![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)
![Students drew chalk art in honor of Veterans day. This is just one of many things the school does to show appreciation to veterans, and the art will remain in the courtyard as a reminder of all of the veterans who served their country. “On veteran’s day, I think it’s a great thing we do at school to honor people that served [who are] at our school or family members,” English teacher and cheer coach Nadira King said. “It makes me feel proud, and it makes me remember the [veterans].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Capture.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)
![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)
![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)
From Captain to Coach
Senior Scores Position at Cheer Athletics
Photo courtesy of CPHS Cheer SmugMug
Senior Jordan Tillett takes her experience as a high school cheer captain and gets herself a job as a coach at the Cheer Athletics gym in Austin.
May 27, 2019
Being nominated as captain of her high school cheer team was a big enough accomplishment for senior Jordan Tillett, until she broadened her horizons and landed a coaching job.
Cheer Athletics is a gym for athletes of all levels to train with a team and compete at various events, including The Cheerleading World Championship, the biggest cheer competition in the world. Tillett has participated in this competition for the past four years on the senior level five team, Onyx, the highest level team at Cheer Athletics Austin.
“The people I cheer with and the coaches I have bring me back every year,” Tillett said. “My fellow teammates and I travel together and form friendships that are completely different from any school friendship.”
According to Tillett, her experience on an All-Star cheer team and prior role of being a high school cheer captain both qualify her to become a junior coach at her gym.
“Being in charge of my high school squad and creating routines is similar to coaching a team,” Tillett said. “Having knowledge from being a high school and competitive cheerleader for seven years assures me that I will do great in my coaching role.”
Tillett has attended this gym for four years, giving up several hours every week and many weekends so she can compete at the elite level. After going to the same gym for so long, Tillett has developed a close relationship with her coach.
“My coach knows that I have dedicated my life to cheerleading and this gym specifically,” Tillett said. “He also knew that I have always wanted to be a coach, so he decided to start training me to become one of his junior coaches.”
Tillett currently coaches a junior level three team which consists of girls aged eight to 14. She helps the team execute their skills, perfect their routine and teaches them proper stunting technique, all in hope of winning a competition.
“All of the kids I coach have different personalities and I love getting to watch them grow throughout the year,” Tillett said. “I also love the competitiveness of cheerleading, so I always push my teams to be better than they were before.”
To ensure she can continue her coaching career, Tillett is going to attend Austin Community College before she transfers to The University of Texas at Austin, where she plans on trying out for the college cheer team.
“I will continue to coach and cheer for as long as I can,” Tillett said. “I am actually still going to be on a competitive cheer team this upcoming season as a ‘super senior,’ meaning I will not be in high school anymore, but I have also not yet aged out.”
Although Tillett loves competing, she said that she also enjoys the behind the scenes work that goes into creating a routine and sharing a passion for cheerleading with the other coaches at her gym.
“I have wanted to be a coach ever since I came to Cheer Athletics, that is my dream job,” Tillett said. “And I am so excited that finally get to fulfill that.”
