She’s been in every on-stage production in the theater department for three years straight. She takes every art class she can, and she gathers as many thespian points possible. Since 2019, junior Erica Mihealsick has taken up an interest in technical theater, improv comedy and various forms of design and decor.
Mihealsick wound up in her eighth-grade production of “Little Shop of Horrors” because of some romantic feelings, but said she did not end up with the kind of love she was expecting.
“The middle school was putting on a production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’”Mihealsick said. “And I thought the actor for one of the villains was hot. So I was like, ‘Being around actors wouldn’t be so bad.’ Originally, I wanted to be an actor, but then I didn’t want to because I’d have to catch up [in skills] to the other kids. So I decided to join tech, and I’ve never looked back.”
Theatre tech isn’t her only specialty; she has also been involved in Destination Imagination for five consecutive years and is a first-year member of Penguin National Guard (PNG).
“I started [Destination Imagination] before I even considered theater, and I did it because my friends said it would be fun,” Mihealsick said. “I was very reluctant because it sounded really un-fun. It’s basically just like building challenges and improv challenges with a lot of rules and stuff. But I did it for one day and I enjoyed it so much.”
Mihealsick said she plans to graduate with 300 thespian points in order to get a graduation stole. But, currently with only 65 points and counting, she has to resort to other measures on how to get her score up.
“The class of 2025 is the first year that’s going to be unaffected by COVID,” Mihealsick said. “So we have to reach the amount of points it was in previous years. My plan is to start a canned food drive and donate all of those cans to the thespian canned food drives in my name. So I’m basically going to pay for points. It’s one point for every five cans and cans are usually worth under a dollar. People are still donating, so it’s still a good thing. It’s just I get points out of it, and the food pantry gets more cans out of it. So I don’t see how any of this is selfish or wrong.”
Mihealsick said she has a pretty distinct vision of where she sees herself in the next five years.
“I see myself as probably a props artisan, people who make props for either theater or movies,” Mihealsick said. “Or maybe as a props manager or assistant on sets. My dream job would be a props manager because I’d get to interact with a lot of famous actors and travel around the world. Nothing could make me happier.”
Mihealsick said she is very prepared to put her dream job into action, she said, as she takes several art classes such as ceramics and welding in order to perfect her craft.
“I’ve never felt anxious about the [thespian] points just because I feel that in this world I will be able to do anything,” Mihealsick said. “I feel like I’m in a good spot to be able to get things done.”





![Senior Jett Mckinney stores all the clothes in his own room, with half of it stored in his closet along with his personal clothes, and the rest taking up space in his room.
“There’s been times [when] there’s so much clothing stored here and it gets overwhelming, so I end up having to sleep somewhere else in the house,” Mckinney said.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DSC_0951-1200x800.jpg)



![Broadcast, yearbook and newspaper combined for 66 Interscholastic League Press Conference awards this year. Yearbook won 43, newspaper won 14 and broadcast took home nine. “I think [the ILPC awards] are a great way to give the kids some acknowledgement for all of their hard work,” newspaper and yearbook adviser Paige Hert said. “They typically spend the year covering everyone else’s big moments, so it’s really cool for them to be celebrated so many times and in so many different ways.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/edited-ILPC.jpg)




![Looking down at his racket, junior Hasun Nguyen hits the green tennis ball. Hasun has played tennis since he was 9 years old, and he is on the varsity team. "I feel like it’s not really appreciated in America as much, but [tennis] is a really competitive and mentally challenging sport,” Nguyen said. “I’m really level-headed and can keep my cool during a match, and that helps me play a bit better under pressure.” Photo by Kyra Cox](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/hasun.jpg)

![Bringing her arm over her head and taking a quick breath, junior Lauren Lucas swims the final laps of the 500 freestyle at the regionals swimming competition on date. Lucas broke the school’s 18-year-old record for the 500 freestyle at regionals and again at state with a time of 4:58.63. “I’d had my eye on that 500 record since my freshman year, so I was really excited to see if I could get it at regionals or districts,” Lucas said. “ State is always a really fun experience and medaling for the first time was really great. It was a very very tight race, [so] I was a bit surprised [that I medaled]. [There were] a lot of fast girls at the meet in general, [and] it was like a dogfight back and forth, back and forth.” Photo by Kaydence Wilkinson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kaydence-2.7-23-edit-2.jpg)


![As her hair blows in the wind, senior Brianna Grandow runs the varsity girls 5K at the cross country district meet last Thursday. Grandow finished fourth in the event and led the varsity girls to regionals with a third place placement as a team. “I’m very excited [to go to regionals],” Grandow said. “I’m excited to race in Corpus Christi, and we get to go to the beach, so that’s really awesome.” Photo by Addison Bruce](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/brianna.jpg)













![Backstage, junior Erica Mihealsick and Cara Allen are setting up for The One Act Play That Goes Wrong. "Originally, I wanted to be an actor, but then I didn't want to because I'd have to catch up [in skills] to the other kids. So I decided to join tech, and I've never looked back.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P1010905-1200x675.jpg)