![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)
Farm to Future
FFA Senior Discusses Experience, Future Plans
Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Morphis
After competing in many competitions this year, senior Jeffrey Morphis poses with his awards from FFA. Morphis competed in multiple categories, including Entomology, Chapter Conducting, FFA Quiz and Swine Skillathon. “I really love Entomology,” Morphis said. “It’s a lot of fun going through a room of bugs and being able to differentiate between a Viceroy butterfly from a monarch. It’s also kind of fun to get reactions out of people when you tell them you’re on the bug team.”
May 1, 2020
From raising pigs and a lamb to studying different bug species, senior Jeffrey Morphis has experienced the many hands-on opportunities provided by the FFA program.
Morphis has been a member of FFA for the last five years and has competed in many different categories including Entomology, Chapter Conducting, Cattle Judging, FFA Quiz, Swine Skillathon and Prepared Public Speaking.
“I really love Entomology,” Morphis said. “It’s a lot of fun going through a room of bugs and being able to differentiate between a Viceroy butterfly from a monarch. It’s also kind of fun to get reactions out of people when you tell them you’re on the bug team.”
With multiple categories and competitions each year, Morphis said that the environment in FFA is both competitive and supportive.
“[The environment] is rather competitive at times, but that’s not a bad thing,” Morphis said. “We all have to help each other constantly, whether that’s by giving a shot to a sick pig, helping others fill out award applications or giving reasons as to why you placed a class of heifers the way you did. [We} all want each other to succeed.”
This year, Morphis participated in many competitions, including Area, where he placed eighth in the individual quiz contest, as well as the Swine Skillathon at the State Fair of Texas in October, where he placed 12th in the state. Along with these ranks, Morphis said that he enjoyed cheering on his teammates at the National FFA Convention for the National Creed Speaking Contest.
“FFA has given me a place to call home,” Morphis said. “Throughout elementary and middle school, I never had a sport to play or a club to be in. That changed when I joined FFA.”
Morphis will be attending West Texas A&M starting in the fall, where he plans on studying Agriculture Education in order to become a high school Agriculture teacher after he graduates.
“My former Ag teacher, Mr. Jack, made me want to be an Ag teacher,” Morphis said. “He made a difference to me and I want to be able to have that kind of influence on others.”
Mophis said that while he will miss Cedar Park, he is looking forward to college.
“I’ve lived in the same house my whole life and I’m ready to experience something new,” Morphis said. “I’m going to miss the barn. I’m going to miss my friends. Nobody I know from Cedar Park is going to WT, so it’ll be different starting all over again.”
For someone just joining FFA, Morphis said that it is important to enjoy every moment in the program.
“Take in every moment and enjoy it for what it’s worth,” Morphis said. “There are a lot of things we can do through FFA that others never get to experience. Be grateful to those around you and live in the moment.”
