![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)
Bright Future In The Big City
Celebrity Senior Talks High School Career, Future
With the Captain’s whistle in her mouth, senior Sandra Ziegler leads the Celebrities dance team across the field during the pregame for the very first football game of the year. “This moment was kind of scary because whistling out the team is an important job where my team is depending on me to keep them on beat as we walk onto the field,” Ziegler said. “I believe this was taken as I was checking one of the lines to make sure everyone made it to their spot, and I remember feeling so proud and excited for myself and my team because we had just made our first appearance as the 2022-2023 Celebrities Team. I love this picture because it exudes the pride I feel for my team. Whether we walk out onto the field or onto a stage, I am always so proud of the hard work and dedication that surrounds these girls.” (Photo Courtesy of Danielle Walker)
May 3, 2023
Four years. That’s how long senior Sandra Ziegler has been drill team dancing. She was on the Emerald team her freshman year and as she continued to follow her passion, she earned the title of Captain of the Celebrities dance team this year.
After dancing has consumed most of her life for the past three years, Ziegler says graduating will be very bittersweet.
“I love Celebrities because it is an outlet for me to express myself alongside other girls who love dance,” Ziegler said. “I have so much to look forward to with moving to New York. I’m going to be very sad when I leave all of the friends I have made, but I plan to stay in touch with everyone. The years leading up to my senior year have definitely been hard work and lots of time dedicated to the team, but it has all been worth it in the end and I couldn’t imagine my high school years without Celebs.”
Ziegler was a junior Lieutenant last year and earned Captain this year, which means she was the main leader of the team and helps choreograph and teach team routines while also making quick decisions.
“I love leading even more than I love dance,” Ziegler said. “So being Captain has been such an amazing and fulfilling experience.”
On April 21 and 22, The Celebrities showcased their annual spring show. The show was super successful and the team felt really prepared for this production, according to Ziegler.
“Our theme was ‘Permission To Dance’ and we celebrated our 25th anniversary by sharing our love for dance,” Ziegler said. “This show was bittersweet because it was out last time dancing alongside each other and that was very hard to become aware of, there were lots of tears. All in all, the show went super well and it was my favorite show throughout the last three years for sure.”
Not only has Ziegler been in the Celebrities dance team, she has also been part of Fashion Design for three years.
“I love it because joining fashion design at the school helped me to find my passion and now I am going to college for fashion design,” Ziegler said. “ I love that clothing and fashion design can be understood and interpreted by any person regarding their situation and background; it is a universal language that speaks through textures, patterns, shapes and colors. Fashion designers have the ability to utilize those elements and materials in order to share their voices and spark conversations that other people can relate to, learn about, love, and even hate. I focus on sustainability in my studies and hope to create clothing that helps our environment instead of hurting it.”
Ziegler is going to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology to study fashion design in the heart of Manhattan in New York.
“It’s so surreal that I will be living in a place I always dreamed about moving to, while studying one of my favorite things, fashion design,” Ziegler said. “My long term plans are to become a designer who creates unconventional and Avant Garde garments that can be used as a voice to support sustainability in an industry that so negatively affects our earth. I am so excited to be immersed in the fashion scene of New York City and learn from my surroundings.”
![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)
Shirley Henderson • May 10, 2023 at 10:19 pm
What an upbeat & refreshing story! I could feel Sandra’s excitement & I hope & pray that all her hopes & dreams are achieved. Good luck in achieving all your dreams!
Shirley Henderson