Chaparral’s inaugural senior class crosses the stage for graduation

BY toDD martin SPECIAL TO THE HERALD

The first valedictorian in Chaparral High School history is a native Killeen resident who already earned an associate degree through the STEM Academy at Central Texas College.

The first salutatorian in school history just arrived in Central Texas two years ago when her dad’s Army career brought her family to Killeen.

The Chaparral valedictorian is Izma Dar and the salutatorian is Emily Hernandez.

Dar attended Bellaire Elementary, Patterson Middle School, Harker Heights High School and Chaparral High School.

“I knew I was in the top 10 at Harker Heights and I hoped I wouldn’t drop. I actually got higher,” she said. “I’m happy I transferred.”

She has been part of the STEM Academy and graduated with honors, earning an associate degree.

At the start of the school year, Dar spent the afternoon at CTC. She said it was a collective experience getting lost together being part of the first year of a new high school.

“We were all together and none of us knew where to go,” she said. “We were getting lost together and we found everything together. It was nice being the first to use the classrooms.”

She plans to attend University of Texas and study audiology with the goal of going to medical school.

She discovered audiology by scrolling through the degrees that UT offers. “It seemed interesting when I looked into it. It met everything I wanted. Audiologists seemed happy with their careers.”

“It feels really good,” Dar said. “The hard work paid off. I get to go to the Starmaker Banquet. I get to give a speech. It was stressful, but it was worth it. Sometimes I wanted to give up. I’m glad I pushed myself.”

When she addresses her peers, she plans to point out the logic of doing what you enjoy. We have a limited time on earth, so why not pursue your passion, she said. “Don’t worry about what others think.”

Chaparral High School’s first salutatorian was born in the Dallas area and lived much of her young life in California, but her dad’s military career moved the family to the Fort Cavazos area.

Hernandez actually spent about two months attending school in Fort Worth where she has multiple older siblings living before the family could get settled in Central Texas. Then, she spent a semester at Harker Heights High School and this year transferred to the new Chaparral High School.

The school’s salutatorian embraces change and opportunity. She made the transfer to the new KISD school based on a design plan she saw that made her think it would be exciting to take advantage of a brand-new school.

“I’ve had a great time,” she said. She takes two classes at Chaparral, which she said are heavily collaborative. In the afternoon, she attends the Career Center where she takes pathology and physiology and earned a certified medical assistant credential.

Her interests and experiences are varied.

Hernandez spent her two months in Fort Worth at a Career Center campus participating in a sports medicine practicum that convinced her she wanted to pursue that field.

As a freshman she made the varsity cross country team and showed promise but suffered a knee injury. She went on to compete in wrestling and at Chaparral has been on the golf team.

“I got to experience so many different atmospheres,” she said. “I’ve always made friends and gained from everywhere I’ve been.”

Though she’s excited to pursue sports medicine, probably at the University of Texas at Arlington, she has run a baking and catering business and is an accomplished history researcher.

In eighth grade she made it to the state level of a National History Day competition and has participated in the research activity every other year, culminating this year when she won the Texas History Day 2023 historian program.

Hernandez wrote a paper called “Frontiers in History: African Americans’ Struggle for Equality,” winning first place in the senior division category.

She argues in the paper that ordinary African American citizens of the Civil War era, including soldiers, played key roles in the eventual Civil Rights Movement.