![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.jpg)
Skills USA succeeds on competition day
Skills Team members that competed at State: Front: Drew Summers, Celeste Chavez, Nataniel Carrasquillo Medina, Ayah Alomari, and Mai Tran, Middle: Elizabeth Herold and Robin Davies, Back: Sagar Kansara, Nolan Bitner, Ty Marwitz, Aaron Richter, Julio Murcia, and Kristen Grimm. “We work well together because we all work hard with the same goal in mind; success,” Medina said.
April 15, 2015
Leaders emerged during the State meet on March 25-28 for the CPHS Skills USA competitors, with two competitors who placed first, two who finished second, six who finished third, and 12 who finished with a blue ribbon.
Competition students mainly focused on agriculture and engineering, broadening their understanding on both subjects along with working with fluidity in a group. According to senior Robin Davies, who placed third in the Quiz Bowl Test, going through with competition takes a lot of dedication.
“I think the hardest part is working through all the unexpected challenges and events,” Davies said. “I personally have to stay organized so I don’t lose my place.”
Junior competitor Elizabeth Herold, who finished in third place in the Quiz Bowl Test and took home a blue ribbon in Technical Drafting Projects, was ready for the State competition because of her self-preparations and previous criticism from the district judges.
“I took the judges criticism seriously,” Herold said. “I went over my project, tweaking the areas where they thought I needed improvement.”
Improving and growing helped Skills USA reach their goal: to teach students how to become leaders responsible for America’s citizens.
“Skills is giving us great preparation and practice for the real world,” Davies said. “We will be able to look back and apply what we learned at Skills to our future.”
Club preparations, such as getting organized, happen when the team meets. Junior Nataniel Carrasquillo Medina, who scored a blue ribbon in Technical Drafting Projects, believes that the team meetings are the most important because they build certain character skills that last a lifetime.
“It prepares you to work quickly under pressure and as one unit and to not give up,” Medina said.
Between each competition, the team strives for improvements with themselves and the group as a whole. Preparations for each competition happen as soon as club members step foot into the meetings. It’s encouraged for each member to be there on time every Thursday after school in order to excel during the test of knowledge.
“The sooner you walk into the classroom, the better,” Medina said. “If you are late, you’re the only one cheating yourself. You won’t be prepared enough for the competitions if you don’t make it to the meetings.”
District-10 Skills USA Championship Results-CPHS-2015 (in addition to the students mentioned above):
Kristin Grimm- 1st place Architectural Drafting Skills Test and Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects
Ayah Alomari- 2nd place Architectural Drafting Skills Test, 3rd place Quiz Bowl Test and Blue Ribbon for Architectural Drafting Projects.
Celeste Chavez- 3rd place Architectural Drafting Skills Test and Blue Ribbon for Architectural Drafting Projects.
Ty Marwitz- 1st place Technical Information and Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
Mai Tran- 2nd place Technical Information and Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
Drew Summers- 3rd place Technical Information and Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
Nolan Bitner- 3rd place Quiz Bowl Test and Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
Julio Murcia- Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
Aaron Richter- Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
Sagar Kansara- Blue Ribbon for Technical Drafting Projects.
![Holding her dog, Nova, senior Ariana Balakrishnan poses for her senior pictures while Nova wears a bandana with her college decision. Balakrishnan applied to 18 colleges in total, but she decided on Columbia in the end. “Right before I clicked the button to open Columbia’s letter, I literally looked at the camera and go ‘This is just gonna really suck because I wanted it so bad,’ and I clicked it and all of a sudden you hear trumpets,” Balakrishnan said. “There’s a video that plays when you open it and I actually didn’t watch the video, I just watched the screen go black, because every day of December before ED [Early Decision] I would go on YouTube and watch the acceptance video to manifest it, so immediately when the screen went black, I started screaming and jumping up and down. And my parents in the video are like ‘What are you doing, where’s the letter,’ and I was just screaming ‘I got in, I got in.” I just started crying, and it just felt like everything in the world came together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ariana-2-300x217.jpg)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901-600x400.jpg)
