![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)
Senior Spotlight: Mallory Matthys
Photo by Chloe Hunter
May 10, 2018
A passion for healthcare has been a persistent throughout senior Mallory Matthys’ life. At an early age, she was exposed to the power of healthcare when her sister was born prematurely. She was born with meningitis and later developed pneumonia, which would cause her to stop breathing on multiple occasions.
“As a kid she was really sick and in and out of doctors offices and hospitals,” Matthys said. “And for me, just seeing that medical field dynamic, made me want to go into the medical field and help people like they helped my family.”
Throughout her four years at Cedar Park, Matthys has taken a variety of classes that have pointed her towards the medical field, such as pharmacology, medical terminology, Health Science Technology one and two, as well as becoming involved with Future Health Professionals club (also known as HOSA), where she has served as an officer for the past two years. In addition to her current role as president of HOSA, Matthys serves as the co-president of the service organization Music Eunited, as well as being a member of a plethora of other honor societies. I want to give back what I’ve been given. I want to pay it forwards. — Mallory Mathys
HST one and two have assisted Matthys in further defining her goals with the help of conventional classroom learning, hands on experience and shadowing. In the fall semester of HST two, students rotate through the hospital and were able to shadow the staff, and in the spring they become Certified Nursing Assistants and work in a local assisted living facility.
“Throughout my life I saw the medical field through the patient perspective, but in HOSA and HST I saw it through the healthcare professional aspect,” Matthys said. “It made me fully realize that I wanted to go into the medical field. It cemented my plans, especially when we went to the hospitals and I could see how all the nurses worked. I really liked what they did and their patient interaction.
Next fall, Matthys plans to attend Stephen F. Austin State University to study nursing.
“I am so excited to be able to touch the lives of other people and brighten their days, especially when they’re feeling not the greatest,” Matthys said. “I want to give back what I’ve been given. I want to pay it forwards.”
![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)
