![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)
![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)
During football games, he can be found cheering on the band from the sidelines. At a competition, he paces frantically back and forth behind the drum major’s stand. For almost four months during the summer and at the beginning of each school year, the CPHS band is under his leadership. For eight years, he has been an influential director, guiding many students to discover their passion for music. His intense devotion to making one of the best bands in the country is almost unheard of. This man is Jeremy Spicer, the marching band director of CPHS.
Spicer decided that he wanted to be a band director as a sophomore in high school, and in 1999 he was hired at Cedar Park. In 2001, the band won first place at the 4A State competition. After advancing to class 5A in 2002, Spicer took over as marching director in 2004 and led the band to a silver medal at the 5A State competition. Since then, the marching band has placed countless times in various other competitions such as Westlake, BOA Arlington and San Antonio, and UIL Region and Area D. Despite the growth of the program, the numerous awards and abundant recognition, Spicer maintained his modesty and has always kept the rest of the band grounded.
“I think arrogance gets in the way of excellence,” Spicer said. “If you’re arrogant about what you do or how you do it, then you truly aren’t achieving the level of excellence that you probably could.”
Spicer has helped the Cedar Park marching band flourish, molding them into the successful organization that they’ve become. However, he has recently accepted the position as head band director at Vandegrift High School. The news came as a shock to many band members, despite rumors that had been spread throughout the program regarding the situation.
“I want to be a head band director,” Spicer said. “I have the need and want to be a head band director. One of my ultimate dreams was to be the band director at Cedar Park, but that’s not going to happen. Mr. Wessels is the head and he earned it and he’s a fabulous head band director, and I saw the writing on the wall that he would probably be here for while, and I can’t wait that long. This was a fantastic opportunity to work in a fabulous district with kids that I’ve already taught.”
The marvel of Jeremy Spicer will long be remembered by the band students at Cedar Park. The accomplishments that were achieved as a result of all the energy he put into the band program will always be reminisced by those who experienced Spicer’s remarkable ability to motivate. After all, it is the prominent motto of the Cedar Park band to “Move and Inspire,” an axiom clearly embodied by Spicer. Wherever he goes, he will inspire the students to go beyond what is expected of them. He and the next band under his leadership will continue to awe audiences everywhere.
