![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)
Leading to Success
Senior Shares Importance of Leadership Skills in Personal Life, College Recruiting Process
Photo Courtesy of Keep it Digital
Eyes on the ball, senior Kymorah Carter looks to pass the ball. Carter has helped lead her select volleyball team for seven years and implemented those leadership skills to showcase herself during the college recruiting process. “These skills I learned helped me to speak up for myself and pushed me to be the best I could possibly be during the process,” Carter said. “Having the opportunity to be in these leadership positions has helped me grow tremendously and to be comfortable in my own skin.”
May 19, 2022
Team captain, warm up captain, tournament captain, president of two clubs, and a Division I recruit. After having a crucial leadership role for her select volleyball team for seven years, Carter decided to use her leadership skills in a larger scope, influencing others in the greater-Austin community.
For two consecutive years, Carter was president of the Xinos and Kudos Regional Chapter, as well as the Top Teens of America Austin Chapter. Both of these organizations specialize in community service and academic scholarship opportunities for high school students.
“I implemented the leadership skills I learned from club volleyball into these organizations,” Carter said. “We do a lot of work with the community and local churches that members frequently attend.”
Carter says her role is vital to these organization’s conferences, as she makes sure everyone is mingling and she also gives speeches at the beginning and end of each annual conference.
“I love being involved in these conferences yearly,” Carter said. “It not only provides college opportunities, and allows me to connect with other organizations, leaders, and committee members.”
Carter stated that she has always been a social and outgoing person, so joining these groups really helped her to express herself, as well as put herself on the map for college recruitment.
“My mission is to help members of these groups express themselves and to be vocal with their thoughts and ideas,” Carter said. “I try to help everyone get the most out of the experience as they can.”
As a woman of color, Carter uses these clubs as an outlet to discuss and guide other African American women through their struggles.
My mission is to help members of these groups express themselves and to be vocal with their thoughts and ideas. I try to help everyone get the most out of the experience as they can. — Kymorah Carter
“I’ve always been taught that things are twice as hard for me, therefore I have to work twice as hard,” Carter stated. “I use this to motivate and push myself and get outside of my comfort zone and use that knowledge to express my viewpoints and opinions on things without fearing I won’t be heard.”
It has always been Carter’s dream to play at an HBCU school and follow in her family’s footsteps.
“I knew I would feel comfortable going to a historically Black college,” Carter said. “I grew up visiting them and I knew it was where I belonged at a very young age, as I knew I would be able to be my authentic self.”
Having this goal in mind, Carter was recruited to play volleyball at Jackson State University, a Division I HBCU school.
“I felt super accomplished and proud of my hard work after I got recruited,” Carter said. “My mom is a Jackson State alumni, so it was a really big deal for her and the rest of my family.”
Carter feels as though the leadership skills she obtained through leading her club volleyball team and both organizations helped her showcase herself in the recruiting process.
“These skills I learned helped me to speak up for myself and pushed me to be the best I could possibly be during the process,” Carter said. “Having the opportunity to be in these leadership positions has helped me grow tremendously and to be comfortable in my own skin.”
![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)
