![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)
Carter dances her way to TDEA
While striking a pose, senior Captain Paige Carter holds up a present, one of the props her squad used during their hip-hop routine at the Winter Showcase on Dec. 4. “The dance was something different than what we usually do,” Carter said. Photo by Jacie Knapp
February 20, 2015
Senior Celebrities Captain Paige Carter has a lot going on in her life. She will be trying out for the Texas Strutters dance team at Texas State next year and recently made the all-state dance team for high school students across Texas and was invited in January to go to Texas Dance Educators’ Association in Houston.
“TDEA is an awesome, big dance convention with officers from all over Texas participating,” Carter said. “It was so much fun, we all had a blast together.”
Carter is auditioning for the Strutters soon, and is ready for all-state.
“I’m really excited because it’s an amazing thing to have on your resume,” Carter said.
Carter’s interest was sparked when she attended a Celebrity spring show years ago. That was when she made the decision to become a dancer.
“I like too many things about dance,” Carter said. “But I’d say my favorite is how you can just let go when you’re dancing.”
Carter’s co-officer junior Sierra Taylor is one of the people who truly recognize Carter’s persistence.
“Paige started working hard on her own and attended some dance intensives to build her dance strength,” Taylor said. “Paige’s cousin is the captain at Vandegrift High School and has helped Paige along her dance journey.”
Carter’s hard work paid off when she was dubbed co-captain of Cedar Park Middle School’s Crimson Cadets. From there, Carter has worked at home and taught herself new dance tricks from various YouTube videos.
Carter’s future career is full of dance possibilities.
“This summer I really want to get a job working in an officer camp where you learn how to teach and choreograph dance,” Carter said. “I want to become either a dance teacher or a choreographer.”
Carter has been dancing her entire life, but only began actual training in middle school. Carter participated in dance classes at CPHS her freshman year, was a lieutenant her junior year and captain her senior year.
Despite how busy dance life keeps her, Carter still manages to have fun in other ways.
“I like to hang out with my friends, dance, and wakeboard,” Carter said. “While I was in middle school I competed in TSR wakeboarding.”
![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)
