![After placing second in their respective LDEs at the Capital District contest in early November, freshman Jesus Jaramillo-Gallegos and freshman Wyatt Pickett will compete at the Area XII LDE contest in Georgetown on Nov. 23. Jaramillo-Gallegos is competing in Greenhand Spanish Creed Speaking, while Pickett’s LDE is Greenhand Creed Speaking. “Honestly, [I’m excited for] just traveling around, maybe meeting more people,” Jaramillo-Gallegos said. “And [I’m] nervous about probably just not being able to define my weak areas. I feel like I did decent for my first time ever doing this. I just think it’s fun.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Navy-and-Yellow-Simple-Group-Project-Presentation-1200x675.png)
![Holding up T-wolves, the tour group poses for a picture in the Chinese classroom. Sophomore Lydia Ou, junior Phu Trung and senior Yushan Pan gave a tour to Taiwanese diplomat Andrea Yang on Nov. 8. “I was so excited when I heard I would get to give the tour because it’s a big deal,” Ou said. “She’s from the US embassy for Taiwan, so she’s really important. I’m so privileged [to get this opportunity] and I’m so excited.” Photo by Skyler King](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Main-Taiwan.jpg)
![Sitting at a desk past the rows of books laid out for the Book Fair, senior Kimberley Walters assists people in purchasing books and finding titles. The Book Fair is taking place Dec. 16 through Dec. 20, and is an annual event during which students and faculty have the opportunity to go and purchase books and other trinkets in the library. Kimberley said she encourages all to go to the Book Fair, even if they think they don’t like to read. “If you make reading something that is fun for you and you find the things that you like to read, it will never be a chore,” Walters said. “So [the Book Fair is] a good opportunity to find something that will respark your want to read [like] when you were a child and you went to the book fair and you loved the ‘I survived’ books. Maybe you'll find your ‘I survived’ books of your high school experience, and it'll re-spark that kind of love for reading that may have died out.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Addie-L-47-1200x800.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, sophomore Olivia Mahlmeister and seniors Samantha Jameson, Adhit Eswaramoorthi and Justin Khadavi celebrate completing first chamber in the Congress Meet. All four students advanced to the final chamber. “Out of the 20 kids in the final chamber, we had a seventh, ninth, 11th and 13th, and they took the top four to move on to state,” AP US History and Debate teacher Josh Marsh said. “[Even though] we didn't make state this year, all four of them moving on [and] placing is phenomenal.” Photo courtesy of Josh Marsh](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-Regional-Congress-Team.jpg)
![Standing in front of a small audience, senior Kimberley Walters shares a social criticism poem titled “Pity the Nation” by Lawrence Felinghetti. Every month, sponsored by the poetry club, the library hosts a poetry reading. “I never thought I would be interested in [poetry readings] because I’m not the biggest poetry fan,” Walters said. “I think poetry is a very succinct way to express feelings and get a story across. Whereas lots of books have a span of a whole story, but it’s put in a lot of words. The power of poetry is that you can be so succinct within, and there’s a lot of power within the words that are used.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KIM-1200x800.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)
![Holding the Grand Nationals trophies, drum majors Helashi Wijayawardhana, Abigail Pettey and Eddy Kim pose for a photo. The BOA Grand Nationals competition took place in Indianapolis on Nov. 14-17. “My favorite thing was just looking back at the field, and I was like, ‘Oh, crap. I know all of their names, I know who all of them are’,” Wijayawardahana said. “It's just insane to me that I was able to make so many connections. [Being a drum major] taught me how to build relationships with people who I’m not really that similar to, and how to juggle a ton of things all together.”
Photo courtesy of CPHS Band SmugMug](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/AJC.GrandNatsFinals-169-1200x801.jpg)
![Delicately placing the string to form the shape of a cornucopia, seniors Haley Burton and Avery Nelson create the November arrangement for the Flower of the Month Club. This club is led by Advanced Floral Design Students and provides a monthly arrangement to community members who subscribe to receive them. “I think flower of the month club is a really impactful way to show your loved ones ‘hey I really care about you,’ or even if they’re just for yourself, they’re a little pick-me-up throughout the month that [say] ‘I’m doing ok, and these flowers make my day a little bit brighter,” Nelson said. “I like giving people flowers because people value the flowers more and they value themselves more.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Ava-Holmes-3-edit.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)
![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)
![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)
Two Sports, One Goal
Senior Enters College With A Varied Skill Set And A Dream
Photo Courtesy of Parker Forbes
Senior Parker Forbes posing for a soccer photo. After his initial college choice of Appalachian State University removed their soccer program due to COVID-19, Forbes is enrolling in the University of Louisville playing for their Division 1 men’s soccer team. “I knew God had a plan for me and that he would place me exactly where he wanted me,” Forbes said. I’m super excited for what’s to come, and I’m so blessed and grateful to be playing at the University of Louisville.”
May 27, 2021
The school has talented, top-tier athletes in all sports, ranging from soccer to basketball. However, few can attest to participating in both – except, that is, if you’re senior Parker Forbes.
He was a midfielder in 2020 – 2021’s varsity soccer team and shooting guard in varsity basketball. Forbes was commended for his play in both of these positions. For example, in 2021 Forbes earned the 25 – 5A Newcomer of the year award for soccer when he scored nine goals in eight games – while joining mid-district season. He didn’t join the team without any experience, however. Since 2017, he’s been a part of the Lonestar soccer club in Austin, TX.
“I have always loved soccer, but when I joined Lonestar, my passion for the game definitely grew,” Forbes said. “I met so many great mentors and friends through soccer and I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything. I really enjoyed my time at Lonestar Soccer Club.”
Before 2021, the year he joined varsity boys’ soccer, he was disallowed from joining a high school soccer team due to guidelines laid out by Lonestar’s Development League. In 2021, however, he advanced to the Elite Clubs National League and subsequently joined the boys’ varsity soccer team, leading them to regional quarterfinals before getting knocked out by Southwest. Forbes’ passion for soccer, and sports in general, stem from a very young age.
“My interest in sports goes way back to when I was three or four years old,” Forbes said. “I grew up watching and playing sports 24/7. There is no form of competition purer than that found in sports, and I’m an extremely competitive person.”
His achievements in other sports are not to be understated. Although the basketball team was knocked out before playoffs, he was the only student from CPHS to win Academic All-State from the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. This means that he excelled enough on both the court and with his grades, a balance that Forbes manages with to-do lists.
“My secret to excelling at both school and sports are to-do lists,” Forbes said. “I’m a huge fan of to-do lists because they help me focus on little goals I need to accomplish each day to get where I want to go.”
Sports have given Forbes the competitive kick he likes to experience as he outmaneuvers the opposing team to score a goal. However, just as important to Forbes are the friends he met along the way in the forms of teammates and coaches.
“To be honest, I don’t play sports for the accomplishments and accolades,” Forbes said. “I enjoy competing, and I especially enjoy competing with others beside me. It’s a great feeling to be with a group of guys and make memories with them.”
Although he is preparing to walk onto the field at Gupton Stadium for the last time for his graduation, Forbes will continue his education and passion for soccer at the University of Louisville. Forbes has committed to the university and will play on the Division 1 men’s soccer team. In addition to his participation on the soccer team, Forbes will also double major in business finance and sports management in hopes to one day become a manager for the NFL or NBA.
“I want to become a general manager in the NBA or NFL because I love sports and competition,” Forbes said. “I would really enjoy working behind the scenes, managing a team as we reach towards winning a championship.”
University of Louisville wasn’t Forbes’ first pick. Initially, he enrolled in Appalachian State University, a college in Boone, North Carolina with a men’s soccer team famous statewide – until it was disbanded due to the financial strain COVID-19 brought on.
“Initially, I was disappointed when Appalachian State had to get rid of their soccer program,” Forbes said. “However, I knew God had a plan for me and that he would place me exactly where he wanted me. I’m super excited for what’s to come, and I’m so blessed and grateful to be playing at the University of Louisville.”
