”““ ”

It’s one of those things that hap-

pens. A line broke. It just broke at the wrong time.

Associate PrincipalP.J. Giamanco

“”

The seven period day was

overwhelming for students. It’s like a hamster on a

wheel, running as fast as possible,

but getting nowhere.

Social Studies department head Valerie Garnier

Year in Reviewsidekickth

eCoppell High School 185 W. Parkway Blvd. Coppell, TX 75019 www.coppellstudentmedia.com Vol 20, No. 7 May 21, 2009

Students find voice in presidential election

If one word were to symbolize this past year, it might be change.

The change-obsessed United States presidential election of 2008, the 56th in our history, assembled an unprecedented number of unusual and unpredictable firsts.

The first woman to run for a major party nomi-nation with a serious chance at winning, capturing more primaries than any other woman in history. A mav-erick Republican presiden-tial nominee running with a female governor from Alaska. A number of can-didates who poked fun at themselves on Saturday Night Live. And ultimately, our first black president, Barack Obama.

Throughout it all was the theme of change. The theme of young people, of hip-and-happening youth, of the dubiously-named

Generation Z. “We went through a

time when there was a lot of apathy about the elections,” U.S. History teacher Rita Bauer said. “But I think, and maybe this is just being cynical in my ‘old age’, but I think younger people are concerned that the govern-ment’s not done things the right way, that they’ve not followed through on their commitments. They want to see something different in the hopes that it could be something better.”

Many students felt encouraged to learn more about politics by teachers and peers, participating in the mock presidential elec-tion and watching clips of the debates in class.

“It was the first one that actually mattered to me, because when you’re in high school, you actually talk about it with people,” junior Paul Blazek said. “I always liked talking about

see CHANGE pg. 18

Triumphs in soccer, football define year

Ups and downs—ev-ery season has them, as do every team. Coppell High School is no different. The Cowboys and Cowgirls had their share of bumps and bruises, but ultimately the year can be labeled a vic-tory, culminating in several deep playoff runs and two state championships.

At the beginning of the year, 5ATexasfootball.com predicted Coppell would finish fifth in District 6-5A. This wasn’t as much a slight as it was a declara-tion of the district’s level of competition—Region I was widely accepted as the toughest region in Texas, with 10 teams ranked in the state’s top 25.

Of the eight dis-tricts in Region I, Dis-trict 6-5A was considered the most competitive. For a short while it seemed these preseason mutterings had some validity, espe-

Students and teachers received a bit of unforeseen news when an extra day off

for students was unexpectedly added to

Labor Day weekend because of flooding in C Hall. The flood was caused when a

pipe burst, leaving 30 classrooms damaged.

SEPT02

MAR23-27

APR11

Although CISD is not facing a large deficit,

it still has some financial problems.

With the North Lake property finally

about to be finished, the attorney fee has left a hole in

the pocket of CISD. Along with this, the

high schooll building is getting older and is in need of some

renovations.

DEC19After receiving an

offer from Southlake Carroll, associate

principal P.J. Giamanco took his

new position as principal of Carroll’s ninth and 10th grade campus. Despite his

decision to go to one of CHS’s biggest foes, the community was sad to see him go.

This year, after spring break, CHS tested a trial pilot block scheduling system. After the pilot, a student survey was

posted for students to evaluate what they

thought of the block schedule. The majority of students found the

block schedule better, so on May 4, CHS presented implementing the block schedule for next year to

the school board.

This year marked the 50th anniversary of CISD. Current and former

students and teachers joined the celebration

including decades worth of scrapbooks, uniforms,

yearbooks and technology. The festivity gave attendees

a look at how the district has changed throughout

the years.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on tax re-form in the Grand Foyer at the White House, May 4, in Washington, DC. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT)

CHS is not the only place that has seen its fair share of changes this year, the Coppell community has

undergone some transformation. Coppell

has become a part of the green revolution. Recently,

in an effort to become more environmentally

friendly and encourage recycling, every Coppell family home was given a 65 gallon recycling bin.

see GIRLS pg. 19

cially after a 57-41 loss to Highland Park was seen as a grim premonition for future games against high-er-scoring opponents like Southlake Carroll.

That was where all similarities with the specu-lations ended—Coppell rallied to pummel Weath-erford and Mansfield Sum-mit and then extended its streak to three in a 57-53 double-overtime thriller against Southlake Carroll, who hadn’t been defeated by a Class 5A district op-ponent in, well, ever.

The Cowboys round-ed out the season in spec-tacular fashion with a last-minute string of victories to clinch a playoff spot. Then, in a 31-17 bi-district play-off victory against Justin Northwest, the Cowboys broke through to the sec-ond round, a feat it had not matched since the turn of the century and since its designation as a 5A school.

Junior Dallas Rin-ey of the Coppell Cowboys reaches

above and beyond an Allen player on

a Dec. 2 basketball game.

Photo by Kelly Emerson

Class of 2009allieperisonnewseditor

blakeseitzsportseditor

daphnechenopinionseditor

We have an entire future ahead of us, not just on our graduation day, but every day. And maybe we cannot choose the hurdles that each of us will undoubtedly face. But we can choose to jump over them or to stay stuck. Life’s greatest paradox is that

it is its own bumpy, winding road -- but we control the wheel.2 0 0 8 G R A D U AT E S A M A I YA M U S H TA Q ’ S VA L E D I C TO RY A D D R E S S

Graphic by Yogesh Patel

academics02 thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Debating part of the past for Mozynskichristinagellerfeatureseditor

When you type Kate Mozynski into Google, the site automatically recogniz-es her. In fact, it finds 160 results for her name, and every single one of them is about her; thanks, in part, to her success in debate.

A one-woman power-house, Mozynski captured the state title in Foreign Extemporaneous Debate at the 2009 Texas Forensic Association’s state tourna-ment, a rare feat for a fe-male debater.

“Extemp is male-dominated; Foreign Ex-temp is extremely male-dominated,” Mozynski said. “I’m used to being the only girl.”

Foreign Extemp re-quires debaters to know every detail about all parts of the world. National top-ics include the Middle East, World Economy and Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

“She has to know world leaders in every coun-try, politics in every country, social issues in every coun-try,” debate coach Glenda Ferguson said. “She has to just know things most teenagers – most adults – don’t know.”

At each tournament, debaters draw three ques-tions, choose one and are only allowed the use their files of articles and text-books, called “sources,” to help brush them up on the topic. Mozynski re-lies on her three large blue tubs – which are so heavy she had to pay overweight fees when she traveled to Boston for competi-tion – filled to the brim with information to help her through her allot-ted 30 minute planning time. Inside each tub is a section for each country with subsections on cer-tain issues. For example, the Middle East contains folders on Islamic imperi-alism, women’s rights, and relations with the U.S.

“I research it all my-self, highlight it all, fil-leit all, memorize it all,” Mozynski said. “I’ve been doing this event for four years but not one of these articles are over a year old.”

Mozynski pulls her information from a variety of sources, including The Economist, The New York Times and the Council on Foreign Affairs.

“The Council on For-eign Relations is my best friend,” Mozynski said as she pulled the AP Hu-

man Geography textbook. “Books. I read a lot of books. I don’t think you can get the same depth from a newspaper article.”

Fellow debater Risha Bhattacharjee attributes how her well-read Mozyn-ski is to her success.

“She’s always reading The Economist and other magazines to keep herself up-to-date,” Bhattacharjee said. “She’s at school un-til seven or eight at night printing off articles and reading them and highlight them – just trying to keep

To most students at Coppell High School, his face is recognized as one of the 14 lining the wall honoring National Merit Finalists. In the upper aca-demic echelons, his name is whispered with understood reverence.

From among a gradu-ating class of nearly 700, senior Chanhwa Hong has earned the distinction of valedictorian, but anyone who knows him agrees this is not what makes him spe-cial.

“He’s a very humble person. You can easily fig-ure this out about him if you talk to him about ser-

vice, because that’s very important to him,” Hong’s friend and senior Kris Chi-ravuri said. “He has a good heart and he cares about other people. He’s a person of character.”

Hong’s history is cer-tainly an unusual one.

Born in Korea, Hong moved to the states in 2000 when his dad was accepted to study architecture at the University of Oklahoma. This has left an unusual di-vide between two potential selves.

“Traditional nation state identity tells me I should choose either United States or Korea, but I don’t see it that way, I don’t like restraining myself in terms

Different life experiences propel HongChanhwa Hong at a young age in Korea.

audreywhiteco-editor-in-chief

Photo courtesy Chanhwa Hong

of nationality,” Hong said. “My family, I think we’ve moved like thirteen times. I never had like a home, per se, in the tradtitional sense. Home is wherever I’m stay-ing. I have all my relatives in Korea, but then I have my education and my aca-demic ideas and ideologies in the United States.”

His biggest strug-gle when he came to the states was adjusting to the language barrier, espe-cially since Hong’s family planned to move back to Korea after his father got his degree. After three years in America, Hong and his family moved to Coppell to establish roots near his fa-ther’s new architecture job.

It was then Hong fi-nally learned English and began developing his aca-demic identity. To the sur-

prise of many, being vale-dictorian of his high school class is not a key factor in Hong’s sense of self.

“I was never that good academically in mid-dle or elementary school. My identity is not in being part of the academic circle,” Hong explained. “Not only is that really shallow, that’s really boring. I like to think of myself more as a think-ing person.”

It is Hong’s dedica-tion to thought that as-tounds students and teach-ers alike.

Latin teacher Jeremy Varnell has had the un-usual experience of teach-ing Hong for four and a half semesters, a product of Hong’s unexpected move to Korea halfway through his sophomore year that required he repeat classes

after he returned. Accord-ing to Varnell, who was the teacher Hong chose to honor at the annual Top 5% Banquet, such challenges haven’t held Hong back from being a motivated, striking individual.

“He’s always been very diligent, very studious. What’s been really cool to see is how he has become more desirous of actually making an impact rather than just having all his knowledge get buried in-side his head,” Varnell said. “He’s become much more interested in making some actual difference in people’s lives. He’ll be one of the people who is changing the world.”

Although Hong will always be able to indicate his status as valedictorian on resumes, it is his dedica-

tion to excellence and pas-sion for people that will set him above the pack for the rest of his life. However, all else aside, Hong is truly a unique individual with a fresh perspective on the world. When asked about what he likes to do, he mentioned reading, Disney movies and music.

“I really like music. I sing and whistle a lot at home,” Hong said. “I don’t really have a favorite music; I think there’s beauty in ev-erything.”

In the end, it is neither Hong’s academics nor his unusual Korean-American identity that define him.

Instead, what makes this young man stand out are his passion for people and willingness to see beauty in every step.

herself up-to-date with everything that’s going on in the world.”

However, it is her knowledge of philosophy that Mozynski credits her success to.

“I like to incorporate a lot of philosophy [into my arguments],” Mozyn-ski said. “I think the best way is to use philosophy and back it up with impe-rialism information. That’s the way to make a really good argument.”

When the 30 min-utes are up, speakers then perform in front of a pan-el of judges. At most com-petitions judges choose the top two competitors from a room of six to eight people to advance. However, at nationals, Mozynski competes in six rounds and the judges will take the best scores from all rounds to decide which debaters advance to quarterfinals. The process

continues until the final round and one competitor is named national cham-pion.

Competitors are judged on how well they cover the topic, use of sources to show how well-read they are, speaking style and speaking ability.

“She’s a very good

speaker,” Bhattacharjee said. “Her speaking is very fluid and she has this great voice that carries really well, that has a lot of weight.”

This is her third year competing against 200 other debaters at Nation-als, held in Birmingham, Ala. this year on June 14-19. Mozynski qualified for Nationals by placing first in district for the National Foresnic League and aad-vanced to UIL State com-petition after placing first at regional competition in Lubbock. In the past, Mozynski has made it to semifinals at Harvard and placed first at Colleyville Heritage High School, Garland and UT-Austin.

“Kate hasn’t placed below second in a really long time,” Ferguson said. “She wanted to be the best and she has.”

Despite her success, Mozynski says she doesn’t plan to continue debating at the College of Wooster, located in Ohio. However, she’d like to help other stu-dents find a joy in debate.

“I realize I can’t not have all this stuff in my life,” Mozynski said. “I’d love to have an assistant coaching position [at a lo-cal high school].”

Photo by Gina CanataSenior Kate Mozynski sorts through the debate tubs from previous years.

academics 03thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Junior Vicki Yang will be skipping her senior year at Coppell High School to attend the University of Southern California’s Resident Honors Program, a prestigious program for students from across the nation who are chosen for their academic perfor-mance, maturity, leadership and activeness in the com-munity.

Yang first heard of the program in the early fall of her junior year while pre-paring for the PSAT.

“I got a brochure about it in the mail and it looked pretty interesting,” Yang said. “I decided to re-search some more about it and I applied and found out I was accepted in March of this year. It was a complete shock to me.”

Resident Honor stu-dents function indepen-dently as college freshmen by getting the chance to obtain college credits ap-plying toward the remain-der of their high school requirements, while getting them ahead in their aca-demic career.

Yang skips senior year to attend USC

The program provides three essential benefits for students: they are auto-matically admitted to the school’s Honors Program, guaranteed at least a quarter of their total tuition, named the Deans’ Scholarship and set to graduate a year early.

With only 20 to 30 students from around the world getting into the pro-gram a year, it is highly se-lective and the application process is a rigorous one.

“Students who get in are ones who are ready to get ahead and academically

For a small number of seniors at Coppell High School, this school year has been unique in more ways than one. On top of the traditional significance of their senior year, 31 stu-dents from this graduating class who participated in the Senior Scholar program reaped additional benefits; some will graduate high school with as many as 42 college credit hours.

The program has done well for its first year in operation, drawing praise from other communities, even being featured in The Dallas Morning News, but the real question to ask in order to assess the true ef-fectiveness of the program is ‘What happens next?’ Exactly how is the Senior Scholar program preparing students for a full-blown college experience?

“I’m taking a lot of classes,” senior scholar par-ticipant John Rusch said. “I took a music appreciation class [at North Lake Col-lege] because I want to ma-jor in something involving music in college.”

By taking the course at North Lake, Rusch, who will attend the University of North Texas this fall, acquired credit towards his college major. In total, Rusch will have 38 credit hours when he graduates

and socially prepared for college,” Program Advisor for the Resident Honors Program Allison DeRaad said via e-mail. “We are delighted that Vicki will be attending our program in the fall.”

Yang’s teachers be-

Senior Scholars gain head start

high school. That means Rusch will be entering col-lege in solid sophomore territory.

Rusch’s case is typical of most students in the pro-gram. The trend seems to be all about planning ahead. Kyle Curry, another senior scholar, jumped at the op-portunity to gain college credit. In particular, Curry has taken the opportunity to polish up his math.

“I’m going to the University of Arkansas this fall,” Curry said. “I hope to graduate with a degree in engineering… [To get ready for that] I took col-lege algebra and trigonom-etry classes.”

Additionally, Curry has taken other courses he finds interesting such as psychology and sociology. These classes are an exam-ple of the sort of broad-ranging courses students will encounter after high school.

It is no secret that many universities require ‘basic’ courses to be taken during a student’s college career (English for exam-ple), supplementing a stu-dent’s specific studies. The Senior Scholars allows stu-dents the chance to knock out these courses before graduating high school. That way, by the time they get to college they can leap right into their specific de-gree path.

lieve her to be more than equipped for such a pro-gram as well.

“Vicki told me once that she used to struggle with English because it was her second language. It was almost ironic to me because her writing and reading skills are so exceptional and she is so quick as a student,” AP/GT English III teacher Eileen Krueger said. “Vicki is tailor-made to do some-thing like this, and I’m definitely going to miss her next year but at the same time I’m so proud of her.”

Aside from the pro-gram, Yang is confident a college like USC will have much to offer. She wishes to double-major in business administration with em-phasis in cinematic arts and also psychology. Her long-term goal is to one day be a lawyer.

“I sort of figured that you can’t go to a school like USC and not do something that has to do with film, so I included the empha-sis on cinematic arts along with my business major,” Yang said. “It’s going to be a good way to incorporate liberal arts with a business program.”

Some students en-tering college at a younger age than most might have problems adjusting to the change, but Yang feels that at 17, her age will not be a factor in her abilities at USC.

“I’ll only be one year younger than most of them so it’s not too bad, and this is something I’ve thought about doing for awhile,” Yang said.

In addition to her ac-ceptance into the Resident Honors Program, Yang will take part in a special fresh-man Global Leadership Program, which offers lead-ership seminars with guest speakers, a trip over spring break to China to study business and ultimately gives students head-way into career opportunities later in their lives.

Of course, the road to success does have its down-side. Yang is saying goodbye to Coppell High School with a year less of memories than most students, but she is sure her choice of USC is the right one.

“I’m definitely going to miss all of my friends but I know that we’ll keep in touch,” Yang said.

Senior Vicki Yang works on her art work at the end of the year and adds a last minute touch up. Photo by Tyler Morris

reneerohanistaffwriter

blakewatsonstaffwriter

Sun shines on those in need

Senior Whitney Sun face paints during a volunteer activity for one of her non-profit programs.

Senior and salutato-rian Whitney Sun shines inside the walls of CHS with her academic achieve-ments, and outside with her generosity and charity.

Sun’s achievements can be seen in every aspect of her life. She excels in more than just academics.

One of Sun’s most ad-mirable achievements is the creation of her own non-profit organization.

“I have my own non-profit organization called Generation Education,” Sun said. “I started it with a friend in 9th grade and every year at the beginning of the year we raise school supplies for kids in the less fortunate areas of DFW. We also hold book drives that go international. My friend and I were just talk-ing about what we could do to help out the community and starting a non-profit organization seemed like a simple way to give back.”

Making the basis of the project about school supplies and education was an easy decision for Sun.

“I think education is undervalued these days,” Sun said. “There is a mis-conception that it has to be really expensive, so we are just trying to help out with the basics like school supplies and books so ev-eryone has the opportunity to learn.”

Making her organiza-tion has taken a lot of work, but the success of the orga-nization has proved that it was worth Sun’s while.

“To get supplies, we applied for a grant from Youth Venture, they are ba-sically our sponsor organi-zation and we get $5000 a year,” Sun said. “My friend and I also donate personal money. We raise money by asking for donations and we hold drives for the non monetary part.”

Sun makes sure the books and supplies go to deserving individuals.

“We just sent the sup-plies from our Christmas drive to the Austin Street Shelter in Dallas,” Sun said. “For the Fort Worth area, we go through G.R.A.C.E. And for the hospitals we have to buy new books, so we give those to them sepa-rately.”

In addition to con-

tinuing her charity orga-nization, Sun will also be mentoring students in West Philadelphia schools.

Sun is very involved at school, but she claims that all of her activities are her favorites.

“I don’t participate in an activity unless I enjoy it,” Sun said.

Sun is a Red Jacket, National Merit com-mended, a leader on the award winning Academic Decathlon team, a mem-ber of NHS, the president of NSHS and the class of 2009 salutatorian.

After four years at CHS, Sun is excited at the prospect of being on her own, getting to make her own decisions and getting out of Texas. Looking for-

ward, Sun will attend the University of Pennsylvania and plans to major in busi-ness. She remembers on her years at CHS with many fond memories with few regrets.

“If I could do some-thing different, I would do what I really wanted to do, extracurriculars that I wanted to do, but that I didn’t think I would have enough time for,” Sun said. “Looking back, I could have managed my time more ef-ficiently and had time to do things.”

Tessa Martin has been friends with Sun since 6th grade.

“She’s a good listener, and I’m going to miss not having every class with her and being able to rant to her,” Martin said.

Sun’s achievements and actions speak loudly for her, along with all who know her.

“My perfect future would be one where I’m living the American dream with a family, a job and I am successful,” Sun said.

Sun’s teachers and friends have only good things to say about her.

“She brought a lot of enthusiasm to the [Aca-demic Decathlon] team as well as a large knowl-edge base,” AcDec spon-sor and economics teacher Donnette Alexander said. “She wants to do well and she also helped others do well. She is very funny and bright, and just a lot of fun to be around. She cares about the other people on the team and she wants them to do well too.”

Photo courtesy Whitney Sun

melissabriscostaffwriter

academics04 thesidekickmay 21, 2009

One year early, Hughes graduating in top 5 percent

Financial factors decide college paths

lorenhughesstaffwritter

Junior Noelle Hughes will graduate from CHS this year and plans to major in chemistry and minor in art at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Photo by Gina Canata

With time devoted to extra-curricular activities, social lives, part-time jobs and numerous pre-AP and AP classes, very few juniors can say that they have been honored enough to gradu-ate high school a year early.

For junior Noelle Hughes, not only can she say this, but she can also proudly say that she is graduating in the top five percent of the senior class above her.

“I filled all my re-quirements so I decided to graduate early,” Hughes said. “I’m excited to begin a new part of my life.”

Since freshman year, Hughes has devoted her time to AP and dual credit North Lake Com-munity College classes on weekends and during sum-mer vacations. As a fresh-

man, she was also in Alge-bra II pre-AP GT, which is two years ahead of most other freshmen in math.

“When I taught No-elle, she always wanted to understand every detail of every concept,” Algebra II Pre-AP GT teacher Ian VanderSchee said. “She was very motivated to succeed in all of her classes.”

Alongside her suc-cess in academics, Hughes is also a talented artist and pianist.

Last year, she par-ticipated in the Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE)and won a medal for her artwork.

“I painted two paint-ings for VASE,” Hughes said. “It was a new experi-ence for me to enter my artwork to be assessed by a judge.”

Not only has Hughes achieved numerous ac-complishments academi-

cally and artistically, she has managed to hold on to a few valuable friends that she must leave behind a year early.

“I’ve been friends with Noelle for about six years,” junior Jacilyn Watts said. “She treats her friends with the same respect and ambition as her work, and she is always honest in all she does.”

Next fall, Hughes is set to attend the Univer-sity of Texas at Dallas with the help of a full academic scholarship.

She was also offered a scholarship to the Uni-versity of Houston before finalizing her decision to attend UTD.

“Like any parent, of course, I’m proud of her,” Hughes’ mother Diane Hughes said. “I hope she carries with her the plea-sure to learn, dedication to a cause and commitment to

her community. This is suc-cess, since it is these quali-ties that allow true produc-tivity in life, no matter how one performs or does.”

Hughes will major in chemistry to work towards her aspiration of becoming a doctor and minor in art.

“I am not surprised that Noelle is graduating early,” VanderSchee said. “She already possesses the study habits and moral character that many college students lack. I wouldn’t be surprised if she graduated college early as well.”

Despite Hughes’ ex-tremely successful achieve-ments, she fears experi-encing home sickness and leaving her friends their senior year while she is at college.

“It’s thrilling to be graduating early,” Hughes said. “I know I will be tak-ing many wonderful mem-ories with me.”

With the economy in a recession, seniors are basing decisions for their future college on financial circumstances more than in the past years. Increasing numbers of graduates are choosing to attend com-munity colleges rather than large universities.

“When I tell people I am going to North Lake next year I get mixed reac-tions and feel as if I have to explain my decision,” se-nior prom queen Carmela Salerno said. “I’m paying my own way through col-lege. Going to North Lake for a year provides me with the opportunity to gain the same basic credits I would at more costly universi-ties for less and without

the stress of having to pay student loans in the future. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with staying at home for another year.”

The benefits of at-tending community col-lege at a time of economic recession such as this are many. Coppell seniors at-tending North Lake Col-lege will not have to pay a extravagant tuition cost be-cause they can continue to live at home.

Moreover, these stu-dents will have the oppor-tunity to receive transfer scholarships in the future if they choose to move to a four year university. Com-munity colleges typically provide smaller classroom settings than larger schools and a more supportive en-vironment.

Students taking dual credit courses can obtain college credit hours through high school without having to pay tuition. Before the end of senior year, many have enough hours to save money

“I strongly promote dual-credit courses for students,” Coppell High School counselor Debra Fruithandler said. “If you plan it correctly it gives you a tremendous value for ba-sic credits. Basically, it is a leg up for students planning to stay in-state because they can get one full year under their belt for no cost.”

The appeal of attend-ing community colleges is greater now than ever since college tuition is escalating and the economy is wan-ing.

“I didn’t even apply to other schools,” senior Haley Green said. “I knew I was going to North Lake. It just makes things easier on my family financially. Both my parents went to community college before transferring to a large uni-versity so I was expected to do the same. Maybe after a year or two I will transfer to University of Texas, but for now I am fine with North Lake.”

Families are struggling to figure out how to pay for college. According to the U.S. Department of Edu-cation, currently 8,497,438 Free Applications for Fed-eral Student Aid have been processed for the 2009-2010 year. This represents a 19.2 percent increase from the previous year.

On the other hand, large universities are also feeling the hit. Many col-leges are seeking to discov-er how many students they accept will actually show up in the fall.

“Many universi-ties accepted more stu-dents than usual this year,” Fruithandler said. “They are concerned that enrollment may be less due to parents not being able to come up with enough funds.”

Last year, 18 percent of the graduating class elected to attend communi-ty or two-year colleges. The exact percentage of high school seniors graduating in 2009 has not yet been calculated but is speculated by counselors at Coppell to be significantly higher than previous years.

Coppell offers a va-riety of rigorous courses to highly motivated and aca-demically talented students. Advanced Placement class-es give students the oppor-tunity to boost GPA points while receiving college hours. This helps cut down on the costs of university, but not by very much.

“Students and par-ents are thinking long and hard about attending more prestigious out-of-state schools,” Fruithandler said. “They’ve begun question-ing whether or not there is a relative benefit and if they can receive a comparable education in-state. More so this year than in the past, there are a number of dili-gent parents learning about how to obtain scholarships as well as financial aid. ”

lucianamendesstaffwriter

Graphic by Samantha Spaans

media 05thesidekickmay 21, 2009

KCBY seniors bid farewell to CHS Listening to program

directors Gianluca Cuestas, Alexis Talley and Jessica Campbell talk about their time on KCBY, it doesn’t come as much of a shock to find that all three will be pursuing a degree in a media field at college. The love and passion they have for their craft is evident in everything they say.

“[Media] is your imagination coming to life,” Cuestas said. “There’s noth-ing that is limited. Any-thing you can imagine, you can make happen, whether it’s through real footage or animation or editing. You have everything at your hands.”

Next year, Cuestas is taking his imagination to Brigham Young University, where he plans to major in broadcast journalism. Spe-cifically, Cuestas wants to focus on automotive jour-nalism, writing about the car industry, something that has been his passion since he was a kid. The decision to attend BYU, however, wasn’t as easy as identifying his major.

“BYU is known for being the school that Mor-mons go to, and I converted to the religion earlier last year, but I didn’t really

have an idea [before that],” Cuestas said. “But being that I just converted, it’s the perfect place for me to go, where I can learn in the field that I want to study, as well as grow spiritually.”

For Talley, though, the University of Oklahoma has always been a part of her future. Next fall, she plans to major in broadcast jour-nalism and minor in public speaking, degrees she hopes will allow her to break into the field of sportscasting.

“Since I was 8, my dad has taken me to all the OU home games, because he went to OU, and of course, everyone on my dad’s side went to OU, so going to game after game after game, watching the sports for my entire life, I knew I was set to go there,” Talley said. “You learn so much in KCBY and it makes you more confident, so after do-ing this for three years, I just knew it [broadcast journal-ism] was my calling.

Talley and Cues-tas have both worked on KCBY for the past three years, spending countless hours working to get their segments done and putting the show together.

“They [Alexis and Gianluca] spearheaded the organization from the very beginning,” Kennedy said.

“I’ve known them both for three years, and the growth has been phenomenal. I think if they continue with the same dedication and passion that they have right now, there’s no limit to what they can do.”

Campbell, however, started the year as special projects director and was promoted to program di-rector midway through the year.

“Jessica’s role has been really tremendous to watch this year; we couldn’t have done it without her,” Ken-nedy said, noting Camp-bell’s part in segments such as the counseling video and the recent Shattered Dreams program. “She’s been a great leader to com-plement our other program directors to help lead our team.”

Next fall, Campbell will attend the University of North Texas, where she will pursue a film major, though she is entertaining the idea of transferring to the University of Texas at Austin to study in its film program. Her ultimate goal, she says, is to work as a pro-ducer on films.

“It’s [media] a rush: It’s kind of like being stressed, but at the end, it’s a really self-rewarding hobby,” Campbell said. “It’s

something I enjoy, and with a lot of productions, I can throw in music, and you get to work with a group of people – and that’s really what I like to do. It’s just like a big puzzle, so it’s a lot of fun.”

And while her role on the show changed, Cam-bell’s work ethic and ability has always remained con-stant. Her time on KCBY has prepared her well for her classes next fall, giv-ing her the background she needs to make it in her field.

“It’s [KCBY] taught me how to communicate with people, as far as what it takes to put together a production, whether it be a short film or a special proj-ect,” Campbell said. “It’s been the one class where I have self-initiative and I’m not being told what to do. It’s definitely helped me grow.” Through events such as Shattered Dreams and coverage of the AFI film festival, this year’s three program directors have made an incredible im-pact on KCBY. With their dedication and skill, don’t be surprised to find their names scrolling across the television screen in the fu-ture – whether it is at the end of a sports broadcast, a car show or even a film.

melissaflandreauco-editor-in-chief

Senior KCBY directors Jessica Campbell, Gianluca Cuesta and Alexis Talley all plan to study media-related majors in college.

For students to enroll in the Round-Up yearbook staff at Coppell High School requires a major commitment. The staff dedicates hours of work to making the year-book the best the school has seen. However, year-book is not just a fun high school hobby for senior Myka Suges who sees it as her career.

“Myka is very cre-ative and hard working if the staff or any of the edi-tors needed help, she was always there to answer our questions or give us advice for our spreads,” senior Emily Hull said. “I consid-er her to be one of my best friends, and I have year-book to thank for bringing us together.”

Suges has been in-volved with many year-books in CHS, three, and one at CMSW. She signed up for the yearbook staff at Coppell Middle School West and fell in love with it. Ever since third grade, Suges has enjoyed writing and Yearbook gave her that opportunity.

“I absolutely fell in love with yearbook after eighth grade and it just made me want to build a career out of it,” Suges said.

After middle school, Suges joined the Round-Up staff her sophomore year. Suges was elected to be academics editor her junior year and editor-in-chief as a senior.

“This experience has taught me a lot,” Suges said. “For instance, it has taught me to manage time, make deadlines, and how to produce a good publica-tion.”

After being accepted into the journalism school at University of Oklahoma, Suges decided she either wants to go into magazine publishing or advertising.

“Myka has worked her way up the ladder of the yearbook staff and real-ly grew in her design skills and her writing skills,” Round-Up adviser Rachael Pellegrino said. “I’m very proud of her pursuing those things at Oklahoma.”

Since she had such an amazing experience with yearbook in high school, Suges has also interviewed on April 29 and supplied samples of her work to ap-ply to be on the OU Sooner yearbook staff. Suges found out on May 5 that she made the University of Okla-homa yearbook staff. To make the OU Sooner staff is a very prestigious honor, considering that many of their yearbooks have won a number of awards. The Sooner 2007 yearbook was also ranked one of the top two yearbooks in the coun-try by CSPA in 2008.

“I am really excited that I made it and now I cannot wait to go up there and start working on it,” Suges said.

Suges hopes that by being a member of the yearbook staff will help with her major in magazine or advertisement, build her portfolio and get her name out in the media world af-ter she graduates. Another benefit of being selected as a staff member is members are paid for the work they do.

“Since I have to pay out-of-state tuition at Oklahoma, the money I get paid for being on the staff would go towards my tuition and help it a lot,” Suges said.

Round-Up editor Suges to continue

yearbook in college

Myka Suges, editor-in-chief of the 2009 Round-Up yearbook, works on her senior project which is a scrapbook that will hold memories from her senior year since all of the pages of the yearbook are completed.

gabymoranstaffwriter

College?Texas Tech

Major: Pho-tography

How would you want people toremember you?I would like

people to remember me being fun and all of the good times I had with my friends.

Who is someone in the school you look up to?I look up to Mr. Hunt because he has done a lot for the school and all the students and always tries to get to know everyone.

What is your biggest fear about college? I fear that I am not going to work hard enough and fall behind.

jillclaxton kaitlynmeansmorganwilliamsMajor: Film (director specifically)

College? University of Texas

High School was: unpredictable.

Worst movie ever? My first short film called Saturday, but then again I am probably my toughest critic.

What are the school reading books you like the most?The book I love the most is The Giver from middle school and I still go back and read it to this day.

Best thing to take on a deserted island? I would take a boat so I can get off the island.

College?Texas Tech or Texas A&M

Major: Psy-chology

Best movie ever? The Holiday

What’s your advice to underclassmen?Take duel credit because you get a lot of time off.

What’s the biggest change you’ve noticed at CHS over the 4 years you’ve been here? There have been a lot of different teachers and I cannot recognize any.

What High School Musical charac-ter would you want to be and why? I would want to be Gabriella because she is shy and really smart.

Closing remarks: yearbook seniors

Photo by Kelly Emerson

Photo by Kelly Emerson

media06 thesidekickmay 21, 2009

While The Sidekick has evolved this year to include a new Web site, the students have grown as well, both in style and age, as some prepare to take flight and leave for college.

The Sidekick has five senior editors, from editors-in-chiefs Audrey White and Melissa Flan-dreau to editors Chris-tina Geller (features), Page Warner (photography) and Amy Piper (graphics).

There are also four staff writers Scott Apple-ton, Lyndi Conradt, Blake Watson and Anna Casey. In addition, business man-agers Brittany Nieh and Jenny Park as well as pho-tographer Gina Cannata and graphic artist Saman-tha Spaans will also gradu-ate.

The students have various experiences with the paper. While some have had been on staff for two or more years, for many, this is the first and will be the last year of being a staff writer.

Conradt did not take the journalism prerequisite, however she made it on staff this year.

“I’ve always enjoyed writing and always enjoyed reading The Sidekick and wanted to be part of it, but I couldn’t because of sched-uling,” Conradt said. “I

“But I’m really not looking into business; I’m thinking more about political sci-ence, law, or maybe even fashion.”

However, Cannata seeks to continue with photography at Providence College in Rhode Island.

“I’m not sure about what publication, but I might continue photogra-phy, even if it’s just on my own,” Cannata said. “I’ve really liked being able to see my own photos in the newspaper final product.”

Piper, who became graphics editor in Janu-ary, will also continue her Sidekick experiences as she goes to Texas State Uni-versity to major in pre-communication design.

The contributions of the class are evident in pages of articles and pho-tographs, printed both in The Sidekick and other publications. This gradu-ating class will also have been the first to operate The Sidekick Online, which won The Dallas Morning News Day junior award for best Web site.

“Not every class is going to have people in different areas who excel,” The Sidekick adviser Chase Wofford said. “You could fill out a staff with just these seniors and be fine. Each has something that makes them stand out.”

didn’t have the background going into this year, so I had to learn all the random journalistic rules and learn them to the best of my abil-ity.”

Spaans, Casey, Wat-son and Cannata are also first year staff members.

Spaans, who will at-tend Texas A&M, has a particularly unique experi-ence with the paper. First

semester, she took inde-pendent study in graphics. She did not join staff with her cousin Conradt until the second semester of this year after Piper insisted she join.

“Amy really needed another graphic artist and it worked out perfectly that I was able to,” Spaans said. “This is the one extracur-ricular activity that Lyndi

and I have in common.”For many staff writ-

ers, The Sidekick represents a last chance to try out a new hobby before retiring the pen for college.

“I don’t plan to con-tinue journalism, but I do plan to continue writing,” Watson, who will attend Hendrix College in Arkan-sas, said. “If you’re a writer you can do everything.”

Former staff writers and current business man-agers Park and Nieh have also learned from their experiences but have no intentions of continuing with business and adver-tisements when they attend UTA in the fall.

“Being business man-ager has given me insight to the world of business and finances,” Nieh said.

Sidekick seniors put down pens for college ellencameronstaffwriter

Laughing off a great year, Sidekick seniors put their time on staff behind them and look toward bright futures.

Behind the camera lens, his audience calls him a genius.

“He is a remarkable guy,” junior Scott Bower said. “His segments are like watching Lord of the Rings, at the very end all you want to do is watch it several times over again.”

Behind a desk, his teachers consider him to be quite the student.

“He is one of the brightest and most engag-ing students I’ve ever had,” history teacher Kevin Casey said. “He’s exceptionally well-rounded.”

Yet senior Jim Pagels considers himself to be a rather normal guy, find-

ing amusement in even the simplest of things.

“I have an unbreak-able addiction to Mine-sweeper,” Pagels said. “You know that game that you press on the numbers and the bombs come up?”

As a member of KC-BY-TV, National Merit finalist and varsity tennis player, Pagels is well-versed in balancing his social life with academics. In KCBY, Pagels has been the master-mind behind many legend-ary segments, such as MTV Cribs with Brad Hunt and his personal favorite, “I’m Going to Prom.”

“I have a thing for making rap videos,” Pagels said. “I feel like it gives me street cred.”

angelaalmeidacenterspreadeditor

Beyond his humor-ous influence, however, Pagels has excelled greatly in academics. With a 2160 on his SAT and ranked No. 12 in the class, it is evident that although Pagels might mess around in the halls, he is sincere in the classroom.

Top universities across the nation have also taken an interest in Pagels, such as Columbia Univer-sity, Northwestern Uni-versity, the University of Texas at Austin and Stan-ford University. Pagels has sided with the UT honors program to save money for graduate school.

Although he jokes that he is “going to double major in psychology and reverse psychology,” in ac-tuality, he plans to major in a media field. Furthermore, he looks forward to college, like most other seniors, with a bittersweet feeling.

“I’m excited to be with people who share my interests,” Pagels said. “But I’m going to miss all my friends and experiences in Coppell.”

If one cannot get enough of Pagels, there is always YouTube. As an account holder himself, Pagels his past KCBY seg-ments posted. Undoubt-edly, Pagels has left CHS better than when he found it. Only time will tell what impact he will make on UT and beyond.

Pagels behind a new lens

Senior Jim Pagels was a active member of KCBY and will pursue communications further at UT.

Photo by Tyler Morris

Photo courtsey of KCBY

media 07thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Senior Christina Geller is no stranger to the power of the pen. Used to editing feature stories for The Sidekick, report-ing for The Dallas Morning News and writing various award-winning stories, pens have come in handy for Geller.

Geller is the current features editor of The Side-kick and served as opinions editor last year, her first year on staff. The year before, she was awarded the 2006-07 Achievement Award in Journalism at Coppell High School.

“I never really thought about doing it, but I had a friend who was a senior who read my English es-says and told me I should do something with journal-ism,” Geller said. “I think it helped that I had written two stories for the senior issue and one for the issue before that so I got through the groove of editing before joining staff as an editor.

“Coming in I didn’t think anyone would really talk to me and I was hesi-tant because [opinions edi-tor Libby Davis] had done good job, and I didn’t want to let that part go.”

Geller needed a bit of coaxing to before embark-ing on what became an il-lustrious high school career. It was primarily encourage-ment from The Sidekick ad-visor Chase Wofford that pushed her to try out for editor.

“Even before she was an on staff when she was in journalism, I could tell that as a writer she was more ad-vanced than most students, and she was already a good copy editor,” Wofford said. “She was opinions editor because I thought opinions was her strength, but as time goes on, I’ve also seen more

of her skills with news.”

She interned with The Dallas Morning News in the summer of 2008, writ-ing two front page stories and four Metro Section front page stories, and was a member of their Student Voices panel for 2007-08.

“I kind of hit the ground running,” Geller said. “I got there and even

though I didn’t have my own desk or computer, I was given an assignment. I just kind of had to go for it.”

Even outside of journalism, Geller has proven herself to be an exceptional writer, placing first in the Coppell Gifted

Association Mosaic writing competition.

Though her success in writing has played an important role in her high school experience, it does not define her. Geller was a clarinetist and a member of the colorguard in the CHS b a n d from her f r e s h - men to j u n i o r y e a r , plac-i n g s e v -e n t h in the 2 0 0 7 Texas 5A March-ing Band Competi-tion and 13th at the 2005 Super Regional Bands of America Competition.

Geller is also ac-tively involved in commu-nity service. She was a core member of the Dyslexia Advocacy Service Learning

Project with former CHS student, Laura Seaman, which was named the best service learning project by Region 10 Service Learn-ing Institute.

Next year, Geller will attend Clark University in Worchester, Mass. while her family goes in the op-posite direction to their new home in Bozeman, Mont. Her younger brother Jack remains at the Texas Academy of Math and Sci-ence (TAMS) in Denton as a senior.

“Christina is true to her own ideas and comes up with a great product,” editor-in-chief Audrey White said. “I’m upset that she’s moving after this year, it’ll make it that much harder to see her.”

While it will be difficult for Geller to return, as holidays at home will no longer be in Coppell, her influence will linger over the paper as she writes for Clark Univer-sity’s newspa-per The Scarlett.

“I can’t say enough about how much Christina has done,” Wofford said. “She’s going

to be missed.”

College?Clark University

Prom was:Expensive

If you had an infinite amount of money, what would you spend it on? Education for girls in Pakistan and the Middle East and

books for children in Africa and for me.

Teachers you will miss?I’ll miss my newspaper advisor, Mr. Wofford, because his class is definitely my comfort zone. I’ll miss talking with Ms. Alexander, my economics teacher because she gives great book recommendations, and I’ll miss Ms. Peddy because she gives great course and col-lege advice.

Do you have any weird quirks? I like making lists – homework lists, books to read, to do lists. I rarely actually complete the things I list, but I make them nonetheless.

What’s your biggest regret? I try not to mark my life by regrets, but I have lost a lot of good friendships over the years and I miss them.

If you could choose, what era of time would you want to be in? I love almost every period of history for some reason or another, but this is the only period where women are not com-pletely oppressed.

Number of I Rock CHS shirts you have? Two – one for my internship at The Dallas Morning News and another for spending three months working on the Sustainability Expo.

Christina GellerGeller experiences journalism beyond CHS newsroom

Hail to the chiefs: White and Flandreau to departdaphnechenopinionseditor

ellencameronstaffwriter

“I didn’t know Melissa freshman year at all…”

“I know I met Audrey sophomore year because we were both on staff...”

“It was on the bus when we met to visit The Dallas Morning News offices one day. We sat next to each other on the bus.”

“I don’t know, what did she say?”

“And then we just pro-gressively became friends…”

“I’m going to give the wrong answer, aren’t I?”

“…And now we rock at life.”

Although the details may be fuzzy, it is clear a shared love for writing and journalism brought seniors Audrey White and Melissa Flandreau together three years ago as staff writers for The Sidekick. The two friends will soon graduate as co-editors-in-chief of their student newspaper.

“I have a journal from when I was in fourth grade that says I want to be a writer,” Flandreau said. “I remember always lik-ing writing. I wrote a story when I was little about go-ing to the movies with my grandpa.”

Not surprisingly,

White’s roots as a writer mirror those of her coun-terpart.

“I’ve been writing since I was teeny tiny, like 4 years old,” White says. “Markers and construction paper, and I would write short stories.”

In the communica-tions industry, Flandreau and White are something of a triple threat, with skills in writing, page design and editing. White served as editor-in-chief for the 2007-08 school year, when Flandreau was features edi-tor.

In 2008, The Dal-las Morning News recog-nized White for her opin-ions writing, awarding her honorable mention in The Dallas Morning News High School Journalism Day for her portfolio of columns. In addition, she served as a Student Voices columnist.

“[Audrey], as a writer, has a really distinct voice,” The Sidekick adviser Chase Wofford said. “You could line up 50 stories and I could pick out the one that’s Audrey’s because she has a really distinct way of writing.”

Likewise, Flandreau has made a name for herself as a Student Voices colum-nist, in addition to winning

acclaim for her page de-signs, including first place in the News Page Design Portfolio category by The Dallas Morning News.

“To see [Melissa] develop into a really good reporter and taking on big-ger stories each year, I was proud of her for doing that,” Wofford said. “And as far as layout design, she’s one of the best ones. She’s one of the best ones we’ve ever had. One of the best things about our paper this year is how it looks on page one.”

Flandreau in particu-lar has fought to carve out a unique niche as the succes-sor of former features edi-

tor and 2007 graduate Mi-chelle Flandreau, her older sister, now a sophomore journalism student at the University of Missouri.

“I love my sister, I re-ally do, but it’s been really hard for me to feel like my own person when every-one’s calling me Michelle and I answer to Michelle automatically,” Flandreau said. “It hurts your sense of identity, I guess… I just try to remind myself that I’m not making these decisions because she did, that this is what I want to do to.”

White, through her success as a journalist, has struggled with a series of

t r a g e d i e s , from her parents’ early divorce and father’s death in 2001 to the cycle of s u b s t a n c e abuse which plagued her older broth-er during her middle school years.

“ E v -eryone has their issues and their o b s t a c l e s , but if you let that be what defines

you, then you’re not going to be happy with yourself,” White said. “I believe that they’ve helped shape me for the better. They’ve made me a stronger person, a more driven person. They’ve giv-en me empathy, just know-ing that I’m not alone.”

Senior staff writer Anna Casey, who has been friends with White since freshman year and Flan-dreau since third grade, remembers a friendship that began when Flandreau threw “the best birthday party in the third grade.”

“I think Melissa has definitely left an impact

of excellence,” Casey said. “She sits next to me at the computer, and if I’m writing something that’s first draft and it’s not worth anything, she says, ‘You know, you can’t put a comma there.’ It’s this constant ‘you can always do better.’”

Flandreau and White will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Texas at Austin, respective-ly. Both were encouraged by the universities’ strong jour-nalism schools and hope to continue writing in college. Behind them, Flandreau and White leave behind them a legacy of a major redesign and the creation of www.coppellstudentmedia.com, the online version of The Sidekick introduced in 2008-2009.

“I spent more time in D115 than any other room in the high school,” Flan-dreau said. “It’s going to be hard leaving something like that behind just because I spent so much time and ef-fort, and at the end of the day, who really cares about a high school newspaper? And the answer is that I do. I cared about it a lot.”

With their departure, The Sidekick recognizes the first and the last hail to the chiefs.

Seniors and The Sidekick editor-in-chiefs Melissa Flandreau and Audrey White will attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UT Austin, respectfully.

Photo by Page Warner

editorial page08 thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Editorial

mediastudentco

ppel

l

best newspaper honorable men-tion in 2006 and best Web site in 2009. It received the Award of Distinguished Merit in 2003 and 2008 and is a Bronze Star recipi-ent for 2009 from ILPC.

The editorials and columns presented in this paper reflect the view of their writers.

Advertisements are sold as full, 1/2 page, 1/4 page and 1/8 page sizes in black and white or color.

For more information you may reach the adviser in his classroom (D115) or by phone at (214) 496-6239.

The Sidekick welcomes all letters to the editor. Letters must be signed before consideration for publication. Send letters to cwofford@coppellisd.com or bring them by D115.

Editors-In-Chief Melissa Flandreau Audrey WhiteNews Editor Allie PerisonOpinions Editor Daphne ChenFeatures Editor Christina GellerEntertainment Editor Chris NguyenSports Editor Blake SeitzCenterspread Editor Angela AlmeidaPhoto Editor Page WarnerBusiness Manager Brittany NiehStaff Writers Hubert Adjei-Kontoh Satvika Ananth Scott Appleton Travis Bremner Melissa Brisco Ellen Cameron Anna Casey Lyndi Conradt Caitlin Conner Rebecca Fowler Ashleigh Heaton Natalie Hill Loren Hughes Divya Kumar Luciana Mendes

Visit The Sidekick www.coppellstudentmedia.

com today!

Gaby Moran Jenny Park Amanda Peck Nathan Reck Lisa Richardson Renee Rohani Andy Tabor Maddie Walters Blake Watson Peyton Wood Bayley ZarrehparvarPhotographers Gina Cannata Kelly Emerson Tyler Morris Katie QuillGraphic Designers Yogesh Patel Amy Piper Samantha SpaansAdviser Chase Wofford

The Sidekick is the official student newspaper for Coppell High School. Its purpose is to inform, entertain and provide an educational resource for its read-ers. This newspaper is a public forum for student expression and thus student editors make all content decisions.

The Sidekick is a member of ILPC, NSPA and JEA. The Sidekick was the NSPA Pacemaker Finalist in 2002, The Dallas Morning News

Staff

Editor-in-chiefs pass the torch

To the Seniors Class of 2009:Congratulations on an amaz-

ing school year! This year’s senior class has been an incredible group of young people who have demonstrat-ed strong leadership skills in every facet of Coppell High School.

Whether it was in academics, athletics or fine arts, the Seniors of ‘09 excelled at every level. We started the year with an extra long Labor Day weekend after the Great CHS Flood of ‘08, had a double over time 57-53 win against Southlake Carroll, saw some extraordinary productions including Footloose and The Curi-ous Savage, had some fun with my two palm pilots while showing off my crib, cheered our band to a 3rd place win at state marching and our girls soccer team to a State 5A Championship, observed a moving and emotional program with Shat-tered Dreams and even survived the swine flu; the seniors did it all with style, class and great pride as they “rocked CHS” in all they did and with all they accomplished.

It has been my privilege and

honor to be your principal these past three years. This group of se-niors has taught me so much this year....how to be a leader from my involvement with Red Jackets, what it means to serve others through the Blood Drives, Hope for Africa, Dig for the Cure, Invisible Children and Red Cross, how to laugh at myself and have fun with the Talent Show, the KCBY skits and the Prom Rap and most importantly how to display pride and spirit for your school with some crazy pep rallies that ended with mohawks or the battle of the sexes; this year has been one fantas-tic journey!

I applaud you for what you have done and look forward to what you will do. The world is a better place because you are in it and I have confidence in knowing our future is in very capable hands.

God Bless, Best of Luck and remember... Cowboy Fight Never Dies!

Brad Hunt Coppell High School Principal

Hunt’s farewell to class of 2009

During an outdoor pep rally in the fall of 2005, cheerleaders asked each grade to individually “Do it, do it, do it GO GO GO!” Seniors, juniors and sopho-mores each yelled, chanted and waved fists accordingly. Then it came time to “See the FRESHMEN do it!”

In an unanticipated show of spunk and sass, the entire freshman class sat down.

Since that fateful pep rally, the class of 2009 has stood up and stood out in immeasurable ways. It has maintained that spunky, sassy flare that made it the bane of pep rallies, applied in slightly more productive ways since freshman year.

Seniors may not have start-ed any unforgettable tradi-tions, but they leave behind an unparalleled legacy of fun and passion.

This fun and passion-ate way of life is on display on the wall honoring Cop-pell’s 14 National Merit Finalists and marches in the footsteps of every Red Jacket. It pours off the se-nior bridge, whether in the form of a tossed dummy or just a particularly loud con-versation.

It is heard in every song sung by the award-winning choir as well as in the story shared by the decorated One-Act Play Translations, not to mention in the swish of the soccer

ball hitting the net during the girls’ state champion-ship tournament and in the cheers of the elated crowd as Coppell defeated South-lake Carroll in the most memorable football game in recent history.

The class of 2009 will always be remembered as a group that made its own way through four years of high school. Those four years were spent by singing, by laughing, by sassing – and by sitting.

It all started with lots and lots of sitting.

Put your guns up, Class of 2009, and congrat-ulations.

It’s weird to think this is the very last thing we’ll write for The Sidekick. After three years, 22 is-sues and countless hours spent scrambling to finish the paper before deadline, it’s finally time for us to say goodbye. (And cue the sappy music.)

We could say a lot of things about finishing our final issue and finish-ing high school, too – the opportunities are endless; when one door closes, an-other opens. But the thing is, it’s not always that simple to leave behind the things you love. What makes it easier, though, is knowing that what you leave is in good hands.

After acting as co-editors-in-chief this year, we are passing the torch to Allie Perison and Daphne Chen. We’re passing on the editing and the stress and the annoyance that comes with running a high school paper. But more than that, we’re passing on the ability to make a difference at the high school, to inform oth-ers and build friendships with the only other people who understand what we mean when we say, “Please, for the love of all that is good, make your edits.”

This past year, The Sidekick has covered a lot of memorable events, from a pipe bursting in the hallway to the presidential election

as it affected CHS. From the smallest stories to the largest ones, we’ve been there through it all. And that, we think, is the most important part of a high school paper. We act as the witnesses to what happens in the halls and report what we find to the best of our abilities. And we can think of no better people to help lead this charge than Daph-ne and Allie.

This may be goodbye for us and the rest of the class of 2009, but it’s just the beginning for the rest of the students here. Good luck, and keep reading!

-Melissa and Audrey

A class to remember walks away

Next years editor-in-cheifs juniors Daphne Chen and Allie Perison pose with this years senior ediotr-in-cheifs Melissa Flandreau and Audrey White at the newspaper banquet.

Photo by Page Warner

Blanton to continue dancing for mother

Sixteen years ago, se-nior Hailey Blanton could be found kicking and screaming to avoid dance lessons. Now, she attri-butes her growing love of dance to the woman who started it all: her mother.

“I hated dance, just hated it,” Blanton said. “But my mom made me go to classes. I was two years old.”

Over time, Blanton began to portray the quali-ties of a true extrovert. As she began to grow, so did her love of dancing.

Suddenly, Jill Blan-ton, mother of Hailey and Matt, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007, which began to overtake her body and spread to her thyroid.

Mrs. Blanton passed on Dec. 15, 2007.

“After my mom died, I have dedicated every dance to her and the con-nection I feel to her when I dance is what keeps me going,” Blanton said. “She was the mom at every re-hearsal and at every prac-tice so I can always feel her there for me.”

Hailey’s father Bert remembers Ms. Blanton’s dedication. He attributes the children’s successes to their mother’s commit-ment.

“Jill was the best and most awesome mother ever,” Bert said. “She was previously a physician’s as-sistant and decided to re-tire to be a full-time mom. She dedicated herself to the arts and to Matt’s sports. She really rubbed off the love she had on me

and I am truly blessed to have the two amazing chil-dren I do.”

To begin to cope with her loss, Blanton wowed audiences at the 2007 CHS Senior Talent Show with a performance full of heart and emotion.

“My friend Avery Spangler and I were going to ‘kidnap’ my mom and take her to the talent show and put her wheel-chair front and cen-ter,” Blan-ton said. “I wanted her to see me dance again, but she died four days before the talent show. So when I got on stage, I just talked, I had nothing written on paper, and I dedicated it all to her.”

As Blanton finds a greater passion in her dance, she realizes she and her mother share a connection from her mother’s past.

“I have a picture of my mom when she modeled that I always keep,” Blan-ton said. “She just looked so beautiful and I always feel such a bond to her when I dance and I know I am do-ing what she loved and now what I have come to love.”

The road to coping with a traumatic experience has not been easy for the Blanton family. But Hai-ley once again danced for the woman she so admires with friend and senior Jes-

sica Campbell at the 2008 Senior Talent Show.

“When Hailey asked me to dance with her I knew it was such a big role and I wanted to portray exactly what she wanted,” Campbell said. “I was ner-vous, but I felt so honored. When her dad cheered at the end I began to feel the rush of emotion so deeply. I was shocked at how brave

H a i l e y -has been and she gets such s t r e n g t h and cour-age from her dad.”

T h e B l a n t o n s have found a stronger bond in life now that

they are more reliant on each other.

“My daughter is total-ly unstoppable,” Bert said. “She has attitude, leader-ship, she is extroverted, she dedicates 110% energy and she is purely inspirational. Everything Hailey does, she just does it and that supplies me with inspira-tion.”

As Blanton ventures to Oklahoma City Uni-versity next fall to major in theatre and minor in public relations on a scholarship, her family will miss her op-timistic spirit.

“I want Hailey to never change, never give up, always fight, do what’s right and best, and she’ll always be happy,” Bert said.

Photo courtesy Hailey BlantonSenior Hailey Blanton, pictured with her mother, strives to honor her mother’s memory by continuing dance training.

Facing fires, running into burning buildings and saving lives aren’t the typi-cal items on the agenda of a normal college freshman. Senior Travis Van Winkle, however, is one exception.

Van Winkle, upon graduation, will enroll at Collin County Community College as well as the near-by fire academy in hopes of becoming a full time fire-man.

“I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter, but I never really thought about it seriously until this past Christmas,” Van Winkle said. “I went on an official ride with my cousin who works at a station in Frisco and got to really witness ev-erything they do.”

Van Winkle not only has a passion for extin-guishing flames but also a background in singing. Van Winkle has been in choir for seven years and a member of Coppell High School’s Madrigals all four years of his high school ca-reer. Van Winkle previously wanted to major in music but opted to secure a more permanent job before he pursued his dream of becoming a professional musician.

“If I can start with a career in fire fight-ing and set-tle down somewhere, then hopefully I can go back and achieve becoming a profes-sional musician later with something to fall back on if it doesn’t work out,” Van Winkle said.

Van Winkle’s deci-sion to pursue fire fighting was also influenced by his desire to enlist in the armed forces.

“I wanted to be in the

Madrigal gets fired up for new career

bayleyzarrehparvarstaffwriter

caitlinconnerstaffwriter

Marines but I’ve always had that fear in the back of my mind of all the real danger in that profession,” Van Winkle said.

H i s s o l u t i o n was to help local-ly. Though this dan-ger is no less immi-nent than in fighting

fires, Van Winkle will have the opportunity to build his life in his community which might not have been possible with the Marines.

“Most people don’t realize that firefighters don’t just put out fires,” Van Winkle said. “They respond to fatal accidents on the highways where they could get hit by passing cars to dangerous gas leaks in

Photo by Katie QuillSenior Travis Van Winkle will prepare for a career as a firefighter next fall at the Collin County Community College.

In light of tragic death, senior finds peace

through dance

homes or major business-es. It’s like a second set of paramedics; wherever they go, firefighters go.”

Next year, Van Win-kle will begin his college schooling with a two year course that will cover his certifications and his ba-sic freshman academic classes. He will then begin another two year course at a fire academy where he we will gain all of his cre-dentials and complete his physical abilities exams.

Though many would shy away from the intense physicality of the training, Van Winkle only has one initial fear once he com-pletes the academy.

“What worries me most is knowing that I could walk into any build-ing and not come out,” Van Winkle said. “

”After my mom died,

I have dedicated ever dance to her

and the connection I feel to her when I

dance is what keeps me going.

Senior Hailey Blanton

“ ”It’s like a second

set of paramedics; wherever they go,

firefighters go.

Senior Travis van Winkle

In her honorfine arts 09thesidekick

may 21, 2009

fine arts10 thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Opera singing is often thought of as part of the days of corsets and horse-drawn carriages, no longer existing in today’s tech-nological world. To senior Tori Ringhausen, however, opera is not a thing of the past but rather a career dream and goal for the future.

Ever since she was a young girl, Ringhausen has fo-cused on singing as both a career and hobby. A participant of choir throughout middle and high school and a per-former in school plays, performing and singing on stage has always been a large part of her life.

Early in high school, Ringhausen decided on musical theatre as her choice of col-lege education. Last year, however, as she watched Romeo and Juliet with her choir class, a new career path struck her.

“After watching the play, I knew I wanted to study opera,” Ringhausen said. “The way that it was performed and the inten-sity of the actors struck me as amazing and it seemed like such an exhilarating life choice.”

Since then, Ring-hausen has focused her en-ergy into making the best

of what high school musi-cal career she has left. As an active member of Vivace!, Ringhausen manages to channel her spirit to others around her as well.

“Working with Tori makes Vivace! so much more fun,” sophomore Vi-

vace! member Mackenzie Orr said. “She’s always in a good spirit and never hesi-tates to help whenever any-one asks for it.”

Ringhausen has performed at a variety of churches and areas because of her desire to do what she loves along with the con-stant motivation of her best friend, 2008 CHS graduate Tiffany Cassius.

“[Tiffany is] my main source of inspiration,” Ringhausen said. “She’s al-ways helping me out and persuading me to keep on

going no matter what.”Fully aware of the un-

stable lifestyle opera could provide, Ringhausen has chosen several music re-lated back up choices, such as musical theater, to help support her as she attends college at SMU.

“ T o r i has a voice that is power-ful and unfor-gettable,” Vi-vace! sponsor Jeff Schulz said. “She will be an asset to any college program she enters—she is very dedi-cated and will succeed.”

Gradu-ating with a major in vocal performance and a Mas-ter’s degree in opera seems to be an area

that many people close to Ringhausen think she would be perfect at.

“It’s a little bit of a risky career path,” Orr said. “But knowing Tori and her dedication and her focus to what she does, I do not doubt that she’ll be able to succeed in her choice. Choosing crazy things that other people wouldn’t dare do and then enacting them perfectly is something that Tori is good at, and some-thing I’m sure will carry her throughout the rest of her life.”

Ringhausen tightens her belt to pursue operadivyakumarstaffwriter

Senior Tori Ringhausen

performs her solo, from

“Footloose”, “Let’s Hear it for

the Boy”, at a fall pep rally.

Photo by Katie Quill

At Friday night foot-ball games, fans watched him climb high onto the podium in his black uni-form and conduct the Cop-pell High School band. Now, drum major William McKee is extending his band career beyond CHS.

McKee will attend Baylor University in the fall, where he will play the trumpet for the Golden Wave Band. McKee started playing the trumpet in sixth grade at Coppell Middle School North and contin-ued in high school.

While in high school, McKee made the All-State band all four years of high school—about one percent of the 250 band members selected for All-State have the privilege of saying they were in All-State since their freshmen year. But, the pressure was greater than ever as he went for the fourth title.

“This year was espe-cially difficult because I’ve made it [All-State] my first three years and I’ve pro-gressed each year, so, physi-cally, it’s not as hard, but it’s mentally challenging,” Mc-Kee said.

The pressure McKee felt during his final audition for All-State was somewhat like how he felt going into auditions for the Golden Wave Band.

“I’m used to going into auditions and knowing I’m one of the best there,” McKee said. “But [at Gold-en Wave auditions], I was competing against the best players in the entire state.”

Along with having a phenomenal marching band, Baylor’s church music program sparked McKee’s attention and helped in his decision. After graduating from college, McKee plans to pursue a career in church music and wants to lead worship. McKee played at various churches through-out high school and, along with playing the trumpet, he plays the guitar, piano, organ and also sings.

“He has been en-riched musically by the

McKee marches toward Baylor University

peytonwoodstaffwriter

Seniors Will McKee and Shawn Izadi and junior Arnold Hecha-nova march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City.

Photo by Katie Quill

CHS music program and has built his own personal music skills,” mother Billie McKee said. “He has devel-oped a love for music and wants to be able to transmit that to others and encour-age that in others as they participate in worship.”

There is no doubt McKee’s position as a per-former and drum major has helped him in his decision to attend Baylor and con-tinue working with music.

“I liked conducting people and helping people out,” McKee said. “Work-ing with different types of people and a large number of people was difficult, so I had to find out what makes them click and want to do their best.”

The difficulty of work-ing with so many individu-als with different talents is immense but has ultimately made McKee a better lead-er and will assist him in his future endeavors.

“He actually com-mands people’s respect but he’s also personable, ap-proachable and a good lis-tener,” associate band direc-tor Mike Davis said. “He understands the dynamics

of a group.” McKee’s brother Alex,

a 2006 CHS graduate, was also a drum major in high school. It seemed as though there would be competition between the two and pres-sure for William to live up to Alex as a leader, but Alex instead served as a mentor.

“I am old enough to appreciate what he is do-ing and in this point in our lives I just want what is best for him,” Alex said. “I could talk to him and help him because I had a unique per-spective since I had already gone through what he was going through.”

With the help and support of his family, friends and directors, Mc-Kee’s years in band were both enjoyable and reward-ing. Now, he will march right into Baylor and his future as a leader.

“I’ve really enjoyed all four years here, each year has been different and I’ve learned to do different things,” McKee said. “I’m really looking forward to going to Baylor and en-joying all the Baylor tradi-tions.”

A brush stroke. A mouse click. The attach-ment of a twig. Smooth-ing of clay. Every detail matters to senior Caitlin Kennedy, and it shows in her art.

“Caitlin is very com-plex,” AP art teacher Tam-era Westervelt said. “Every idea she pres-ents is always really compli-cated, not only in how she wants to build it but also in the concept or idea. The big-ger the better.

“ S h e can paint, she can draw, she can use the computer, she can do three dimensional work. She’s truly one of the most well rounded art students we have. That’s going to serve her really well. She’ll be at the top of her game.”

Kennedy plans to at-tend Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles and study 3D animation with the hope of pursuing a career in digital animation.

“I’ve always known I wanted to do something with art,” Kennedy said. “I was trying to think of things that really interest me. I love watching mov-ies, so combining my love

for movies with art, you get animation. 3D animation is a rising industry right now, even with special effects and stuff, so it’s a good job to look into. I thought that would be a good direction for me to go.”

Choosing Loyola Marymount was a no brainer for Kennedy; the

school combines an excel-lent animation program with a prime location and Christian roots. In addi-tion, Kennedy’s older sister, 2008 CHS graduate Ash-ton Kennedy, is a film stu-dent at Marymount.

“It is in California, where most of the anima-tion production companies are located,” Caitlin said. “I really want to get intern-ships, so being out where all of that is happening is a good idea. It’s a private Je-suit college, and I’m Catho-lic, so it was very appealing.

And having my sister near-by is awesome.”

The Kennedy sisters have always had a close relationship, and being in the same department at Marymount will give them the chance to deepen their bond and work together.

“The best thing is hav-ing family near me, some-

one that re-ally knows me,” Ashton said. “There is like no one I know out here, so it will be nice to have someone I can just bug and we can chill.”

Ca i t l i n’s spirit, love of people and pas-sion for her sub-ject will serve her well in the future. In the end, it all comes back to art.

“I love how you can take a simple idea that, to a normal person, would be just a concept, like carpet or a door or light, and you can transform it into something that means something com-pletely different,” Caitlin said. “Different people can get different meanings out of artwork.”

It is perhaps Ashton who describes her sister best.

“She’s shy but she’s dramatic, and she has a heart of gold,” Ashton said. “She’s so unique.”

audreywhiteco-editor-in-chief

Kennedy’s passion becomes her future

Photo by Kelly EmersonSenior Caitlin Kennedy concentrates on her art project during her AP Art class. She will be attending Loyola Marymount to pursue graphic design.

A high school drum major continues love of

music in college

fine arts 11thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Singing, dancing, act-ing, performing – these are just some of the words that come to mind when de-scribing senior twins Will and Steven Smith. Known throughout the school for their performing gifts, the brothers have set the bar for sibling talent – Steven being the Mr. Do-It-All (theater edition) and Will focusing on his studies with oboe and music perfor-mance.

And unlike other stu-dents focused on fine arts in high school, both have committed themselves to transforming their passions into their careers.

Though Steven is recognized for his acting work around the school and community (most no-tably in his recent roles as Ren in “Footloose” and Manus in the CHS One-Act play “Translations,”) his true passion is in set de-sign. From the wacky 2007 “Seussical the Musical” set to the simple-yet-powerful scene for “Translations,” Steven has been the CHS drama department’s design guru.

“Steven is one of the most talented students that has come through the drama department,” the-atre department director Lisa Tabor said, “and it’s just amazing each year how he gets better and better at everything he does. He’s so talented in so many dif-ferent areas, and he’s 100 percent passionate about what he does and is always there.”

Next year, Steven will attend the University of North Carolina Schools of the Arts Design and Pro-duction Department to major in Scene Design. He was also given the program’s

“Rising Star Award,” des-ignating Steven as the top applicant for the UNCA design program.

“I fell more to the scene design aspect because I’m an artist, too – it really pulled me in,” Steven said. “I’m OK with not being able to act as much because that’s what I want. I get to focus on one thing as op-posed to doing all of it. I’m happy about that. I’m happy to pick one and just go.”

Will, on the other hand, has been the pride and joy of the CHS band program through his out-standing accomplishments on the oboe. He has been in the top band out of five bands since freshman year and also made All-Region, All-Area and All-State ev-ery year – the first in school history along with senior William McKee to make All-State four years in a row in Class 5A.

“He’s very talented, he works very hard and he understands music very

quickly – in style and tone production,” CHS band di-rector Scott Mason said. “A lot of things come to him very naturally that other students have to work on quite a long time.”

Will plans to contin-ue his musical aspirations next year at Oklahoma City University, which is one of the nation’s top music per-formance schools, to major in music performance on a full scholarship resulting from his outstanding audi-tion.

“I want to be a college professor, I think, or free-lance, which is where you get any performing jobs that people ask you,” Will said. “But I ultimately want to play in the pit orchestras in New York.”

Though both are at-tending highly esteemed colleges, neither got there purely on an academic ba-sis.

“You don’t have to be top 10 percent, top 15 percent to get a big schol-

arship,” Steven said. “We’re going to places that produce really successful students, and we didn’t get there because of high GPA and high class ranks – we got there because we worked hard at what was important to us.”

But how will the two manage without their mir-ror near them? Evidentially, very well. Both agree that they do not always get along and that the time apart will be good for them.

“I like that he is go-ing to a place that makes him happy and that it is not the same place as me,” Will said. “Now people won’t mix us up all the time and we won’t have to be around each other every second of the day. I’ll miss him, yeah, but it’ll also be nice.”

Needless to say, the boundless talent and char-acter the Smith twins have brought to CHS will be missed and hailed as a lega-cy for years to come.

Steven and Will Smith: the wonder twins

For senior Emily Clancy, dancing comes as second nature. After per-forming for 13 years, Clan-cy will continue her love of dance in college as she tries out for the prestigious Kilgore College Ranger-ettes this summer.

“Being on one of the most amazing teams [would be] an honor,” Clancy said. “They are known across the country. I would get the op-portunity to travel all over the world.”

The world renowned Rangerette Dance Team was started 70 years ago by Gussie Nell Davis and became the first women’s precision drill team in the world. Having such a his-tory makes Clancy’s oppor-tunity to audition for the team a once in a lifetime chance.

“Emily is a beautiful dancer and I believe she has the talent that the Ranger-ettes are looking for,” 2003 CHS graduate and 64th line Rangerette Cali Hoffman said. “When I was a Rang-erette I thought we were very talented, but looking at what the Rangerettes are made of now, they are phenom- enal.”

Clancy began danc-ing at age five and has gradually worked her way up to be a college level dancer. After being a part of CHS Silver Stars and then progressing to be a three-year line member on Lariettes, Clancy feels she is as prepared as she can be for the audition.

“I don’t think a n y t h i n g can

fully prepare a young lady for Rangerettes, but Em-ily should have a good idea of how strict everything will be,” Lariettes coach Julie Stralow said. “It is almost like being back in high school, but instead of principals, par- en t s and direc- t o r s

watching your e v e r y

move, it is officers

and other team mem-

bers who are just one year

older than you.”Clancy has

danced at a number of lo-cal dance studios including Ballet Academy of Texas, Coppell Dance Centre (formally Coppell House of Dance), Excite and Ev-erybody Fits, where Clancy is currently employed as a dance teacher.

In preparation for the tryouts, Clancy has been working out at Express Fit-ness everyday, taking dance classes and doing high kicks around the Cottonwood Creek Elementary School track.

“I know it’s a little silly and weird, but it seems to help,” Clancy said.

Try-outs, which are

held in Kilgore, TX on the week of July 19, consist

of a workshop. Hope-fuls will be taught a kick and jazz dance and will go through a series of judg-

ment nights such as Model Night, where the girls will display their body type in a simple leotard and answer questions into a micro-phone, and Talent Night, where they will perform one of their talents, danc-ing or otherwise.

Clancy will be per-forming her solo routine from this year’s competi-tion season.

“She embodies ev-erything for which the program stands... a young lady with poise, class and charm,” Stralow said. “Em-ily also has an incredible work ethic and self disci-pline which will serve her well in whatever she ends up doing in life.”

The tryout will be on July 23 in front of outside judges and the previous year’s Rangerettes.

“If I could give any Rangerette [helpful] advice, I would say to be confi-dent in what you are do-

Clancy dances to Rangerette Dance Team

Photo courtesy Emily Clancy

Photo by Gina CannataSeniors Will and Steven Smith will split ways for college. Will plans to continue to study music at Oklahoma City University, but Steven will study scene design at the University of North Carolina.

Senior Emily Clancy performs her solo routine.

ashleighheatonstaffwriter

nataliehillstaffwriter

ing in tryouts,” Hoffman said. “Have fun, make new friends and take in every-thing you learn.”

Clancy plans to major in psychology and hopes to later be an elementary school counselor. Clancy also hopes to transfer to the University of Oklahoma after Kilgore graduation. As a “side job” after she finishes school, Clancy is considering teaching dance classes, depending on how her dance experiences go throughout college.

“Dancing past college is a big ‘if ’,” Clancy said.

As she continues to train for her audition, Clancy keeps in mind why she chose this unique path out of high school.

“Dancing brings a lot of joy to my personality,” Clancy said. “It’s molded me into the person I am today and [I just want to] continue my passion of dancing.”

willsmithHigh school was...Awesome.

Biggest fear about college? I don’t want to get there and for it to be ter-rible. I don’t want to get there and be all ex-cited about playing oboe and then having it stink and for me to hate college and drop-out.

If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?I would love to have dinner with Jesus.

Best movie ever?The Emperor’s New Groove.

Worst movie ever?Don’t Mess With the Zohan.

stevensmithHigh school was...Long. Biggest fear about college?I do not want to not sleep. I’m afraid of work-ing too hard.

If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why? Patti LuPone, because she’s my favorite ce-lebrity who no one knows about.

Best movie ever?Superstar with Molly Shannon.

If you could live in any time period, which would it be?‘50s to 60s because they had sweet hair.

12 13indepth

Jen Nguyen

1Chan

hwa H

ong College:

Stanford UniversityMajor: Human Biology with an

emphasis on economics SAT: 2340 Nickname: Chan Man Senioritis symptoms: Eight hours of sleep, extreme case of procrastination and more Facebooking How would your friends describe you: They’d say I have a childish sense of humor and imagination. Fear about college:

I’m scared of all the smart kids.

Whitney Sun

3Gloria A

n

College:University of Illinois

Major: Chemical engineering Best moment in high school:

Going to the calculus bowl and placing third.

Weird quirk: The angrier I get, the more Asian I sound.

Favorite TV show: Anything on the Food Channel.

Any regrets: I never was able to do everything I wanted to.

Gloria An is… persistent.

7 Philip Lee College: University of Texas at Austin

Major: Engineering SAT: 2310

Quirky Study Habit: I have to study shirtless.Celebrity crush: Megan Fox

Senioritis Symptoms: Late to school almost every dayFavorite class: Multi-variable calculusAny fears about college: Forgetting to go to class

Favorite CHS teacher: There’s too many. Mr. Vander-

schee, Mrs. Ascher, Mr. Damrau, Mr.

Puryear

10Jen Nguyen

College: SMU Major: Business SAT: 2200 Best high school experience: Winning the Madrigal Festival my sophomore year Number of ‘I Rock CHS’ T-shirts: five Most embarrasing moment: Running into stationary objects every dayUnderclassmen you will miss the most: Grayson Hollis Celebrity crush: Adam Brody Advice to underclassmen:

Get more involved

5College: Brown University Major: Math

SAT: 2180Nicknames: Sum Sum, Sumi

When I was little, I wanted to be… a spy because they live under

the radar.Crowning accomplishment:

Winning the chocolate milk mile Best partner on a project: Ben Wilson because he’ll make you laugh the

entire time.

Sum

ner

Warren

4 College: SMU Major:

Business and Biology SAT: 2100 Nickname: Beatsie

WheatsieHow would your friends de-

scribe you: I hope my friends think I’m someone that they can talk to.

Class you wish you took: AP Chemistry with Mr. Puryear

Celebrity crush: Jason Mraz Beatrice is… a walrus. I can’t live without... “LOST”.Any fears about college:

At CHS, I get to say hi to people. In college, there won’t be

anyone to say hi to.

Beatrice Huang

8Han Yu

College: New York University

Major: Business SAT: 2240 Scariest school experience: Favorite font: Freshman year band camp Australian Sunrise Organization you wish you’d Favorite teacher:

been involved in: Tennis Mr. Griffin- Favorite quote: Get Well Soon!

Whoever said nothing is impossible never tried slamming a revolving door.

Senioritis symptoms: I sort of just stopped studying

Han Yu

2 College:

University of Pennsylvania Major: Business Celebrity crush: Seth Myers from SNL I can’t live without... hand sanitizer.

How would your friends describe you: With adjectives you probably wouldn’t believe.Hidden talent: I can fit a whole slice of pizza in my mouth. High school was…

an experience I needed to have.

Whitney Sun

6College:

University of Arkansas Major: Accounting

SAT: 2160Number of ‘I rock CHS’ T-shirts: three

Class you wish you had been involved in: AP ChemistryUnderclassmen you will miss the most: My sister, Kailee MartinFavorite teacher: Mrs. Meyers, my

sixth grade math teacher I can’t live without... food.

Tessa is... done with high school. Favorite Font: Comic Sans

Tessa Martin

indepth

by Anna Casey

& Renee Rohani

9Binna Kim

College: Stanford University Major: Psychology ACT: 34 Nickname: Bin Bin Most embarassing moment: I was walking down the school stairs,

and I head-butted the person in front of meAny hidden talents: I can blow spit bubbles

Favorite thing about CHS: Mr. Hunt Favorite class: Spanish Literature

What did you want to be when you were little: I always wanted to be a dog or a tree.

Photos by Tyler MorrisGraphics by Amy Piper

As the senior class prepares for graduation, the top 10 students will

continue to excel into college. Here are the best and

the brightest at Coppell High School.

fine arts14 thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Margiotta follows after Stralow’s footsteps

amandapeckstaffwriter

Photo by Page WarnerLariette coach Julie Starlow and senior Sarah Margiotta show off their Texas Christian University pride. Margiotta will be attending the university next fall to study in journalism and business.

The process for choos-ing which college to attend can be long and frustrating for many seniors. Fears of making the wrong choice, along with overwhelming thoughts of being away from home, are haunting.

Senior Sarah Mar-giotta had fears until she found the perfect fit at Texas Christian University. It is not only the right place for her but also her coach’s alma mater, Julie Stralow. It offers Margiotta the op-portunity to study in the school of journalism and the nationally ranked busi-ness school, which are the fields she has always want-ed to study in.

“I think it is the per-fect choice for me,” Mar-giotta said. “The journalism and business schools offer really great programs that are exactly what I’m looking for. Since the school is rela-tively small, it is exciting to know I’ll have the opportu-nity for more one-on-one communication between me and my professors.”

Lariette Captain

Margiotta spent several hours applying for colleges but did not have too much trouble deciding that TCU is exactly what she has been looking for.

“This choice of which college to go to is a really big decision, but as soon as I walked onto the TCU cam-pus, I just got this feeling that it is where I’m meant to be,” Margiotta said.

When Stralow learned Margiotta was looking into TCU, it not only became an advantage for Margiotta but it was fun for Stralow, as well.

“Sarah will be the first Lariette under my direction to go to TCU and I am so excited for her,” Stralow said. “I really think TCU is a special place, and Sarah’s intelligence, creativity and easy-going demeanor will help her feel right at home on campus.”

In drill team, the Captain and director be-come very close and, for Margiotta, to be following Stralow is unique and fun. Even though Margiotta will no longer be involved with drill team, Stralow can guide her with advice about school and what to do in her free time in Fort Worth. Sarah’s older brother, Scott, who graduated from Cop-pell in 2005, is also at TCU

and is able to give Sarah any advice she needs about the school.

“Since Sarah’s older brother is currently a TCU student I don’t have to sell her on it, but I am able to give her a girl’s perspective on the fraternities and so-rorities, the different ma-jors, and things to do in Fort Worth,” Stralow said. “I still go to as many TCU football games and dance concerts as I can so I will

undoubtedly check up on Sarah next year.”

Senior Lauren Pe-terson, one of Margiotta’s friends and fellow Lari-ettes, also agrees that TCU is a great fit for Margiotta.

“I know Sarah will absolutely love it at TCU,” Peterson said. “It has every-thing she needs and even though I wish I was going to be closer to her, I know we will visit each other of-ten. I know she is happy to

have Mrs. Stralow’s advice and encouragement too.”

Margiotta is very happy with the decision she made and cannot wait to attend TCU this fall.

“Even though it will be difficult saying goodbye to my friends and family, I’m excited for a new be-ginning,” Margiotta said. “I can’t wait to meet new people and to be able to get involved on campus at TCU.”

French philosopher Rene Descartes once said, “It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well,” a quote which directly applies to Coppell High School se-nior Annie Liu, who will begin her collegiate educa-tion at Columbia Univer-sity in the fall.

Liu’s future in me-chanical engineering paired with her musical talent will most likely lead her on the path to success.

Liu began her musi-cal career in the sixth grade in the Coppell Middle School North Cadet band

as a flute player. Since then, her dedication to her musi-cal studies has become well known, especially after she received placement in the Texas All-State competi-tion twice during her high school career.

“Annie is probably the hardest working person I know,” senior and long-time friend Brenna Walden said. “She made All-State her sophomore year but didn’t make it her junior year. She didn’t let that allow her to give up and worked even harder this year, becoming a two time All-Stater in the process.”

Liu’s musical affinity is one of the reasons she decided to attend Colum-bia University in New York

City. Although Liu considered several different technical schools, they lacked a strong music and arts program. Af-ter visiting Co-lumbia, Liu felt it was the best decision for the purpose of her higher education.

While the music program is strong at Colum-bia, Liu is most looking forward to experiencing New York and its occupants first hand.

“I love meeting new people, and New

York City is such an in-credible place because you always have something to do,” Liu said.

Liu’s affable spirit and ability to make friends is well known among CHS students. From her leader-ship in band to her warm personality in the class-room, Liu is an exemplary friend and student.

“I’ve known Annie since the sixth grade and I have so many favorite things about her,” senior band member Catherine Cage said. “She draws ran-dom pictures that make you smile no matter how bad you feel and she is very humble in everything she does, which is hard to do

Liu to continue engineering in Big Appleannieliu

Major: Mechanical Engi-neering

If you could have dinner with some-one, who would it be and why?Jamie Tworkoski because he’s the founder of To Write

Love on Her Arms and I think what he would have to say would be very enlight-ening. I think he understands a lot about life and the pain that sometimes comes with it.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?Flight, because I like being outside and I think I’d like being in the clouds.

If you could be in any movie, what would you be in and why?It hasn’t come out yet, but I’d want to be in Up because I like the idea of doing that - living up in the clouds.

What was the most enjoyable class you took at CHS?Rocket Class “S.A.S” - I was the only girl in the class, which was interesting and it was really fun to build a rocket and launch it.

maddiewaltersstaffwriter

With the help of her coach, a Lariette makes

her way to TCU

especially when you’re good at everything like Annie is. I don’t remember ever see-ing her not smile. She is amazing to talk to and so understanding – she is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet.”

Along with her great attitude, Liu is well known for her smarts. With a pres-tigious level of learning ahead of her at Columbia, Liu is anticipating becom-ing an engineer and has de-cided that her focus will be on mechanical engineering.

“[Through Excite], I’ve been able to apply all of my learning in high school by doing things that other high schoolers can’t say they have, like building a solar car and launching a rocket,” Liu said.

In the future, Liu wants to become a NA-SCAR engineer but also thinks that it would be ex-citing to work with Lock-heed Martin, a multination-al aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company. It is currently the world’s largest defense con-tractor.

With a lifetime of potential achievements ahead of her, Liu’s future is so bright she might as well wear shades – or goggles, to be more exact.

“[Annie] is really smart and I know that she will go far with everything she aspires to do,” junior Hannah Allen said.

Photo by Page WarnerSenior Annie Liu plays the flute. Instead of majoring in music, she will go to Columbia Universtity next fall to major in mechanical engineering.

sarahmargiotta

High school was_________. an unforgettable experience and the perfect preparation for the new chal-lenges to come.

Who is someone at CHS you look up to and why? Mrs. Stralow. She comes to school every day at 7 A.M. to lead a team of 67 tired teenage girls and succeeds in get-ting us motivated, moving, and having fun together.

How would you like people to remem-ber you? I hope people re-member me for me -- passionate, driven, and down-to-earth.

What do you regret? I know it sounds cheesy, but I have no regrets!

features 15thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Daly to follow independent spirit to Scotlandsatvikaananthstaffwriter

When he was in 10th grade, senior Ryan Daly re-ceived a 25 out of 100 on his Advanced Placement World History essay. Two years later, he has moved past this score and plans on studying history… in Scot-land.

Daly, whose family is from the United Kingdom, has been interested in his-tory since a young age.

“He decided to study it in about the eighth grade,” Daly’s mother Anne Daly said. “His inter-est grew through my father and grandfather both being in the World Wars.”

His grandparents took active parts in World War II during which, their house was bombed. Daly enjoyed hearing the stories of the war and also was in-terested in the piece of tail-fin from the bomb, which his grandfather still has.

With plans to attend the University of Saint An-drews in Scotland, Daly is

returning to the home of his mother’s ancestral fam-ily to major in medieval history.

Daly’s visits to Scot-land certainly influenced his love for history and his college decision. His moth-er, having left Scotland at an early age, spent much of her time around Saint An-drews, and Daly’s grandfa-ther attended the school as well.

Daly looks forward to visiting his family in Scot-land and enjoying a differ-ent pace of life from that in Texas.

“Scotland is pretty much the opposite of Tex-as,” Daly said. “It is wet, cool and much more re-laxed than here.”

In terms of college life, Daly believes it will be similar, though he expects there to be more traditions to follow than at an Ameri-can university.

Daly applied to sev-eral other colleges, includ-ing University of Texas at Austin, Grinnell College in Iowa and University of

Edinburgh in the U.K. He chose Saint Andrews over Ed-inburgh since it will give him the best possible history edu-cation and also pro-vides a great cultural experience.

Having visited Scotland in the past, Daly is familiar with its environment and history. Being able to study there will provide him the op-portunity to learn more about the his-tory in Europe and pursue his passion for the subject.

“History al-lows us to see how the world is shaped,” Daly said. “It makes sense to go to a place already full of his-tory to study [the sub-ject].”

Studying in Scotland will give him quick access to many sites of histori-cal interest in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, both of which are

the center of medieval his-tory study. In addition to many libraries and scholars, he will also be in close range to architectural digs, recre-ated villages from different time periods and points of interest like castles and battle fields.

Although he is unsure exactly where his history major will lead him, Daly envisions himself either studying law or staying in

the United Kingdom and working with museums or in the academic field.

Scotland, a country with a limited self-gov-ernment that is within the U.K., is fitting for Daly’s character.

“The country has a strong independent streak and has often called for separation from the U.K.,” World and Medieval His-tory teacher Kyle Dutton

said. “That independence is reflected in Ryan’s char-acter.”

With many good memories, Daly will take on the next leg of his journey in life with an opportunity to go back to his origins.

“It’s sort of like he’s going full circle,” Mrs. Daly said. “He will be returning to the place our family came from, a place he loves.”

Senior Ryan Daly plans to study history at the University of Saint Andrews, the oldest university in Scotland.Photo by Gina Cannata

Seniors defy odds to join service academies

Few college students enroll in class knowing they have not directly paid for their tuition, but that the bill will come af-ter graduation and be paid in sweat and blood during service in armed forces.

Coppell High School seniors Travis Hinds, Mitchell Han-sen and Cameron Vick-roy will all attend service academies in the fall. They are just some in CHS’s long history of students to attend these prestigious schools.

Hinds and Hansen will attend the United States Military Acad-emy at West Point while Vickroy will enroll in the United State Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

“It’s kind of perfect,” Hinds said. “I get a job for the next 10 years. It’s completely paid for with your tax dollars and I get to be the best I can be.”

However, the ap-plication process was far from perfect for the students. While the pro-cess itself is complicated enough, since applicants must have a congressional nomination to even apply in the first place, Vickroy

ellencameronstaffwriter

faced additional challenges. “I had broken my leg

last summer five days before fitness assessment that goes with applying,” Vickroy said. “When that happened, I thought my chances to go were pretty much over, but I came back, and I was able to run what my times were before the accident in Janu-ary when I was supposed to still be unable to run.”

With a titanium rod, two screws and a medi-cal waiver, Vickroy plans to complete the physical requirements as normal. Proving his drastic come-back from an unfortunate mishap during a band prac-tice that broke his femur, he even managed his second best time ever running this spring.

Hinds faced similar physical problems. After initially failing eye exami-nations due to astigmatism in his right eye, Hinds was retested and eventually granted a waiver.

However, the arrival of acceptance letters does not mark the end of the students’ tenacity, which was augmented by their time and experiences at CHS from Hansen’s wres-tling to Hind’s taekwondo history.

“Wrestling helped me prepare because it’s very self-driven and motivating,

so you learn a lot of re-sponsibility,” Hansen said.

The colleges prom-ise to offer more rigorous challenges, though.

“From what I have heard, it’s all about find-ing your limits and setting goals you know you can’t reach just to see how close you can get,” Hinds said.

The seniors intend to reach different goals by attending their respective academies.

“I want to serve the country and it’s a great education,” Vickroy said. “I want to go into the Air Force and it’s the best path to being an officer.”

While all are required to serve in the armed forc-es, their ultimate aspira-tions vary; Hinds hopes to serve as an air assault ranger, Vickroy as a fighter pilot, and Hansen intends to serve his time and earn a degree in engineering, though his horizons are not limited to the armed forces.

Last year, 2008 CHS graudate student Jason Stiles attended West Point. The year before, Hansen’s own brother began at the academy.

“Having my brother there has showed that I could go there,” Hansen said. “It’s an actual place, and it’s obtainable.”

As the summer draws near, seniors Austin Gill-ham and Tyler Cupp will have more on their mind than just relaxing before college. The two will be busy preparing for boot camp and officially being a part of the U.S. Navy, for Cupp, and the U.S. Marine Corps, for Gillham.

The two have both joined the military to help pay for college but hope to get much more than that.

“[I hope to gain] discipline and all the good things the military has to offer,” Cupp said.

There was more to the allure of the military for Gillham.

“I wanted the chal-lenge of it,” Gillham said. “I want leadership abilities and the technical skills.”

Following his time in college, Gillham will be required to work one week-end a month on base.

While enlisted, Gill-ham will attend Texas A&M Galveston and be involved in the ROTC and Cupp will attend the Na-val Community College, depending on where he is sent. The boys will still be able to be a part of the ac-

tivities that they enjoy.“I plan on joining the

band because it pays for pretty much everything,” Cupp said.

Cupp and Gillham have been busy preparing for this huge commitment. Aside from numerous hours working out, both boys have been a part of the CHS marching band for all four of high school.

“I think that the lead-ership and responsibility will help them,” associate band director Mike Davis said. “Also, they have to keep up with a schedule and the fact that other peo-ple are relying on them. All of their other band experi-ences will help them.”

No matter what hap-pens after graduation, both will look back on their high school years with happiness and pride.

“I’m most fond of my band memories,” Cupp said. “I’ve been a part of the marching band for four years and getting third at state meant a lot to me. I’m a section leader, and it felt great to be a part of that. [I really valued] my relation-ship with Mr. Mason; he helped me so much. When-ever I would get in trouble, he would always snap me

back into shape.”Gillham attributes his

best memory to the football team’s victory over South-lake.

“I remember it was an extremely intense night,” Gillham said. “We were all paying attention and hold-ing our breaths. It was one of the best and most excit-ing football games that I’ve ever seen.”

There are many un-knowns and apprehensions in road ahead for the two, but the possibility of de-ployment is not one of them.

“I’m most worried about not getting to do the job I signed up for,” Gill-ham said. “It’s an open con-tract, so I can sign up for a job, but they can switch me if they need me somewhere else. I’m not planning on being deployed, but I can be and if they ask me to go, I will; I wouldn’t mind.”

Enlisting in the mili-tary is a huge commit-ment and provides many difficult tasks that can test each member, but the boys mentor and band director believes that it will be ben-eficial for them.

“I’m sure it will be a good thing for them,” Davis said. “They are good kids.”

From band to military bootcamp

melissabriscostaffwriter

Photo by Katie QuillSeniors Tyler Cupp and Austin Gillham proudly displaying their Navy and Marines pride before they head off in the fall.

features16 thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Johnson offers ‘fresh’ perspective on futurechrisnguyenentertainmenteditor

It’s prom night. Hun-dreds of Coppell High School students fill the room. Senior Jordan John-son, under the stage name of Jay Fresh, is ready to per-form.

However, despite be-ing a relatively new per-former, Johnson does not have any “Lose Yourself ”-type jitters. No, he’s ready, knowing full well what to do once he gets on the stage. He listens through his songs, anxious to just get out there.

“I used to be nervous when I started performing,” Johnson said. “But now, I know everything’s good, and I actually work better under pressure.”

This confidence is an innate part of Johnson, from his full dive into mu-sic to his first step into a full-fledged music career. After graduation, Johnson plans to attend the Oceans-ide, Calif campus of Media Tech for a year before at-tending the University of North Texas to acquire the skills of the music business, such as audio production.

His music career was natural evolution from av-idly listening to hip hop and rap.

“Me and my broth-er used to just freestyle,” Johnson said. “We’d just go to parties and just freestyle with our friends and stuff

like that.”Despite the lack of

musical lessons as a child, he adapted quickly to the ins and outs of music, pick-ing up rhythm in no time, and by his freshman year he began recording.

“[His musical ability] didn’t come as a surprise to me,” Johnson’s mother Ari-etta Johnson said. “He has always looked to try differ-ent things.”

His parents origi-nally had some hesitation but opened up to the idea, lending him both resources and support.

“I work for corpo-rate America,” Arietta said. “And I want him and his brother to find exactly what they want to do. It doesn’t have to be a four-year col-lege then to a corporation. Jordan is very artistic, and he has quite an opportunity to do whatever he loves.”

With his own studio in the closet of his room and the use of GarageBand among other software, Johnson has been able to take his music to another level. He gathers inspiration from a wide array of artists, from Lil Wayne and Nas to Neyo and Ginuwine.

He also enlists the help of friends and stu-dents, including senior Jer-emy Mutuc.

“[ Johnson] heard about me making some beats and just asked if I would make some for him,” Mutuc said. “I’d make

something and send it to him. He’d tell me if he liked it or sometimes we would get together. It was just kind of knowing what sounded right.”

While Johnson en-joys writing lyrics, it is the actual performances, which gives him the greatest sat-isfaction, performing at the pep rally, talent show and prom.

“Prom was good and my favorite because before we were just trying to fill up our fan base,” Johnson said.

“I did ‘How I Roll’ and ‘I’m Looking Flashy’ and at the end, I just did a freestyle over a beat by [my friend] Ryan Parr off the top of my head. The crowd was get-ting into it and all.”

However, with all his effort put into music, John-son has also branched out, becoming a one-man en-trepreneurship machine. In addition to a Facebook and MySpace page, he recently started a line of casual T-shirts called Motion and soon hopes to sell his songs

on iTunes in the upcoming weeks. By the end of the summer, Johnson plans to finish his first album. Yet, despite these large valleys, he has one simple goal driving him.

“Basically, I just want to make good music,” John-son said. “Music is pretty much flowing and depend-ing on the youth right now. As long as good music is being made, everything else is good.”

Arietta knows that wherever Johnson may end

up in the entertainment field, he will do it all while looking flashy and certain in his vision.

“When he was three, he asked us to take off his training wheels off his bike,” Arietta said. “We were just like, ‘No way’ because he was so young. But he kept asking and we did it. And he just took off without any training at the age of three. That’s when I knew that wherever he goes, he will continue to be confident.”

Senior Jordan Johnson performed at prom April 18 in Dallas, one of his three performances that he did with the school.Photo by Tyler Morris

Applying for college is an extremely time-con-suming process. During the seemingly never-ending, weeks-long ordeal, stu-dents have essays to write, references to track down, transcripts to acquire and Social Security numbers to memorize.

Even after the scram-ble of an application pro-cess is over and the long-awaited college acceptance letter has arrived in the mail, soon-to-be-freshmen have a roommate to find.

While some Coppell High School students are opting for the traditional route and going potluck, others will soon be sharing a suite with a more familiar face.

Seniors and incom-ing Texas A&M freshmen Clayton Mulvihill and Ryan Edwards will not say their goodbyes at gradua-tion along with the rest of their class. Instead, the two are set to share not only a campus and a major (me-chanical engineering), but also a dorm room.

“I’ve visited friends who are in college now and they’ve ended up with bad roommates,” Edwards said. “I’m glad I’m rooming with Clayton because everybody loves him. He’s a great guy who shares my morals and

won’t be a bad influence on me.”

The two are both known as easygoing guys and do not anticipate fight-ing or the roommate drama so often forewarned against by parents.

“The only thing is our pingpong rivalry,” Mulvihill said. “That could be a po-tentially friendship-ending issue.”

Edwards, on the other

hand, disagreed.“Pingpong could pose

a problem,” Edwards said. “But it won’t cause as big a rift as our foozeball rivalry. Now that’s what we really have to watch out for.”

Seniors Molly Salmon and Emily Hull, who will both attend Texas A&M, have also chosen to start out the college life with a friend close at hand.

“I didn’t want to room

with a best friend because I think I’d get sick of her, but I didn’t want to go potluck and end up with someone crazy,” Hull said. “Molly and I just became friends this year through yearbook, so I thought it’d be a good in between.”

The two also plan to pursue different avenues of interest in order to make sure they do not spend too much time together.

“We’re both going to rush,” Salmon said. “But we plan to pledge to different sororities, so that way we’ll have an opportunity to meet new people and have different groups of friends.”

Going off to college is a time when most say goodbye to not only close friends, but family as well. For senior Claire Levell, however, this won’t be the case.

The future University of Texas at Austin student plans to room with her sis-ter and 2008 CHS graduate Amy Levell, who currently attends UT Tyler.

“I’ve known I wanted to go to UT since eighth grade,” Claire Levell said. “Amy’s my best friend, and she’s been with me for ev-erything that’s happened my whole life. I’m so excit-ed that I’ll get to experience UT with her too.”

Because the two are related and have gotten along well in the past, they both feel any issues which come up will be survivable.

“I’m a morning per-son and Claire’s more of a night owl, so that might be a problem,” Amy Lev-ell said. “But we’ll make it work. We’ve shared a room before and lived to tell the tale. And this time there won’t be any Barbies to fight over.”

Whether these pairs of roommates-to-be are acquaintances, best friends or even sisters, all are con-fident they have made the right decision.

“I’m looking for-ward to going to college and meeting new friends,” Salmon said. “But I’m happy I’m not leaving high school entirely behind. If anything goes wrong or comes up, I know Emily will be there for me.”

Seniors decide to room with familiar faceslyndiconradtstaffwriter

Seniors Clayton Mulvihill and Ryan Edwards are two soon-to-be graduates who will be rooming together at Texas A&M.Photo by Gina Cannata

features 17thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Students have all heard the cliché advice from seniors, such as “study hard,” “make good grades” and “stay away from the senior bridge,” but is that really all these graduates learned during their four years at Coppell High School?

Aside from the vast amount of knowledge they gained from classes and teenage life in general, seniors have also learned a few things about the school which may benefit the rest of us.

“The bathrooms by the senior bridge [are the best] because they are the most clean,” Henderson said.

Nguyen said it is a “fact of life” that all male bathrooms are disgusting. However, he claims that the ones in the main hallway by H hall are the worst, since they are frequently used by those watching sporting events.

As far as water fountains go, Madeline Rehm and senior Amy Sentementes have dif-ferent views on the ones under the freshman stairs are the best.

“The water fountain in the cafeteria [is the best] because it is always cold,” Henderson said.

“By the senior bridge is the best,” Matt Shinn said.

Where are the best bathrooms and water fountains at CHS?

Seniors recommend reading random Wikipedia pages, finding a puzzle or game to play, looking up songs, playing Sudoku, doing homework from other classes or checking grades on Portal.

What should you do if you are bored in a tech class?

“Take AP classes to keep your GPA high, stay awake and pay attention, and then get your buddies to work with you in the remaining class time to finish your class work or homework,” Tristan Nguyen said. “Why work so ‘hard’? Simply put, I haven’t taken home any real homework in nearly three years, and I’ve taken AP classes each year.”

What is an easy way to raise your GPA?

“I make stories of what I’m studying,” Corrine Smith said. “It helps me to hear and see it.”

“Memorization-based topics such as vocabulary are best just memorized,” se-nior Tristan Nguyen said. “If the list is long, memorize over three to five days. If the list is short, go for a quick memorization right before bed.”

Seniors confirm that procrastinating just makes things worse and that flash cards are often an effective study tool. When study-ing, however, it is important to know when to stop and let sleep work its magic.

“Generally, you have to find what works for you,” Nguyen said. “I stopped studying as I began to pay more attention to class.”

What is the best way to study?

“Panda Express [is a good place to go] because it is far enough away that underclassmen can’t walk there,” Rachel Henderson said.

Shinn agreed, saying that nearby restaurants get crowded more quickly.“[The best places are] nice and easy: Sonic or Mooyah because they are

both filling and cheap,” Corrine Smith said.

Where are the best places to go for off-campus lunch?

“[Eat] closer to the stage because it is not so cold every day,” senior Laura Devers said.

“[The best place is] by the school store,” senior Matt Shinn said. “You’re closest to the food.”

Where is the best place to eat in the cafeteria?

Senior Rachel Henderson claims Nutri-tion and Food Science is one of the most fun electives at CHS because you get to cook—and eat—in class.

Another interesting option is golf with coach Kirk Richardson, an elective senior Laura Devers loves. However, for those preferring to remain indoors, senior Madeline Rehm recom-mends Principles of Education and Training (formerly called Prep for Parenting).

What is the best elective to take?

What are the best hallway routes?

“The back hallways [are the best hall routes], because there aren’t as many people standing in the way,” senior Corrine Smith said.

“A combination [of back and main hallways] gets you there the fastest,” Chelsea Owen said.

Owen suggested trying to leave class as soon as the bell rings or waiting a few minutes after-wards in order to avoid the crowd.

“The Uncrustables in the store [are the best to buy] because they only cost a dollar,” Rachel Henderson said.

“[I like] something crunchy because it makes me feel full,” Corrine Smith said.

What is the best food to eat for lunch?

Staff Writer

By Rebecca Fowler

Though choosing the best water fountain and hallway routes may seem like extremely trivial parts of your day, they are part of what makes your high school years memorable and what CHS’s seniors can look back on and laugh about in years to come.

“Don’t worry,” Matt Shinn said. “Freshman year goes by fast.”“Don’t walk slow, and don’t be afraid to push people in the hall if you need

to get by,” Madeline Rehm advised.“For incoming seniors, don’t get double stacked flex,” Tristain Nguyen said.

“Your senior year will be much more leisurely if you arrive one hour late, and you’ll also get to enjoy leaving early. Both of which are very nice things. Why? Student drivers are very rude.”

“Have fun in high school because it really flies by,” Rachel Henderson said. “Don’t waste your time worrying, everything will be fine.”

Any last words of advice?

What is the best parking strategy?

With thousands of students in the parking lot and hallways, it can be challenging to avoid signing that ominous red binder.

“For junior year, I left my house at 7:30 and got the perfect parking spot,” Shinn said.

“Just come to terms with the fact that you are going to have to park out in Africa, so suck it up and walk,” senior Chelsea Owen said.

Senior AdvicePhotos by Kelly Emerson or courtesy MCT Campus

Seniors give their last words of advice on how to survive high

school.

features18 thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Strudwick, Mayberry cooking up future

Chocolates and Con-fections, Hearth Bread and Rolls, Lunch Cookery and Italian Cuisine aren’t typi-cally listed in the curricu-lum for most colleges, but at the Culinary Institute of America, these courses are the norm.

And for seniors Alex Strudwick and Kyle May-berry, that’s just fine with them.

This fall, both May-berry and Strudwick are planning to attend the CIA’s campus in Hyde Park, N.Y. where they will pursue their dreams of working in the culinary field. Though both will be at the same institu-tion, each will be pursuing a different major.

“I want to be a pas-try chef, and that’s the only school that has a Bachelor’s degree for baking and pas-try,” Strudwick said. “I’ve always known I wanted to work hands-on with some-thing, but I didn’t know that it was baking and pas-try until I really started get-ting into food.”

Mayberry, on the oth-er hand, will work to earn his Bachelor’s degree in cu-linary arts.

“I’m just excited to see what I get to do,” Mayberry said. “I’m more excited than nervous.”

Applying to CIA is similar to normal college admissions and includes submitting an essay, grades and the usual background information. The main dif-ference, however, is appli-

cants are required to have six months of commer-cial kitchen experience, in which at least 50 percent of the items are made from scratch.

Strudwick earned this requirement through work-ing at the Hilton Garden in Lewisville. A self-pro-claimed “kitchen intern,” Strudwick worked in the kitchen cooking and doing prep work for banquets. Af-ter taking hotel and restau-rant management, Mayber-ry worked in hotel kitchens, where he learned useful in-formation about knives and other kitchen knowledge.

Both Strudwick and Mayberry also took nu-trition and food science, taught by Amanda Scott, which helped prepare and motivate them for a career in the culinary field.

“They’re both really hard workers,” Scott said. “They’re good kids; they’re sweet kids. I couldn’t ask for better students.”

While choosing the CIA as the next step in their education might not have been the most con-ventional choice, cooking has always been what they loved, as well as something they’ve enjoyed with their families.

“For me, it relieves stress, and I’ve kind of known [I wanted to cook] since I was really young,” Mayberry said. “When I grew up, my mom always included me in cooking, so I developed a passion for it.”

Strudwick, too, often experiments in the kitchen

with her family.“I like to cook with

my niece and nephew and try and get involved with them, so when I want to cook cupcakes or something fun, I’m like, ‘You guys want to come over and help me decorate them?’” Strudwick said. “Sometimes [I cook] with my dad because he knows a lot. He wanted to own his own restaurant a long time ago, and he still aspires to do that, but he has to get us through col-lege.”

Both Strudwick and Mayberry cited aspirations of owning their own restau-rants someday, a dream that would help be made pos-sible by graduating from the CIA.

“Alex is hard working, and I think she really knows what she wants to do – she’s sure of herself,” senior Me-gan Thompson said, who cites a homemade granola bar as her favorite dish Strudwick has made for their anatomy class. “She’ll really succeed because she loves it so much; she’d so much rather go home and cook than just watch TV.”

So while most stu-dents will head off next year to math and science courses, Mayberry and Strudwick will travel to New York to make their dreams hap-pen. Dreams that, thanks to cooking, are endless.

“You can play with so many tastes and tex-tures, and you can cre-ate almost anything when you have the stuff for it,” Strudwick said. “There’s no limit – I love that.”

melissaflandreauco-editor-in-chief

Photo by Katie QuillSenior Alex Strudwick mixes ingredients for a chocolate cake in her home. Strudwick is one of the students who will attend the Culinary Institute of America in New York.

controversy because it’s fun to argue your point.”

The widespread use of technology and social networking as a source of news encouraged many of the younger generation to follow the election more closely in mediums such as Facebook and Twitter (fol-low Obama on the user-name “whitehouse”).

In fact, the final pre-election Gallup Poll Daily tracking survey reveals that Obama won with “heavy backing from those with postgraduate educations, young adults (male and female alike), and non-churchgoers”. Sixty-one percent of the 18-29 age group voted for Obama, compared to 39 percent for Senator John McCain.

“More people are tuned in to the Internet, reading blogs, watching YouTube, seeing things on computers so they could actually see the person and not just getting a news commentator’s opinion on them,” Bauer said.

Even though the ma-jority of students at CHS were not old enough to vote, they still held convic-tions about the importance of the 2008 race on their lives.

“For me, it was re-ally memorable because this is kind of leading into my adulthood, my college experience, my future life,” junior Cameron Frysinger

said. “It’s kind of like a springboard into what’s to come. It’s going to take a lot of work to undo the wrongs of the past events, but it’ll happen, sooner or later.”

For many, the election was an inspiring and hope-ful one.

“It showed [young people] that you can do anything and you shouldn’t let other people limit you or try to hold you back,” junior Kalyn Mullins said. “Any-thing is possible now.”

But what do teenage students really want and ex-pect from a man who lives in a white house in Wash-ington, D.C., far away from the dim hallways of CHS?

As it turns out, a lot.“Of course, you want

more honest politics and keeping the trust that

CONTINUED from pg.1

Obama’s trying to create among the American peo-ple,” Frysinger said. “And hope that they’re able to keep that trust and keep that focus and work to-wards the future.”

Blazek, a self-identi-fied Republican, holds out hope for conservative re-forms.

“I’m kind of pro-life, so I’d like to see legislation on that, but I’m not expect-ing anything,” Blazek said. “I think less government and less spending.”

And senior Krystin Galvin, who will be attend-ing Baylor University in the fall?

“Get us money for college.”

At Coppell High School, all eyes are on Obama.

Change: Obama as president

President Barack Obama attends a rally organized by the Nation-al Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to mark Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at the state capitol in Columbia, South Carolina, on Jan 21.

Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT

sports 19thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Without the lux-ury of drafting players or recruiting talent to build a program, high school athletics hinge on the development of each player as he or she moves through the pro-gram.

Each year’s success in high school sports normally corresponds with the performance of seniors. Not only do coaches look to their seniors for the big hit or clutch basket, they also look for leadership on the court during a close game and off it during the monotonous rou-tine of daily practices.

Football will lose its leading rusher, Evans Okotcha, and two top receivers, Jordan Tol-let and Jaxon Shipley (granted Shipley was a sophomore), the boys soccer team will lose 14 players, six of which will play in college and the baseball team will lose a class which had it ranked number one in the state at the start of the season.

Other sports have a much smaller group graduating this spring, but the programs will nonetheless miss the

production and leadership that their seniors brought to every game.

“Although our se-nior class was small, [Sally Downs, Lexi Ornell, and Molly Cook] have contrib-uted a great deal to our vol-leyball program,’ volleyball coach Sherri Hankins said. “It is going to be tough to replace them because they brought a solid work ethic and dedication to our team.”

At first glance, the boys basketball team faces what appears to be a simple task— replacing one senior. But when that senior is point guard Jacob M o n t e z , the team leader in assists and points, that task becomes much more difficult.

“It’s very unusual to have only one senior on a 5A basketball team, but that’s what we had for the 08-09 season. But when that senior is Jacob Mon-tez, then the class of one is amazing,” coach Brad Chasteen said.

Even with the varying number of players graduat-ing from each individual sport, it is evident that ev-ery coach will miss their senior’s production, and

will count on younger players to set examples as they prepare for next fall.

“Four senior men and three senior ladies were in the top of the lineup for fall team ten-nis, so approximately half of the team con-sisted of seniors. In in-dividual spring tennis, six players earned the right to travel to the regional tournament and all six were seniors,” tennis coach Jane Jack-son said.

“Although this se-nior class will be missed, I have high e x p e c t a -tions that the fol-l o w i n g group has

learned a huge lesson from their leadership.”

So while this se-nior class moves on, leaving huge shoes to be filled across the board, they also leave behind lessons in leadership and an example of how to succeed.

Now it is up to the class of 2010 to step up and claim the leadership positions left empty and to continue to build a tradition of success.

nathanreckstaffwriter

Girls soccer, lacrosse take titlesCONTINUED from pg.1

Senior athletes leave large shoes to fill

Graphics by Samantha Spaans

“ ”Although this

senior class will be missed, I have high

expectations.

tennis coach Jane Jackson

Its run would end

there with a crushing 56-28 area playoff loss to Al-len, who later won the state championship, but overall the season was a triumph.

Meanwhile, a bitter-sweet moment for Coppell tennis, which had entered the 2008 season with a 53 match winning streak.

Coppell fell to South-lake Carroll 17-2 on Sept. 22. The match marked the end of Coppell’s on-court dominance as it would fin-ish third in district. But a six-year undefeated streak is a six-year undefeated streak nonetheless, and it will likely be remembered for its accomplishment, not its end.

The spring season was more perhaps more mo-mentous than the fall—a mixed bag of the anticipat-ed and the unanticipated, if you will.

The basketball sea-son ended first. While the girls team would finish last in district, the boys team earned a playoff berth with a district record of 6-4. They advanced two rounds in the playoffs, narrowly sliding past Keller Central, then fell to Cedar Hill, who lost in the finals of the state competition.

Later, 11 wrestlers (six boys and five girls) qualified for the state tournament. Senior Yadinma Nwaiwu

even broke through to the finals in the 215-pound weight class, where default-ed due to a shoulder injury.

Then a bombshell hit with football coach Bob Shipley’s abrupt departure to Class 3A Brownwood.

A few confused weeks later and after several promising interviews, Joe McBride was selected as Shipley’s successor.

“Going into next season, I hope to develop tougher kids and a champi-onship mentality,” McBride said.

Only time will tell if the former Frisco Lib-erty coach can live up to his considerable and heady reputation.

At the beginning of the spring season, the safe money said girls soccer was destined for a rebuild-ing season. The team had just lost five seniors, one to No. 8 ranked Florida and another to No. 19 ranked Texas. Conventional wis-dom states teams do not re-cover from losses like that.

Apparently no one told this to the Cowgirls.

After falling to Flower Mound Marcus twice in the regular season (by a score of 1-0 both times), the team (down, coincidentally, 1-0) rallied behind sophomore Chioma Ubogagu in the second half to win by the dramatic margin of 4-1.

Three victories later (after toppling No. 1 ranked

San Antonio Reagan in the state semifinals) the girls closed out a perfect post-season and earned a state title with a 3-2 victory over The Woodlands.

“The reason we were so successful this year was the fact that we loved each other,” Stricker said follow-ing the win. “Our heart, not talent, led us to win state this season.”

The last triumph of the year, however, has not been baseball as expected.

The baseball team, widely regarded as a state championship contender this year, did not disappoint early, barreling to a 12-game streak in district play. Then the streak was broken by Lewisville in a disconcert-ing 3-1 upset. The Cowboys clinched district but lost in the first round of the play-offs to Grapevine in a 5-0 blowout.

Instead, the endgame hero was boys lacrosse, which finished its season second in district behind Plano West. They won de-cisively in playoffs, finish-ing Memorial High School 20-7 in the semifinals and knocking off Stony Point High School 22-4 in the finals.

This season has had its ups and downs, not to men-tion a fair share of surprises, but in most lights it can be seen as a striking success.

sports20 thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Seniors enter college looking for new friends, experiences and a higher education. What most hope to do without is the forewarned freshman 15 weight gain. For senior Tom Hudson, however, this should not be a problem.

After running cross country at Coppell, Hud-son will continue his career at the University of Cali-fornia-San Diego.

“Not running in college was never really a question for me,” Hud-son said. “It’s been a part of my life for the past six years. It’s what I do.”

Hudson first be-came interested in run-ning through his older brother, 2004 CHS gradu-ate Sam Hudson.

“Sam’s always been one of my biggest inspira-tions,” Hudson said. “I’ve looked up to him my whole life.”

Sam and Tom’s moth-er Michelle Hudson said the brothers’ shared interest has improved their abilities

and brought them closer.“They’re able to push

each other to work harder,” Michelle said. “And now that Sam lives in Plano, the two are able to train to-gether more often.”

Training certainly paid off as far as Hudson’s running career is con-cerned. Hudson ran on var-sity three of his four years at CHS, placed in the top 10 at the regional meet both his junior and senior year and competed at the state level twice, coming in

23rd and 31st respectively in class 5A.

Hudson is more than just an athlete, however. He’s also a member of Na-tional Honor Society and serves as president of the recycling club.

“Running has always been my main focus,” Hud-son said. “But I think it’s important to get involved

and be a part of more than one activity.”

Unlike some student athletes who opt to take on a rela-tively easy major in order to avoid extra stress, Hudson is set to study biomedical engineering.

“Members of my family have been hit with some tough medical problems over the last few years,” Hudson said. “I want to study biomedical

engineering to try and combat that.”

After grad-uating, Hudson will either be-come a doctor or go into the re-

search field.“I’m not sure

what I’m leaning to-ward as of right now,” Hudson said. “I’m hoping to get good field experience in both and then figure out what my strengths are. UC San Diego is the No. 2 biomedical engineer-ing school in the nation

Hudson sprints off to sunny San Diego

To play volleyball, you must be a leader to succeed. Seniors Sally Downs and Lexi Ornell have exempli-fied their roles on the team as leaders on and off the court.

Downs began playing volleyball in seventh grade and never looked back, playing on the A team from then until she was called up varsity as a sophomore in high school. She also played club volleyball with Texas Advantage (TAV)

during high school.In December, Downs

verbally committed to play at Stony Brook University in New York. Downs vis-ited the university with her mother in December on an official visit.

“I was nervous be-cause it was my first time visiting the players and coaches,” Downs said. “I wanted to make a good first impression on the visit.”

During her time at Coppell, Downs enjoyed playing district rivals. When asked about her big-gest high school rival only

one team came to mind.“Marcus,” Downs

said. “That’s really all I have to say.”

One light moment this season was engineered by Downs. As a pregame warm up in the locker room, she organized “dance parties” in which the play-ers listened to music while dancing around.

“Some of the girls weren’t getting into the dance too much,” Downs said. “So I had to yell ‘dance parties are mandatory not optional’ and when I said that the whole team just started laughing. It shows just how close the team was.”

Co-captain Ornell is also continuing her volley-ball career in college. She will walk on at Northeast-ern University in Boston, Mass. but could end up receiving a scholarship as early as the end of sopho-more year.

“It was a win-win situation,” Ornell said. “My parents grew up in Boston so I really like the area and I have the opportunity to play volleyball there.”

Ornell began play-ing club volleyball in sixth grade. She was also bumped up the varsity level her sophomore year.

During this season there were some differences over leadership. With two leaders exhibiting different styles it was difficult some-times for the Cowgirls to come together.

“Lexi was a calming leader who led by example,” junior Deirdre Pajares said. “Sally really fired up the team and made us want to

Role model captains move onandytaborstaffwriter

lyndiconradtstaffwriter

work hard.”Junior Kirstin Hazel-

rigg recognizes the team-mate’s differences as well.

“They balanced each other out,” Hazelrigg said. “Lexi had more people skills, while Sally was more knowledgeable about vol-leyball. It was an interest-ing balance.”

Throughout the year the team members would tend to follow one leader or the other.

Junior Taylor Meade is a big fan of Downs and her leadership style.

“Sally is a natural leader,” Meade said. “She knew how to improve the people around her instead of only improving her own game.”

Freshman Bear Bass benefitted from Ornell’s leadership as a freshman on varsity.

“Lexi was all for the team and not just for her-self,” Bass said. “She was really nice and had a good attitude whenever I needed help with my game.”

Either way, both lead-ers helped make this volley-ball year a success. Predict-ed to have a down year, the Cowgirls were in a three-way tie for first place and eventually ended up third because of an unlucky coin flip. The Cowgirls made it to the area round before be-ing ousted by Plano West.

With both Ornell and Downs at the lead, the Cowgirls enjoyed success this season. As for Downs and Ornell, both lead-ers will be remembered as two of the most successful Cowgirl volleyball players of all time.Senior captains Lexi Ornell (left) and Sally Downs (right).

Photo by Page Warner

Senior Tom Hudson ran varsity track three of his four years at Coppell, and will continue to run at the Uni-versity of California-San Diego next fall. Hudson plans to study biomedical engineering.

Photo by Gina Cannata

though, so the first part of that shouldn’t be a prob-lem.”

Whether he’s up at 6 a.m. training for a meet or

dissecting DNA in one of the college’s labs, one thing’s for sure: Hudson has a suc-cessful career ahead of him.

“He’s got great work

ethic, he’s self-driven and he’s goal-oriented,” coach Roxanne Farris said. “I know he’ll go on to do great things at UC San Diego.”

“ ”Not running in college

was never really a ques-tion for me

senior Tom Hudson

sports 21thesidekickmay 21, 2009

For the past four years, senior tennis players Laura Palomino and Libby Hedeman have been team-mates, but soon they’ll be bitter rivals. Palomino and Hedeman will play tennis for opposing schools from the Gulf South conference.

Palomino, awarded with an athletic scholar-ship, committed to Arkan-sas Tech University earlier this spring. She plans on studying Computer Sci-ence and Engineering.

“I got other offers,” Palomino said. “But Ar-kansas Tech was every-thing I liked in a school.”

Hedeman, Coppell’s team captain, will attend Harding University in Ar-kansas in the fall. Harding offered her a monetary in-centive: an academic schol-arship. After her visit to campus earlier this spring, she was ready to commit.

“I’ve been undecided all year,” Hedeman said. “It’s a relief to finally know.”

Hedeman and Palo-mino have supported each other through very success-ful seasons. In the fall, the tennis team qualified for

regionals. This spring, Palo-mino, honorable mention all-district in girls singles, and Hedeman, first team all-district in girls singles, received alternate for Re-gionals.

“Our friendship is very supportive,” Palomino said. “But when we’re play-ing on the court, we get se-rious.”

Competitive by na-ture, Hedeman and Palo-mino are ready for the challenge of collegiate level athletics.

“[CHS coach Jane Jackson] has thrown a lot of different experiences at

me,” Hedeman said. “So now I can adapt my game.”

Jackson is eager to sing the praises of her ten-nis players.

“Laura has worked very hard, and she’s not afraid of practice,” Jackson said. “Libby is a fierce com-petitor too, and she’s every-body’s friend.”

With a history of suc-cess, undefeated in district for seven years until the

fall season, the CHS tennis team is known for demand-ing excellence.

“The long-standing tradition of winning at Coppell will hopefully carry over to my Harding career,” Hedeman said.

Throughout the past two seasons, Palomino was the top varsity girl tennis player.

“Laura was my No. 1 girl,” Jackson said. “She played the toughest match-es we had to play.”

Palomino and Hede-man’s tennis talents will be stretched in a new way next year, possibly even playing against each other in dou-bles. They won’t find out their schedule until later in the summer, but both schools are relatively small, so the chances are good.

“On the court, we have a certain respect for each other,” Hedeman said.

For both of these se-nior girls, next year will be a challenge, balancing aca-demics and athletics.

“I would tell them to make sure they keep it a game, not a job,” Jackson said. “Make sure they keep it fun while playing at the highest level.”

Hedeman’s concerns are a little more mundane.

“I’m most worried the tennis uniforms won’t be as cute as my Coppell ones,” Hedeman said.

annacaseystaffwriter

On Aug. 7, senior Jor-dan Favreau committed his next four years on the grid-iron to Southern Method-ist University. On July 1, he will enroll and begin preparing for the upcoming football season.

SMU has signed six offensive linemen in its 2009 recruiting class. The Mustangs had a difficult 1-11 season last season and is looking to get some new faces to change the feel of the pro-gram under second year head coach June Jones. SMU offensive line coach Dennis McKnight thinks Favreau can make a difference.

“He’s a man child,” McKnight said. “For a 6-3 guy he can really move, he’s much more athletic than you think. He’s got real up-side.”

Favreau, along with the other incoming fresh-man and current SMU of-fensive line, will compete for time on the field in their first season. Favreau is stay-ing positive and focused.

“I think there’s a chance I’ll start,” Favreau said. “It just depends on how well I pick up the new offense and their plays.”

Favreau knows noth-ing will come easy in the transition from high school to college football but he is ready to embrace some-thing new. Price Clifford, Coppell’s offensive coach, former running backs’ coach, looks at Favreau and sees a very good player with a positive mental state.

“Jordan does so many things well,” Clifford said. “He has quick feet, he is strong, produces leverage on run and pass plays and has a

nev-er quit attitude which allows him to beat the best around.”

It is that devoted mentality that senior offen-sive lineman Bradley Oh, who is attending Stephen F. Austin University but unsure if he will walk-on, says will only bring good things to Favreau.

“Jordan will do very well at SMU,” Oh said. “He’s a smart kid, really

dedicated and a hard work-er on and off the field; he has a chance to start as a true freshman.”

Favreau was named to the first team All-District 6-5A as a senior. Clifford recalls his performance this year.

“There are many things I remember about Jordan’s play for me this year,” Clifford said. “His ability to protect the QB

on pass plays is amazing. I don’t think he gave

up a sack this year and his tena-cious na-ture when he plays. Let’s just

say he is very ag-gressive.”

Before he had of-ficially signed with SMU last August, Favreau had attracted interest from two other schools, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, but did not make official visits.

“They [SMU] were the school that showed the most interest in me,” Favreau said. “They seemed to want me more than the other schools.”

Favreau will begin working toward his degree in July in SMU’s respected Cox School of Business.

travisbremnerstaffwriter

Lineman Favreau commits next four years to SMU

Tennis rivalry will continue in college

Graphic courtesy Brad Sutton

Senior Libby Hedeman (left) was awarded an academic scholarship to Harding University and senior Laura Palamino (right) was awarded an athletic scholarhip to Arkansas Tech University.

Photo by Tyler Morris

Ex-doubles partners head off to competing

Arkansas schools

“ ”Our friendship is very supportive,

but when we’re on the court, we get

serious.senior Laura Palomino

sports22 thesidekickmay 21, 2009

Many senior soccer Cowgirls are hanging up their red and black jerseys at the end of the year to pursue new activities in college. For seniors Laura Sadler and Dominique Dinka, however, the ball keeps rolling.

Both girls signed with colleges’mid-season, Dinka with the University of Central Oklahoma and Sadler with Stephen F. Austin University. Coach Chris Stricker couldn’t envision two better suited players.

“They both have the work ethic it takes and that’s what it’s honestly all about,” Stricker said. “You have to love the game and both of them do, but you also have to have the drive to get through all the ear-ly morning practices and other things that come along with it. Any girl that has gotten through all four years of my pro-gram is prepared mentally and physically to go play in college.”

Forward Dinka is excited about attending the university. In addition to the excellent soccer program, Dinka enjoys the

small feel of the campus.“The professors are re-

ally flexible there and it isn’t that big of a school so the teachers are all on hand,” Dinka said.

Left outside mid-fielder Sadler chose Ste-phen F. Austin for many of the same reasons, including the school’s reputation for winning their conference almost every year.

“I didn’t want to start out at that big of a school and I really like the small classroom size there,” Sadler said. “It’s also a really pretty campus and they treat the athletes really well.”

Though the two are excited to move forward to college ball, they both agree they will miss many aspects of soccer including the close bond between the girls and spaghetti dinners.

“I’ll miss how the team bonded together and went from really separated, due to new players, to being a family,” Dinka said. “We came together and achieved something really big.”

In addition to helping win a state championship, Sadler left her own person-al mark on CHS when she was named MVP of state. She was named to second team All-District her fresh-man year and first team

All-District her sophomore through senior years. Sadler was awarded the “Fighting Hard for the Team” award by her teammates, an award which Stricker considers one of the most valuable achievements in the pro-gram. She was also named state player of the year.

Dinka, whose senior year was her first at CHS, has also made a name for herself in the Cowgirls pro-gram.

“Dominique is a really quiet girl but she has a lot of mental toughness as far as her drive on the field,” Stricker said. “She’s quiet but tenacious.”

Both girls attribute their success throughout the year to their passion for the sport and the drive that keeps them going.

“It’s just something I’ve always done and I love the competition,” Sadler said. “It also teaches you a lot of lessons outside of soccer like good communi-cation and leadership; I like the things that I can carry away from it.”

Dinka and Sadler are waving goodbye to CHS but not to soccer. Though their red and black will be replaced, their memories of Cowgirl family will stay with them for life.

caitlinconnerstaffwriter

Once a program has been around for a while it becomes harder to identify which qualities make one senior class stand out from another.

The boys soccer pro-gram has made the playoffs a regularity, has a state title under its belt and consis-tently sends players to col-lege programs. Maintain-ing success is all that can be asked for.

“This senior class continued the tradition of success,” coach Shayne Bybee said. “They finished two places higher in district than last year’s team, went a round deeper in the play-offs than we did two years ago and won 35 games over the past two years.”

Thirty-five wins in two seasons and a playoff run that was halted by the eventual state champion Plano shows how the team performed well as a whole, but the senior class was also able to achieve individually.

Senior forward Ben Hill was one of only three Texas players among the 80 listed on the NSCAA/Adidas Boys High School

All-America Team and was named District 6-5A MVP.

“It was really an honor to be named an All-Ameri-can and to be recognized at a national level,” Hill said.

Hill was also joined by fellow seniors J.R. El-lis, Rizvan Ceka and Ste-ven Haltom as first team all district honorees, while Matt Speanburg and Jack-son Savage received second team honors.

Many of the players excelled off the field as well, as nine seniors received academic all state honors for their work in the class-room. These seniors were Josh Barton, Taylor Basso, Ceka, Austin Fink, Haltom, Josh Hayes, Taylor Johnson, Chis Jordan and Jackson Savage.

All of the seniors are looking forward to build-ing on their success at the high school level academi-cally, but six of the seniors are also looking forward to playing soccer in college next fall.

Ben Hill will be at-tending SMU, while Steven Haltom and J.R. Ellis will both go to St. Edward’s. University Also continuing to play soccer in college are

Cole McCarter for Hardin Simmons, Rizvan Ceka for Ouchita Baptist and Jackson Savage for Hard-ing. So while their soccer careers at the high school may be over, they are look-ing forward to the new challenges that college soccer will bring.

The senior class is not leaving the program empty handed, though, as they have prepared the ju-nior class to step into the roles that they will leave vacant.

“The juniors will need to take on the leader-ship of the team, but then they should have another great season,” Barton said.

Bybee agrees.“We’re hoping that

younger players will step into the leadership roles that are now vacant and that they [have learned] to be better leaders by seeing what the seniors did that worked,” said Bybee.

So as this senior class leaves and hangs up the Coppell jerseys they look ahead to a new set of obstacles to conquer and back to a junior class that is prepared to step in and take over a program with a tradition of success.

nathanreckstaffwriter

Coppell has had many students who have gone to college and utilized their athletic abilities for a little longer. One of CHS’s most promising athletes has de-cided to change his course from golf to education.

Senior Austin Beck has been playing golf since he was 5. His grandfather, Jim Watts, played golf throughout his life and wanted to pass his knowl-edge and enjoyment of the game onto another family member.

That member became Austin, who, after play-

ing with his grandfather a couple times started to love the sport.

“Since my dad was never taught to play golf, my grandpa wanted to share that experience with me,” Beck said.

After playing golf for fun for a few years, Beck began to search for an instructor to help him get into competitive golf. He eventually chose Pe-ter Murphy, who travels around the world, but still comes to Frisco and teaches his students, such as Beck.

“Austin is a great player and golf next year is going to be different with-out him there,” junior golfer

Blake Van Patten said. With Murphy’s help,

Beck began to compete when he entered sixth grade. He did exception-ally in several tournaments; such as in the 2007 Randy Smith AJGA in Lubbock, a national tournament where he placed fourth and the 2008 AJGA at Southern Oaks in Fort Worth, a na-tional tournament where he placed sixth. At one point this year he was ranked 60th in the nation and seventh in the state of Texas.

In addition to the na-tional tournaments, Beck also did well in high school golf.

He qualified for the

gabymoranstaffwriter

Souders shelves woods, irons for college textbooksregional tournament for four years and was named all-district second team his freshman year and all-d i s t r i c t first team his sopho-more, ju-nior and s e n i o r years.

Beck was also n a m e d all-region second team his junior year and named district champi-on medalist this year. Also, because Beck is in top 7% of CHS, he was named an academic all-state for Texas high school golfers for his

junior and senior year. “Austin Beck is a great

young man,” coach Terry Galbraith said. “He has

been an ex-cellent ex-ample for the other players to follow and the CHS boy’s golf p r o g r a m will truly miss him

as a person and player.”During the summer

of when high school golf-ers typically select the col-lege that they will attend, Beck faced the decision of whether to attend a small

college and play golf or pur-sue his academics. While every athlete dreams about becoming a professional, Beck understands the diffi-culty of achieving this goal. Therefore, he elected to at-tend Texas A&M and focus more on his education.

“I have no regrets about not committing to a college for golf, but I am probably going to have sec-ond thoughts later on in my life,” Beck said.

Now that Beck will just play golf as a recre-ational sport, he is excited about going to Texas A&M in the fall, where he hopes to become an industrial en-gineer.

Nationally recognized team leaves footprint

Dinka and Sadler score big in college

Photo courtesy Jay SavageNext fall, six senior boys soccer players will advance to play in college; Ben Hill (SMU), Steven Hal-tom (St. Edward’s Univeristy), J.R. Ellis (St. Edward’s), Cole McCarter (Hardin Simmons), Rizvan Ceka (Oachita Baptist) and Jackson Savage (Harding University).

Photo courtesy Julie ScottSeniors Laura Sadler (left) and Dominique Dinka (center) face off against a Woodlands defender.

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Austin is a great player and golf next year is going to be different without

him there.junior Blake Van Patten

sports 23thesidekickmay 21, 2009

blakeseitzsportseditor

This year, seven senior baseball players signed with college programs, six to Division-I schools. Among this group is Zak Hermans, who signed last Novem-ber with Princeton Uni-versity, proving that brains and brawn are perhaps not as separate many people think.

Hermans picked up the bat at age 5, and made the switch from Little League to Select play at 11.

Upon entering high school, he undertook an important role change. Whereas he had played second and third base in-terchangeably until fresh-man year, the coaching staff began honing his throwing arm and eventually put him on the mound.

“I really didn’t pitch much going into high school,” Hermans said. “I had a strong arm, but I was really wild. I guess [Cop-pell coach Don English] saw potential so that year I pitched a lot on freshman team and continued to de-velop there.”

And develop he did—in his past two years as starting pitcher, he has re-corded 143 strikeouts.

“The last two years he’s been outstanding on the mound, and his veloc-ity’s risen as he’s matured physically,” English said.

But Hermans is ver-satile as well, batting sixth in the lineup this year with a .355 average, 13 RBIs and one home run.

“What we didn’t an-ticipate as much as his pitching ability is that he’s really swung the bat well this year and been a force offensively for us,” English said.

Predictably, Her-mans’s actions began to catch the attention of col-lege recruiters, but if his

strikeout tally brought on the big-name baseball programs, his academics attracted the Ivy League Schools. Hermans will graduate in the top five per-cent of his class, is a mem-ber of National Honor So-ciety and was commended on his PSAT.

After being pursued by such academic heavy-weights as the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and Yale, Hermans selected Princeton, where he will study economics.

“[Princeton looks] for players who want to devel-op in every area of their life, and that’s Zak Hermans,” Princeton coach Scott Bradley said.

Bradley went on to say that the program depended on athletes like Hermans, who he envisions will start as early as next year.

“Our top priority for this recruiting class was to find some high-end pitch-ing,” Bradley said. “We’re going to lose a four-year pitcher to graduation and a junior [pitcher] to the draft, so we needed students who were going to come in and compete right away. That’s something we think Zak Hermans will be able to do.”

Although Hermans picked the bookish Princ-eton over baseball giants such as the University of Texas, he feels that he is in no way limiting himself. While he has no definite plans for his future career, he knows he will jump at the chance to play major league ball if offered.

“Princeton always gets a few guys drafted every year so I don’t feel like I’m giving up on any baseball dreams at all,” Hermans said. “I’m going to work hard in my athletics and my academics just like I did in high school and hopefully the choice will be clear af-ter that.”

College baseball awaits CHS standouts

Souders to wrestle in Olympic program

“They’ve worked hard, had fun and wanted to play together as long as they possibly can. So they’ve been outstanding; best I’ve ever had.” -coach Don English

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Over the past four years, senior Austin Soud-ers has collected a wide array of medals for his achievements on the Cop-pell wrestling team. In the near future, Souders hopes to obtain a bigger prize: an Olympic medal.

“I’ve met several Olympic wrestlers and I have seen how it can open up so many doors and op-portunities,” Souders said. “I love wrestling and meet-ing people through the sport and I cannot wait to travel the world.”

After wrestling on varsity all four years of high school, Souders is taking his skills to Marion Mili-tary Institute in Alabama with a partial wrestling scholarship.

At Marion, he will be training under Dave and Jim Hazewinkel, who are twins and were both mem-bers of the 1968 and 1972 United States Olympic teams. They were also the first twin brothers to be on the same Olympic team at the same time.

Souders has already put together a strict time-line to achieve his goal. He will attend Marion for two years to wrestle and train under the highly achieved Hazewinkel twins, after which he will take a year off from college to dedicate as much time as possible

towards his Olympic train-ing for the 2012 Olympic Games.

“I will have to be re-ally dedicated if I want to do this,” Souders said. “I’m going to have to limit my-self on the typical college life.”

Souders understands the amount of dedication and time this is going to take. However his parents are providing their full sup-port.

“You don’t know how many opportunities like the Olympics are going to come around,” Olga Souders said. “I’m very excited and proud for Austin. I think every kid who enjoys an extracur-ricular activity and has the opportunity to pursue it should go for it.”

Already the road to-wards the Olympics has

been challenging for Soud-ers. He recently underwent shoulder surgery to repair some of the torn ligaments he sustained from high school wrestling.

However, Souders still has the perseverance and dedication to continue on down the road.

“Everything I do for the sport −even if I’m not successful or blow out my shoulder− I’d be ok with that because I still have such a passion for the sport,” Souders said. “And I could still say I’ve accomplished something great.”

Souders’ parents credit his high school coaches in guiding their son to be such an outstanding wrestler.

“I can’t think of any better group of coaches than [former coach Carl] Stralow and [current coach

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Chip] Lowery,” Olga Soud-ers said. “The coaches really changed Austin’s life. Suc-cess in a sport should be contributed to those that mentored you.”

Lowery said talent alone will not lead Souder to the Olympics.

“He has the talent. He needs to now take that talent and mix it in with preparation and determina-tion. Desire is the start of the long road.”

In return to having such great coaches and mentors, Souders is return-ing the favor and is cur-rently training his sister, freshman Avery Souders, for high school wrestling.

“My sister is new to the sport,” Austin said. “And I want to do whatever I can to help her out so she can have the same wrestling ex-

perience I did. It also gives us time to bond.”

At Marion Military Institute, Souders will study business and history. Later, after his experiences with wrestling, Souders hopes to start pursuing a degree in theology.

“I think if anybody works hard and prepares enough they can accomplish great and mighty things,” Dalton Souders said. “He is going to be training under great coaches however he is going to have to work hard, and he is going to have to be willing to make sacri-fices.”

Despite setbacks like surgery and an inten-sive schedule after college, Souders hopes to make it to his goal and compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Senior to attend Marion Military Institute in

preparation for 2012

Advice to underclassmen? “Take care of your grades freshman and sophomore years. Don’t wait.”

How do you want people to remember you? “As someone who wasn’t afraid to be different.”

If you could be any comic book hero, who would you be and why? “Spiderman because Peter Parker has a nerd image but Spiderman is so cool; everything works out for him.”

What’s your biggest regret?“Not being able to do the musical junior year.”

College attending: Princeton University

Major:Business

Position:P / IF

College attending: University of Texas-Arlington

Position:P / OF

Advice to under-classmen:“Be on time.”

Best school reading books?“The only one I liked was The Natural.”

College attending: Dallas Baptist Uni-versity

Position:3B / SS

Best movie ever?“The Patriot or Brave-heart.”

What’s the biggest change you’ve no-ticed at CHS?“The carpet.”

College attending: McLennon Com-munity College

Position:P / 1B

If you had an in-finite amount of money, what would you spend it on?“I’d disperse it wher-ever it could do the most good.”

College attending: University of Okla-homa

Position:P / SS

If you could choose, what era of time would you live in?“The ‘60s because the cars were awesome.”

Prom was:“Tiring.”

College attending: University of Texas

Position:C

If you could be any comic book hero, who would you be?“Superman because Superman’s the man.”

Best movie ever?“Old School.”

College attending: Lon Morris College

Position:P

Do you have any weird quirks?“Not that I know of.”

Biggest fear about college?“Getting into too much trouble.”

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