![With their T-Wolves held high, the varsity volleyball team huddles together in preparation at a match in early September. The team is 6-0 in match play and will start the second round of district play next week. “The second time isn’t going to be easy,” Head Coach Lori McLaughlin said. “That's the thing about this district. The coaches are so good and very skilled with what they do and every team is usually different the second time that we play. We just want to hope that we add some more finesse to our game, and then lead us into the postseason, which hopefully [has us] peaking at the right time.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/varvb-9.3-Julia-14.jpg)
![During passing period, parking lot security Alan Gallagher stands on the street between the portables and the main building, ensuring students get to the other side safely. Everyday, Gallagher monitors the parking lots, checks parking permits and helps guide traffic, even more so now with the addition of the portables. “I spend a lot of time making sure students and staff get across the walkway,” Gallagher said. “I haven’t had any real problems [with students] yet, it’s just about getting people adjusted to the new traffic patterns.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_0926.jpg)
![With her daily agenda displayed on the new interactive panels, advanced spanish II and III teacher Sofia Pickle explains to her students their tasks for the day. The new interactive panels come with many features including the ability to annotate directly on the board.“I do love the that I can display certain spanish vocabulary or spanish conjugation [on the panels],” advanced spanish II and III teacher Sofia Pickle said. “I can go and write underneath it or take notes directly on those words or the worksheet I have displayed. I really enjoy that the panels are accessible and have features that are fun for students.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Mrs.-Pickle-Panel-1200x800.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, the Varsity Tennis team celebrates winning districts. They played against Liberty Hill on Tuesday night and won with a final score of 10- 5. “We improved a lot even from the last game,” senior Blake Hillis said. “We lost against them the last time we played [Liberty Hill], but it was really close. It was just really important for us to win this match since it was the district finals. [When we won I felt] overwhelmingly happy, especially being there with my teammates and it being my senior year. It was just really great. It [felt] like a community.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Tennis-Districts-e1728060882260.png)
![On March 20, the theatre program performed their UIL One Act play "Frankenstein". “I could barely believe what I heard after [it was] announced that we were advancing,” freshman Zack Williams said. “It was crazy. Being one of the only freshmen in the show and also [being] a lead definitely put pressure on my shoulders. I knew that the only thing I could do was my best, but that was until I started to think what if my best was not enough? I was feeling like I could never amount to being what [everyone else] thought I was. Although, after hearing that announcement, I realized that maybe I have something going for me after all.”
Photo courtesy of Cayden Bartolo](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Capture.png)
![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)
![Smiling during the annual Decals with Dads, varsity starting quarterback and sophomore David Cooper and his dad Jim Cooper pose for a picture. During this varsity event, players and their dads get together to put new decals on their helmets. This year, in addition to being announced QB 1, David was also voted as one of six captains on the varsity team, a role that he had difficulty adjusting to as a younger player on varsity. “It was a struggle for me, being younger than everyone else and being a leader,” David said. “I wondered if [the team] would respect me, or if they would just see me as a younger person from a younger class. I think I've become a leader, [though] and let people know that even though I'm younger, I'm still going to lead them well.” Photo courtesy of Cedar Park Football SmugMug.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_8493-1-1200x801.jpg)
![Smiling with her hands on the wheel in her Camaro z28, senior Brooklyn Collinsworth savors these short moments until the car returns back to the shop. “I knew there would be work to be done, but there were too many problems with the engine in the car that they didn't address originally,” Collinsworth said. “The more [SW] takes it apart, the more they realize the issues with it, but I want to keep that car forever so I'm willing to deal with that stuff so I can have a better experience later.” Photo Courtesy of Brooklyn Collinsworth](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/55E3EE4E-12B3-4B85-B1CB-464B676FD3A9_1_105_c.jpeg)
As Cedar Park cuts the strings from graduating seniors, they can only hope to fly in the direction of success. Most learn what their purpose is in life is as they go through college or experience jobs first hand, but for former student Sara Strick, her passion had long since been formed.
As a first year photographer in yearbook, Strick quickly worked her way to the top making herself one of the most valuable members of the staff. But her success didn’t stop there. As a freshman at Texas State University, Strick was quickly added to the prestigious University Star newspaper staff. As a first year photographer, Strick has had many photos featured in the school newspaper and will be promoted to Assistant Photo Editor next year as a sophomore.
As if Strick hasn’t accomplished enough, in the last month she’s been presented with one of the biggest honors a photographer could ask for. Strick took a picture for Flickr.com’s promotion “A message to Obama” and submitted it to the site. Her photo was selected out of thousands of pictures to be featured in the December 29 issue of TIME magazine. Along with that, Strick is scheduled to be interviewed by Duane Tollison, correspondent from CBS news radio, about her photo which will be aired during inauguration week.
“I’m just really excited because it’s one step closer to what I want to do for the rest of my life,” Strick said.
It just goes to show that hard work, sparked by passion and talent, can truly lead people towards their dreams.
