Loachapoka High: Caderria Thomas

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By Kayla Evans Photos Contributed By Caderria Thomas

Caderria Thomas, a senior at Loachapoka High, will soon be leaving for Falkner University, leaving behind friends in the band, yearbook and the SkillsUSA team.

Thomas currently plans to attend Faulkner University studying music education or music therapy, no surprise given she was part of Loachapoka’s marching band since the sixth grade. She also plans to be in the University Marching Band.

“I ended up choosing this school because I felt very at home on my tour there,” Thomas said. “The students and faculty were extremely nice, the campus itself is absolutely gorgeous, and it has a really nice five-year program to get a master's degree in Music.”

Performing in the University Marching Band came from the past seven years Thomas has played the alto saxophone. Thomas has been a part of Loachapoka’s concert and marching bands since the sixth grade, and she was a section leader beginning in 2017.

“Marching band is probably my favorite elective that I have ever done,” Thomas said. “We didn’t get to this year because of COVID, but we normally travel to home and away games. We get to meet the other bands, and we get to support our team. We have other really cool experiences too. We go to colleges for band days, and we get to compete for scholarships. So band is probably the best elective for your future and for the present. It’s an amazing experience.”

Along with the marching band, Thomas was involved in the SkillsUSA team and a part of the school’s yearbook committee. In the ninth grade, Thomas was also involved in the robotics team and art club.

Of course, there was the academic side of high school too. Thomas was a member of the National Honor’s Society, has been on the honor roll since 2017 and is the first student in Loachapoka’s history to receive a qualifying score on the AP science exam.

Thomas enjoys doing community service around Lee County. She is a member of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church where she is a choir member and an usher. She has also volunteered at the East Alabama Food Drive, blanket drive and toy drive.

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The Oaks School is a Pre-K through 12th grade church school that started in 2018 in the Auburn-Opelika area. The Oaks School offers a four-day school week with strong academics, spiritually dynamic chapel services, limited homework and an encouraging family atmosphere that empowers all students to become creative, high-impact leaders.

The Oaks has full accreditation through Cognia (formerly SACS) and the Alabama Independent School Association.

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By JD McCarthy Photo Contributed By Anna Omillian

For the first time, The Oaks School will have a graduating class of seniors and Anna Omilian could not be more excited to be graduating.

“Very exciting,” Omilian said. “So pumped to finally graduate.”

Omilian has only attended the school for two years but has been a member of the church for nine years and in the two years feels she has started to come out of her shell.

Besides taking classes, she also runs track and even worked for The Oaks School for a couple of months.

Omilian pointed out the bonds she has created with her classmates as her favorite thing from her time at The Oaks School.

“I think just the people,” she said. “I love my classmates so much. They are just, like, my heart and I’m so sad to be leaving them. I have a couple really close friends here that I hope will be my friends for life.”

Omilian and her classmates spend a lot of time doing group work together and like to get together outside of class such as go on picnics.

One thing that has endeared Omilian to her classmates and teachers is how kind she is to everyone.

“I really want to be the type of person that loves and gives to people without expecting anything back because I want other people to do that for me,” she said. “So, I try to be a good influence on younger kids.”

Next year Omilian will be attending Birmingham Southern. While she is not sure what she will be studying, she said she thinks it will be something similar to child developmental psychology.