Top Killeen High students heading to University of Texas

BY toDD martin SPECIAL TO THE HERALD

A pair of students who grew up in Killeen and are now headed to the University of Texas are the top two Class of 2023 seniors of Killeen High School.

The KHS valedictorian is Audrey Frisch and the salutatorian is Kaycee Caravan Gomez.

The top-ranked student attended Ira Cross Elementary School, Manor Middle School, Smith Middle School when it opened with the STEM program and Killeen High School.

A top student who took numerous Advanced Placement really found her joy in high school in the fine arts.

Frisch was a two-time All-State Treble Choir member the past two years. She is also the choir president. “Fine arts are really where I was able to grow in my confidence,” she said. Ironically, it was a scheduling error that first put her in choir in middle school. Gratefully, she stuck with it. “I found that choir was intrinsically motivating,” she said.

She is headed to the University of Texas at Austin to study environmental science.

She and Gomez hovered between the top two positions in the class before Frisch finished in front in the final reporting period.

The top KHS graduate said she wants to point out the wide variety of opportunities her peers took advantage of throughout their schooling.

“I want to talk about how public education fosters free thought,” she said. “I appreciate the diversity at Killeen High School. We learn to respect opinions.”

Gomez attended Sugar Loaf, Iduma and Maxdale elementary schools, Palo Alto and Smith middle schools and KHS.

In high school, she played tennis and took part in visual art and Upward Bound.

She took Advanced Placement and dual credit courses and participated in the STEM Academy, earning an associate degree from CTC. She plans to attend University of Texas and study computer science.

“It feels weird,” she said of coming to the end of high school and ending up No. 2 in the class.

“I never thought about it until I found out I was No. 2 as a freshman and decided I wanted to maintain it.”

The KHS salutatorian said she wants to thank a lot of people for their support, guiding her and her peers through the year of COVID restrictions, hybrid learning environments and the return to traditional learning.

“I want to thank all the teachers who helped me and supported me.”

The Killeen High School graduation is scheduled Saturday, May 27 at 2 p.m. at the Bell County Expo Center.