanted me to be involved in something… and she figured since I was outgoing enough to be a TTM, she figured I’d fit in with the cheer team,” Baldridge said.

Baldridge had no intention of joining. But after attending an open practice “as a joke,” he ended up liking it and joined the team “as a favor” to Chappell.

“She was really persistent about it, and her persistence paid off,” Baldridge said.

Chappell is someone worth doing favors for because of how much she pours into others.

She’s learned to “lead by listening” as an athlete – and, in the same vein, can have deep conversations to support and show compassion for her friends.

“There’s a difference between some people saying they’re your friend and people acting like your friend. She actually acts like a friend, which is really nice,” Baldridge said.

In fact, Chappell advises young cheerleaders in learning how to grow and succeed like she did.

Over the summer, Chappell works for the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) and helps staff cheerleading camps for kids all over Texas. She once was that kid “rolling around on the ground” and “doing flips” in the yard. Now, she chooses to share her love for cheer with those next in line.

“A lot of people always want to try and lead by bossing people around… but I learned you can be such a better leader when you are intentional with the people around you and really trying to make an impact on their lives individually,” Chappell said. “And then it just impacts everyone as a whole.”

Even after graduation, cheer will always be a part of Chappell. If she decides to go to graduate school and get her master’s in marketing, she will cheer at Tarleton for one more semester. Either way, she could still see herself coaching and choreographing routines for other groups.

“One thing she often says is, ‘I get to do this, I don’t have to,’” Scott said. “And that mindset has impacted everyone around her.”

Chappell’s big goal after college is to land a job in marketing and social media management, something she experienced while interning in the marketing department.

Much like she’s used to in cheer, Chappell doesn’t want a 9-to-5 job behind a desk. She wants to be on her feet interacting with people – like she did so well in college.

“I was raised from a very early age to work for what you want. So if there’s something that I want, if I work hard enough for it, I’ll get it,” Chappell said.

Chappell said leaving her hometown for Stephenville was “a leap of faith.” Now, she says coming to Tarleton was the best decision she ever could have made.

Part of why was feeling God align her paths. That makes sense, because when in doubt, Heaven always sticks the landing.

“She represents the kind of athlete—and the kind of person—every coach hopes to have the privilege of leading,” Scott said. “She is truly one of a kind.”