![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)
![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)
For the seniors of Cedar Park high school graduation is just around the corner. Slowly were shedding our cozy northface jackets and lettermans, and flip flops and short sleeve shirts are taking their place. Only a little over three short months are separating us from our diplomas and freedom, and on that thrillingly terrifying day in June it will be official.
For many the day of graduation became real at homecoming, for others it was becoming 4-A state champions and realizing that was the last football game we would ever attend as highschoolers. For some it was taking senior pictures, for a few it was senior project, for lots it was opening your very first acceptance letter to higher education, and for most of us it was trying on our caps and gowns.
“When I tried on my cap and gown it finally became real,” senior Denesha Mays said. “Senioritis has officially set in for me.”
The silky green gowns signify more than just the end, even though we’ll all be wearing them when it comes. They also stand for new beginnings, and after we leave the cedar park center and stand outside snapping pictures with our families and crying our eyes out with our friends, we’ll leave as graduates and the rest of our lives will start.
“I wasn’t there for the meeting about Graduation in the pack, so I went ahead and just ordered my cap and gown online,” senior Craig Weston said.
Representatives from Herff Jones were on campus Feb. 13 to take graduation orders, but if you missed this then don’t worry there’s still time. You can still mail in your order, or submit it online.
