BARRY WILLIAMS/Special

Brencia Bienville, a nurse in the maternity center at Emory Crawford Long Hospital, checks the heartbeat of newborn Nickalus Gibbs as his parents, Kiko and David Gibbs, look on.

Growing up, Brencia Bienville's mother told her, "Never put all your eggs in one basket." It's advice that Bienville has taken to heart.

When she's not performing with the Atlanta Falcons cheerleading squad, Bienville is a nurse in the maternity center at Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta. She's also a Realtor.

"People think that cheering for the Falcons is a career, but it's a part-time job — a very demanding job," said Bienville, RN. "We dance for 10 home games, but we also visit children's hospitals, make appearances at breast cancer walks, teach fitness at elementary schools . . . Interacting with the community, being a role model for young girls, that's the part I love best about being a Falcons cheerleader."

Bienville started cheering in eighth grade and continued when she attended Chamblee High School and Spelman College, where she graduated with a degree in psychology.

She tried out for the Falcons cheerleading team the first time in 1999, while she was in nursing school at Emory University, but didn't make the squad.

"I was determined, so I took some more dance classes and tried again two years later. I love to dance and entertain, and [I] wanted to get back before a crowd," Bienville said.

Bienville made the squad in 2001 and hasn't looked back, making the team for the last five years. All Falcons cheerleaders have to audition for the team each year, which Bienville says brings fresh faces and new talent to the squad.

"People don't realize that one of the requirements is that you have a full-time job or be a mother, which is a full-time job," she said. "We've had cheerleaders who are lawyers, teachers, counselors and college students. You have to really want to do it, because it's a big commitment in time."

'High-energy person'

In addition to the numerous community-service appearances, the cheerleaders practice two nights a week and spend all day at the Georgia Dome on home game days.

Bienville works two 12-hour shifts per week at Emory Crawford Long Hospital and often works a weekend shift when the Falcons play games on the road.

She recently became a Realtor and is building that business.

"I am a very high-energy person and have a passion for the things I like to do, so I'm motivated to make the schedule work, and I'm not married yet. If I weren't single, I guess I'd have to let something slide," Bienville said with a laugh.

She believes that the demanding cheerleading schedule actually helps with her nursing career.

"At the maternity center I generally have four or five couplets (mother/baby pairs), and that's 10 patients," she said. "You have to know how to plan and manage your time, because it's challenging work."

Bienville initially planned to become a doctor like her sister, but she realized as a college freshman that she wanted a more flexible schedule that would allow her to pursue all her interests.

"Nursing was a field that allowed me to stay in health care and yet gives me so many career opportunities," she said.

Making the Falcons cheerleading team was no easy feat, but it was nothing compared with the rigors of nursing school.

"Nurses have to know so much, but I don't think I could have picked a better specialty than mother/baby care," she said. "Life is a miracle, and helping bring babies into the world is very rewarding. Nursing has been a good choice for me."