![The cross country team poses for the camera after finishing the district meet. The varsity boys, JV boys and JV girls all placed third and the varsity girls placed fourth. “Coach put in the right training for us for this season, so I think we will be peaking this week and the next couple of weeks,” varsity runner and junior Nathan Kukla said. “The chances of making it to state are very high, but we don’t settle for the lowest and there is always going to be that chance, so [we] race for the best.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Heidi-831-1200x900.jpg)
![Sucking in a breath of air, freshman Lily Pope competes in the 200 yard individual medley. On Oct. 25, the swim team competed in the AISD Swim Invitational. Overall, the girls team took second place and the boys team came in eleventh. “My favorite stroke is butterfly because I do the best in that stroke,” Pope said. “I feel like [butterfly] can test how [your ability] to convince yourself to keep going. The hardest part of swimming is convincing yourself to stay strong and keep pushing during a hard race [when] everything is tired.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/POPE-1200x804.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, Author Ehigbor Okosun, members of Page Turners, and other students reflect on the author's visit. “I thought the visit was great,” Senior Amia De Leon said. “It was interesting talking to her and [getting to know] her process and her thoughts and books in general. But I think the reason it went well [was that] people got to ask questions. I'm glad that she said so much in response to the questions and it wasn't just one and done. [The author’s responses] felt very articulate.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sebastian-5-1200x800.jpg)
![Standing in front of the field at a freshman football game, cheerleader freshman Jacob Gaudreau along with teammate freshman Bella Gibson pose for a photo during halftime of game. “[Cheer has] definitely given me a much more outgoing personality,” Gaudreau said. “I used to be very introverted, so it's definitely made me more extroverted towards people.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ingrid-204-1200x800.jpg)
![Holding a wooden pizza toy, senior Taylor Peterson plays with small children in Bucaramanga, Colombia. During the summer, Peterson traveled to Colombia to help build an elementary school that only had two classrooms but five or six grades with one teacher. “We add[ed] two more classrooms,” Peterson said. “It’s kind of hard when you have two or three grades in one classroom and you only have one teacher. It’s very hard to actually get some beneficial learning. [The extra classrooms will give the students] a better quality of education because they’ll actually have a place specific for their learning.” Photo by Taylor Peterson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Taylor-P.png)
![Swinging with his arm extended, senior Nolan Park hits the ball smoothly over the net and to the opponent’s side. Park is one of four varsity tennis captains and helped the team win district championships. “Winning district champs was a pretty awesome feeling,” Park said. “We had lost to Liberty Hill a couple of weeks before, but when we played them [again], we came out and really took care of business. We took them out and it was just a really awesome night.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Kassidy-419.jpg)
![Standing proud, varsity senior athletes Rafael Escobar, Griffin Jacobs, Jakob Martin, and juniors Jackson Springer and Jack Morris pose with their newly earned medals. The varsity team finished third out of 14 teams on Sept. 25. “The team's primary goal is to win the district championship,” head coach Cody Price said. "We're confident that with our action plan in place, we can accomplish this mission. [For the next tournament], our preparation involves assessing our strengths and weaknesses, celebrating milestones and creating individual development plans." Photo courtesy of Cody Price](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/golf.jpg)
Suburban Safari
Senior With Thirty One Animals Reflects On Love Of Pets, Passion to Pursue Career in Animals
Photo Courtesy of Natalia Peck
Senior Natalia Peck takes a picture with her pet tortoise, Jenga. According to Peck, animals have always been a love of hers, and she cannot recall ever wanting a job that did not deal with animals, and is currently working in reptile husbandry at the Austin Aquarium. “I have wanted to work at the aquarium since I was thirteen,” Peck said. “I wasn’t old enough to work there until I was sixteen last year. I met a really good friend of mine who was working there, and she took me to my first interview there. I wouldn’t have been brave enough to get that job on my own. I work in reptile husbandry, so I take care of the cold blooded reptiles, which are one of my favorite things ever.”
November 27, 2019
It’s not uncommon for the average household to have a dog or a cat, or even a fish. But senior Natalia Peck is the proud owner to thirty one animals, ranging from the average dog, to eight legged creatures and animals with no legs at all.
According to Peck, animals have always been a love of hers, and she cannot recall ever wanting a job that did not deal with animals, and is currently working with reptiles at the Austin Aquarium.
“I have wanted to work at the aquarium since I was thirteen,” Peck said. “I wasn’t old enough to work there until I was sixteen last year. I met a really good friend of mine who was working there, and she took me to my first interview there. I wouldn’t have been brave enough to get that job on my own. I work in reptile husbandry, so I take care of the cold blooded reptiles, which are one of my favorite things ever.”
Instead of driving by an injured animal and ignoring it, Peck said that she tries to rescue any animal in need.
“I rescue animals when I know that I am able to,” Peck said. “If I know that the animal exceeds my expertise area, I take them to a rescue center. I recently took an adult road runner that had been hit by a car to a rescue center, and it totally impacted what I want to do in the future. After taking him there, I realized that I want to work in Wildlife Rehabilitation.”
While Peck said that she loves all of her animals, she does not have a favorite.
“I don’t really have a favorite animal,” Peck said. “They all deserve the same care, but I really love my lizards, I think that they are the most personable.”
Peck, who has over two dozen animals, says that it can definitely be a struggle to handle them all.
“When reptiles get sick they don’t show symptoms until it’s too late. Exotic animal vets are a hit or miss because reptiles are so difficult. I have had more luck saving fish than sick reptiles. It sucks sometimes because I want to save everything, but I can’t always do that. So to prevent sickness, I always have to be on top of their care. I check on them every morning and as soon as I get home. Once a week I’ll have a cleaning day where I change substrate, clean glass, do check ups, scrub water bowls and more. Now it’s just a routine to me, so it usually just takes an hour and a half.”
