2 | seniors | the roar
friday, may 16, 2014
it was like a trend. It just took off,” senior Carlos Malavé, Safi’s closest friend, said. “I don’t wanna take credit, but I did start the trend.” Aside from this stage name of sorts already, Safi surprises peers with his musical ability. For Safi, however, music is a normal part of his life as well as a natural ability. “Some people listen to music based on their mood, so whatever mood they’re in, they’ll choose that
kind of music. For me, it’s reverse. If I hit shuffle, I’ll instantly change to fit that mood,” Safi said. “I would just sing whatever was on the radio. I was never in choir, I never learned technique—to sing from my diaphragm or to do warmups. I just have a good ear.” Still, while Safi has talent, he’s not sure that he wants to make it a career. “The question I get asked most frequently is: ‘Safi, you trying to be a singer, bro?’ Anyone with any kind of talent in any field has entertained the idea of pursuing that profession—like singing, football, basketball, writing, it doesn’t matter. It’s always been something that’s crossed your mind,” Safi said. To see if performing could be his forte, Safi auditioned for “The Voice” a few years ago. While he says it was worth it to see the amazing talent out there, stage fright got the best of him, and he didn’t move on past the initial audition.. “That was probably one of the greatest experiences of my life. I was awful, and it was terrifying,” Safi said. “I just went because I
wanted to see where I stacked up.” Safi’s stage fright has been a problem in other situations, too— namely, Consolapalooza, where he’s performed this year and last year. “To overcome that stage fright a little bit, I did this little charity event before Consolapalooza. Last year, I did it and it was horrible. I met the band I was playing with the night before. I learned the song the day of, and when I went up, apparently the mic wasn’t even on. And I forgot the lyrics—so, at least the mic wasn’t on,” Safi said. “People were really nice about it, but I didn’t like the fact that I didn’t do well.” In addition to singing, Safi writes and performs slam poetry. He said he got into slam poetry because of his brother Amir, who has been recognized nationally for his slam poetry performances. “Once [Amir] really started getting some success and recognition in slam poetry, it attracted me to it. Not in the sense that I want to compete with my brother. It opened my eyes to this new, really fresh style of poetry,” Safi said. “It’s got a lot of soul to it.”
Still, Safi and Amir sometimes clash when it comes to poetry. “I wouldn’t perform poetry if I could sing and play the piano like [Aryan] can. No one would pursue poetry if they could sing and play like he can,” Amir Safi said. “I tell him to stay away from poetry. It’s mine.” Safi said he’s is improving, but he knows he has a ways to go. “I’m okay—the best thing I’ve ever written is pretty good. Not even good, it’s pretty good. And Amir has written stuff that’s incredible,” Safi said. “It’s just something fun I do, but I do want to get better at it.” Malavé said that Safi’s interesting balance between funny and poetic comes in handy when he needs advice, but it also means a new nickname. “When we hang out, it’s mostly just humor. The minute something gets serious—either I need advice or he needs advice—he gets really philosophical, so I call him PhiloSafi,” Malavé said. “Any time I need advice or something, he switches modes.”
pharmacy tech either because it’s just so much work, it’s like having three jobs really—you go to school, then you go to pharmacy tech, and then you go to work,” Copelyn said. “I do it all for her. I don’t know that I’d be very motivated without her.” Copelyn’s schedule begins at 5:30 a.m., where she wakes up, readies herself and her daughter, and takes her to daycare before going to school herself. She doesn’t always get to see Bella much during the day (her job is from 6 to 10 p.m.), but she dedicates what time she has to Bella. “Instead of being the normal high school kid who goes out to parties or football games, she’d much rather either be working to make money for Bella or being at home with Bella,” senior Dakota Young, a close friend of Copelyn, said. “Her main focus is Bella and how she can give her a future. She owns up to her responsibility and handles it like an adult.” Copelyn plans to go into occupational therapy, beginning
with two years at Blinn College and an eventual transfer to UT Austin. She hopes college will make time management just a little bit easier—fewer classes, more time for work and family. Regardless, she wants people to know that the seemingly effortless way she lives her life takes more than it appears--and that her family, especially Bella’s grandparents, helps immensely. “I think people look at me and say, ‘Hey she’s doing it, it’s probably pretty easy,’ but it’s not!” Copelyn said. “I have a lot of support from my family, and everyone’s pretty understanding of it. [Consol especially] is where I’ve gotten a lot of my support. No one’s ever just bashed me for having [Bella] and not always being able to get everything done.” Young notes that over these past two years, Copelyn has excelled and grown both in her career path and as a mother. “As a mom, she’s very patient, very understanding, and she loves to play with Bella. She entertains
her, she reads to her, she tries to help her learn and makes sure she’s reaching those developmental milestones,” Young said. “She’s [also] very punctual, very organized. She manages homework better than half the kids here who are in all AP classes. She likes to work and she’s very hardworking. She deserves a lot—she’s come such a long way and done a lot of growing up these two years.”
Copelyn’s life might be a little hectic, but she’s dedicated to it nonetheless. “[Bella] just amazes me every day. She makes everything worth it,” Copelyn said. “What would I tell her? ‘You’re crazy, you make me crazy, but I love you for it, and I probably wouldn’t be anywhere accomplishing everything if it weren’t for you.’”
aryan safi photo and profile by dana branham
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enior Aryan Safi is known for his singing and his silliness—in classes and with friends, he keeps everyone laughing. But most of the school knows him simply as “Safi.” “In seventh and eighth grade, everyone used to call him Aryan. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but I just thought it was weird to pronounce and too many letters. So freshman year, in basketball, I started calling him just by his last name, and then
S
enior Chehala Copelyn has a lot of things usual teenagers have: schoolwork, a job, a family, some hopes and dreams for later. But she’s also got something (or rather, someone) that not many of us have: a baby. For Copelyn, her daughter Bella has been the driving force of the work she’s been doing for the past two years. “She’ll be two on June 20th and she is the smartest little girl,” Copelyn said. “She sings songs, she knows her ABCs, she can count--she just does everything. I love her. I love her more every single day.” Copelyn, who currently does Basic Medical Practice in the afternoons, has a job, is getting her pharmacy technician certification and holds an internship at Walgreens in pharmacy tech, says that knowing that her effort provides for her daughter is what propels her to do so much. “Obviously, if I didn’t have her I probably wouldn’t work, and I don’t know if I’d be doing
chehala copelyn
profile by michelle liu photo by eva araujo
the roar | seniors | 3
friday, may 16, 2014
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enior Megan White spends more time in the field house than she does with her family. She can recognize an athlete hiding a limp from across the field. She scrambles to eat in between games and practices, and can tell you where anything is in the trainer’s room. And only a year and a half ago, she underwent brain surgery. “I had what’s called a chiari malformation, and it’s where your brain grows down into the bottom of your skull, where your spinal cord connects. It was putting pressure on my spinal cord, causing the cerebro-spinal fluid to form a cyst in the middle of my spinal cord and separate the nerves,” White said. “It caused me to lose feeling in my fingers and my toes and get really bad headaches and it would cause my back to hurt all the time. It was hard, but I got through it.” Though the surgery was fairly serious—doctors removed a piece of her vertebrae and cut out a 2 centimeter by 3 centimeter piece of her skull in order to remedy the chiari malformation—White was mostly concerned with how
quickly she could get back to athletic training, her best friend senior Jessica Archer said. “She really missed [training] a lot at first. She would get really frustrated when she would go in there and the athletic trainers would be like, no, you can’t do anything. You need to sit down. She really wanted to do it,” Archer said. “It encouraged her a lot to just keep on going for it and getting better.” While White recovered relatively quickly, the process still left her exhausted at times. Her surgery—on Dec. 12, 2012—kept her in the hospital from Wednesday through Saturday. Thirty-six of those hours were spent in the ICU. “I spent all of that time in the hospital, and it was really hard to walk again and just to have the energy to get up and talk. It was exhausting. I didn’t eat, so I lost a ton of weight, and I’m already really little,” White said. “I was missing a whole bunch of my hair, too. Right before my surgery, I cut off twenty inches of my hair. It was so hard—I cried the whole time.” This year, White is back in
ryan bevans
profile by channing young photo by dana branham
W
hile most seniors are deciding majors and preparing to continue on to college, senior Ryan Bevans has already found what he wants to pursue after high school by preparing to start his own business. Bevans started mowing lawns his sophomore year for ex-
tra money. Little did he know at the age of fifteen what it would become. “I started out by just doing my next door neighbor’s yard, and then I started doing someone around the corner,” Bevans said. “Then it just spread from there by word of mouth.”
the swing of things as the head student athletic trainer. In early May, she found out that she was accepted to the undergraduate athletic training program at Texas Tech University, and she’ll start training with either the football team or the track team at the end of this summer. Head athletic trainer and sports medicine teacher Jennie Hess was especially proud of White’s acceptance. “Megan asked me to write her a letter of recommendation for the [Tech athletic training program],” Hess said. “Being a new teacher, this was the first such request I had ever received, and I was honored. After months of applications, interviews, and waiting, she finally got accepted into the program—I think I was as excited as she was!” For anyone who knows White well, however, her acceptance came as no surprise. White began her journey through the athletic training program at Consol during the second semester of her freshman year, during spring football practice.“Come spring ball, I went and I was going out to practice with them and then I
Bevans said he started out with just a push mower, a trimmer, edger and an electric blower. With the help of his dad and the success of his growing business, he has expanded to two commercial grade mowers, three push mowers, two trimmers, one edger and two backpack blowers. As Bevans’s business began to expand, he had to start recruiting more employees. “Two years ago I started getting bigger jobs and it was getting to the point that I couldn’t do it by myself,” Bevans said. “So I started asking for help.” Senior Jordan Diaz started working for Bevans last summer and has also decided to continue doing this after high school, although he also plans to attend Vista College for business as well. Diaz has enjoyed working for Bevans. “He’s a very good boss,” Diaz said. “He pays me good, feeds me and keeps me hydrated.”
megan white photo and profile by dana branham was hooked,” White said. “It was one of those things that when you’re in it, and you’re in that atmosphere, you can’t stop.”Over the years, White has worked and bonded with hundreds of student athletes from a wide variety of sports. She and the football team, she says, are a “big family—it’s like having 100 plus brothers at all times.” White said she’s come to value the athletes’ subtle ways of showing their appreciation for what she does. “It’s what I like to call the
quiet thank-yous. It’s the walking down the hall and getting the head nod from someone that you usually wouldn’t talk to. It’s the phone calls from other athletes from whatever time of the night saying, ‘Hey, I hurt myself. What do I need to do?’” White said. “It’s just rewarding to me that I do a good job with the athletes and I do a good job, so that their parents notice it and their coaches notice it. That’s what drives me to do what I do—the quiet thankyous.”
During the school year, Bevans continues to work every day and when things get busy, he recruits other friends. Bevans is fully committed to his work and rarely—if ever—takes a break. “Since school’s going on we usually work till sun goes down, and Saturdays, we pretty much work all day,” Diaz said. “Sunday for me is a family day so I don’t work, but sometimes if we’re too behind [Bevans] goes and works by himself.” When Bevans started getting more jobs and had to start recruiting, he began to think this could be his future. “I started making great money,” Bevans said. “So I just went from there.” Bevans’s business includes lawn service as well as landscaping. Diaz says he personally prefers the landscaping. “I like landscaping best because you get to completely transform people’s gardens,” Diaz said.
“It’s a good feeling.” Bevans plans to continue expanding and sees this business as his future. “I’m getting bigger more clients, more business, doing different things, more landscaping jobs. [I’m] about to buy more new equipment,” Bevans said. “My dad’s building an apartment complex next to Blinn, and [from there] I’ll probably start advertising more.” Bevans plans to make his business a commercial business and eventually have people take over so he can become a supervisor and expand in other ways. “I will probably help for a few years and then once I find someone who is responsible enough to take over them, I’ll let them do it,” Bevans said. “Then I’ll move on to something different, something bigger, like different jobs, expanding, maybe concrete and building.”
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though, has caught more than her passing interest: India. As a sophomore, Hays lived in different parts of India with her family for an entire semester. Hays describes experiencing positive culture shock. She returned with a fresh perspective and a desire to travel more extensively. “You realize that the way things operate here, the way we have our moral systems set up, is not always the same on the other side of the world,” Hays said. “The
reason I wanted to live abroad is because I wanted to be surrounded by those opportunities.” While staying in India, she not only lived: she thrived. It didn’t hurt that Hays simply wouldn’t get sick. The water in India is notoriously brutal on foreigners, but somehow Hays avoided illness for the majority of the semester. “We were like, ‘Kiara, don’t go get the street food, don’t go get the street food!’ and she would go anyway and end up chatting it up with someone there,” Hays’s sister, sophomore Marley Hays, said. “She was always asking people what their favorite vegetable was because that’s all we knew how to say. So now she knows a lot about vegetable preferences in India, clearly.” Before travelling to India, Hays had a lot of practice befriending strangers with whom she didn’t share a common native language. She became involved with the most transient social group at every high school: the foreign exchange students. At first though, she didn’t intend on being the one welcoming exchange students to Texas. “When I was a freshman, I
wanted to be an exchange student,” Hays said. “I really didn’t want to be in high school; I just wanted to go live abroad for four years.” When that plan didn’t pan out, Hays found a close equivalent. During her freshman year, she became an ambassador for Academic Year in America, an exchange program that draws high school students from around the globe to the United States. It was then, Hays says, that she realized that this might be worth pursuing. Four years later, Hays still knows a majority of the foreign exchange students that pass through Consol (case in point: halfway through her interview she stops to chat with a Turkish exchange student that she happens to see in the hallway). Now though, Hays is ready for her own immersion into a different language and culture. “I love the rush of getting to push myself in another language,” Hays said. “I’ve only gotten that opportunity a few times with Spanish, but it’s really fun to put yourself outside your comfort
zone.” Hays will attending UT Austin next fall, but her ambitions abroad are far from over. Hays will be majoring in International Relations with a focus towards joining the Foreign Service. She has also been accepted into University of Texas’ Hindi-Urdu Flagship, an accelerated language program that requires a lengthy academic trip to India. Despite her new ties to her university and program, Hays says her plans for the distant future are still relatively flexible. “Once I graduate from UT--I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head, and at some point I’m going to have to bring those back down to earth a little bit-I’ve thought about joining the Peace Corps,” Hays said. “I think that would be a really good way to build up experience.” Whatever her plans, Marley Hays says her sister will have no trouble making her mark on the world. “She really influences people to be more open-minded about making friends with anybody,” Marley Hays said.
er of the group.” Music is life for Alcala, who spends usually over three hours of his day practicing. “Music is definitely my favorite thing. That’s what I find the most enjoyable—just singing, playing guitar, doing all that stuff,” Alcala said. “When the opportunity came up to lead music at my church, I quit football and sports, and it was just a huge step in realizing who [I] am. [Although] it was a big sacrifice—my passion is music. I’d put music above everything else.” Along with wanting to continue to lead worship at a church, Alcala sees serving in the United States Military next year. “I always wanted to be in the military my entire life and have always respected people who have [served],” Alcala said. “Right now, I’m going into the Air Force right out of high school, which is super different, and a lot of people are like, ‘What? You’re going into the military? You’re going to die.’ And
I’m just like, ‘Nah, I’m not going to die.’” Although Alcala’s first choice wasn’t to go directly into the Air Force, when his plans to go to A&M didn’t turn out how he expected, he took it as a good opportunity for him. “I didn’t get accepted immediately into A&M so I would’ve had to go through Blinn [which] was a let down,” Alcala said. “But it’s okay, because I already knew what I wanted to do whether [by] going through the Corps, straight in, or through some other academy— there were other options for me.” From working hard at Central Baptist to planning big for a future in the Air Force, Alcala keeps a positive outlook through it all and never hesitates to introduce himself to others. “When I moved here, I [decided] I’m going to be friendly; I’m going to meet a bunch of people; I’m going to have fun.” Alcala said. “That’s been one thing I’m super happy about—that I’ve been
able to meet so many people in high school. I kind of overcame that hurdle—‘I’m going to be a loner, or I’m not going to know anybody.’ Just being able to overcome that and become more social and friendly has been [one of my proudest achievements].” Alcala has grown from his ex-
periences during high school and is optimistic through it all. “Steven is humble, committed and has been a joy to have with us,” Lewis said. “What I love about [him] is his strong spiritual foundation and beliefs, his passion for leading worship, and his great and easy-going personality.”
kiara hays photo and profile by leah crisman
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ermany, France, Australia, Guatemala, Slovenia, Hungary, Costa Rica, Bangladesh, Nepal…” Senior Kiara Hays ticks the countries she’s travelled to off on her fingers. In a school as large as Consol, it wouldn’t be too hard to find a student as well-travelled as Hays, but it would be near-impossible to find someone as wildly enthusiastic about the cultures she’s experienced and would like to experience. One particular country,
E
very Wednesday and Sunday, senior Steven Alcala sings in front of hundreds of people. It’s his calling—something he absolutely loves doing. He is the youth worship leader at Central Baptist Church, which has allowed him to grow as a leader and a musician. “Right now, [for each service], I get to choose all the music. I get to coordinate who plays, who doesn’t play, what instruments are going to be used and what order the music is in,” Alcala said. “It’s not something I ever expected, but it has been the most fulfilling opportunity I’ve had.” Alcala joined Central Baptist Church’s youth group when he moved to College Station right after freshman year. At Central Baptist, he has been able to truly embrace his talents. “He immediately got involved with our worship team and quickly became the leader,” youth pastor, Jeremy Lewis said. “While he has always been a great musician, he has grown tremendously as a lead-
steven alcala profile by tiffany hammond photo by tigerland yearbook
friday, may 16, 2014
senior salutes
the roar | seniors | 5
Seniors bid a final farewell to their freshmen siblings
Dear Carmen,
carlos & carmen malavé
Growing up with you as my younger sister has been a powerful learning experience. It has taught me how to be a better person and how to control my patience as a big brother. Aside from family related experiences, it has also taught me to accept the woman you are becoming. No man will ever be good enough for you except me--however, as my sister I am allowing you to use good judgement and make your own decisions. To start off, don’t let the people in high school define who you are as a human being. Define yourself as a person without the fear of judgement. Let school be a place of nourishment and a place where you can let your aspirations flow endlessly. In your journey throughout high school, try to separate popularity from character, and grades from intelligence. After all, it’s not the journey we get so caught up in that defines us, but rather our final destination that really measures who we are. Spread your freaking wings and fly to wondrous heights because I love you. If you need anything I’ll be down the street at Texas A&M just like 75% of our graduating class, so don’t fret any of the small things. Sincerely,
carlos
Dearest bada,
Dear eric, Wow, 15 years have already gone by. 15 years of outside playing, movies, family vacays in the van, broken arms, instruments and pets. I’m sad this part of life is over, but the next chapter is going to be just as exciting. Since I’m going away I’ll leave some quality advice here to guide you these next 4 years. It’s okay to ask for help. Everyone is put in your life for a reason, so let them come and go, but learn what you can from those who surround you. Dressing nice improves your day (fact). Find what you love and keep at that thing no matter what. Don’t let anyone convince you what to do with your life other than what you want. Do not be persuaded- your opinion matters. Do what you want. Remember Chelsea>Man U. But most importantly- this life is fleeting, and your years here are limited, grades do not determine your quality as a person, so don’t be afraid to have some fun. Love,
Dear hunter,
audrey
Audrey & eric harris
lujain & lamya elnihum
You might think this is gonna be a sappy letter where I tell you: “You better try hard in school but also make sure to have fun because high school will be over so quickly and you’ll look back on it as one of the most fun times in your life and if you don’t do anything but sit around on Instagram all day you will amount to nothing so work hard and make lots of friends and do lots of extracurriculars”, but it’s not. I’m just going to say that things aren’t actually going to be that different next year, because I’ll still be here! So no, you won’t get my room or any of those other benefits that people enjoy when their siblings move out. But you will get to bask in my glorious presence while still getting my assistance on all of your homework, so maybe it’s not such a bad thing! And always remember: “drink your school, stay in sleep, don’t do milk, and get eight hours of drugs.” Love you lots,
jainy
Well, you’re done with freshman year. It seems like just yesterday I broke my arm playing Ninja Turtles with you (no blame intended). Some advice for your next three years: go to swim practice (you’ll feel better and procrastinate less *cough*) and don’t EVER think you can’t do something. Also, try not to drive Danielle too crazy since I won’t be there to receive my share of the badgering. Hey, I might even miss your incessant use of me as your personal Spanish-English dictionary. Te echaré de menos, mi hermanito locuaz quien le gustan los coches. P.S. Dear Dee, I know you’re not a fishie anymore, but since you’re already *famous* (or infamous)…Thanks for always being someone I can talk to. For the first time in forever, it will be hard to let that go. You’re one of the most talented people I know, and even though you have a heavy schedule junior year, you’re more capable of accomplishing it than you think. Now, have some fun in SUMMMERRR!!! Love you both,
rachel
Danielle, hunter & rachel scott
6 | seniors | the roar
and we’re off
The Roar compiled the senior class of 2014’s post-high school plans. Check out where your classmates are headed next year.
LOUISIANA louisiana state university
Rob Stanford
California Institute of Technology
COLORADO
Marianne Muyia
brandeis university
Zachary Howell
Alona Weimer
Ryan Allen
CONNECTICUT
worchester polytechnic institute
Tara Lokke
Smith college
university of connecticut
Linnea Brown
yale university
Leah Crisman
Michelle Liu
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA George washington University Sahiti Enjeti
FLORIDA
STETSON university Mariah Kelley
Tallahassee college Hallie Zimmerman
MISSISSIPPI university of MISSISSIPPI Bradley Barnes Reagan Dupre
MISSOURI washington university in st. louis Camille Castleberry
Florida Southern College
Morgan Hafer
Allan Murphy
GEORGIA Georgia Institute of Technology Sanathan Iyer
Taylor Zhang
urshan college
University of south florida Abdul Loya
Alli Elbert
meridian community college
Cynthia Zhang
ozark christian college university of missouri Nicholas Clouston
NEW YORK Columbia University
KANSAS
Hannah Friedman
Sherman Wilder
Patrick Lynch
Bethany college
CoRNELL University
INDIANA
MARYMOUNT MANHATTAN COLLEGE
purdue university
NORTH CAROLINA Appalachian state university
Shankar Srinivasan
IOWA American institute of business
Madison Hansen
Patricia Zhang
Lynnsey Lewis
Megan Lewis
Western Carolina University Kaycey Cermin
Blinn College
Dana Branham
oklahoma state university Jacob Altendorf
Zach Griggs
PENNSYLVANIA PENNSYLVANIA state university Randi Miller
TENNESSEE belmont university Brittany Smith
Hannah Smith
Christian brothers university Josiah Stinson
TEXAS Texas A&M University
MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON university
Colorado School of Mines
OKLAHOMA university of oklahoma
Nick Lyle
Nik Lindner
Helen Reese
Emily Miaou
Texas A&M University
vanderbilt university
MAINE UNiversity of Maine
CALIFORNIA
OREGON University of OREgon
Aaron Schechter Abby Johnson Abdullah Ahmed Alexandra Hueste Alexandra Stewart Alexis Wylie Amber Barnes Amy Bonnet Amy Hejl Anjali Yadav Anna Chernikova Anna Maulsby Antonio Quiros Arijan Horvat Aryan Safi Ashley Dees Ashton Zachria Avery Ellis Bayle Francis Brent Price Brianna Perry Brooke Versaw Brooke Wolters Bryan Conlee Calvin Scarmardo Cameron Kruger Carley English Carlos Martinez-Gloria Caroline Rudd Celeste Brantley Chad Ruesink Chase Scott Cole Mason Colton Ard Darcy Loupot Dustin Boswell Elizabeth Simon Emily Caruso Hannah Holbrook Hannah Moore Hannah Reynolds Hannah Wilson Heather Blanton Hillary House Hunter Chavis-Blakely Ilham Susanto Isaac Venegas Jackson Buenger Jacob ward James Tipton James Tipton
Jenna Harrison John Zhouyang Wu Jordan Strope Jose Chavez Joshua Tremblay Kaila Jones Kambrie Kissman Kathleen Dill Kenley Pang Kobe Miller Kyle Bohne Kyle Pye Laura Ramirez Lisa Maciques Luis Bañuelos Lujain Elnihum Luke Griffith Mac Presnal Maha Rasheed Mari Gherardi Mathew Tipton Matthew Heritage Meagan Gimbert Meredith Lightsey Monica Nguyen Mycah Miller Nahrin Majid Nasan Tsengeg Nathan Romo Nick Boardman Nicolas Moreno Preston Cunha Priyansi Kikani Resa Gates Rickesh Desai Roberto Palacios Ronak Mukadam Ryan Murphy Ryan Roraback Sabrina Garza Safina Maredia Salman Khan Sam Solcher Sarah Ann Porter Sayher Ebrahim Shayleigh Vinson Shelby Billingsley Stephen Schlett Suzy Roberman Thanet Lawrence Tiffani Slaten
Travis Rooney Travis Stebbins Tyler Sevcik
Abdullah Al-Aboosi Abel Ruiz-Sanchez Alejandra Uvaldo Alex Connolly Alex Trevino Allie Phillips Amanda Maines Amber Engledow Amber Moon Ami Ragsdale Andrew Humphries Antonio Castillo Antony Garcia Ashleigh Ponder Ashley Medlock Ashley Szymanski Austin Long Avery Baker Avery Keese Barry McClintock Blake Allen Blake Wilkinson Bradale Smith Branden Becka Brandon Wood Brandyn LeisingGonzalez Brooke Bayliss Brooks Holmes Bryton Daniel Caraline Benbow Carolyn Frankson Catie Ehrenberg Cayley Elsik Chadwin Dukes Chehala Copelyn Chelsea Arant Connor Griffin Connor Smith Courtney Irwin Cristian Monsivais D’Vonte Jackson Daniel Valdes David Buxkemper Devin Colson Diana Garcia Dillon Ufer Donothan Ratcliffe Dustin Buckbee Dustin McGee Elizabeth Ramirez Emily Harris Emily Myers Gonchi Ariunbold Haley Frye Hannah Saffle Harmoni Whittenton Heather Crow Heather Heath Hollie Loney Jacob Tawney Janeth Alejandra Portillo Jailyn Moss Javier Carlos Jayson Pritchard Jelani Drummond Jermaine Kidd Jermaine kidd Jesica Thetford Jessyca Medrano Jordan Dickson
friday, ma Yasin Haque Zachary Smith Zoe Phelps Jose Fierro Justin Guy Justin Key Kalen Martin Katherine Opiela Katie Plott Kayla Hollingsworth Kelsie Fowler-Rodriguez Keola Armstrong Kourtney Graff Krista McCallum Laura Beth Ioerger Laura Bilke Lauren Lindemulder Lexie Pias Liz Williams Lucas Cadle Madi Williams Madison Hutchison Madison Wiesepape Marcus Muzny-Arevalo Maria Atencio Mario Maldonado Marisol Hernandez Marissa Guerrero Mark Mahnke Markho Babasoro Marta Pate Masey Williams Matthew Barnes Mechelle Ray Mia Shea Michael Oliney Michael Riley Mickaela Brooke Slaughter Moises Pineda Nabeel Virani Natori Abate Nick Orihuela Nicole Watson Patrick medlock Paul Morgan Peyton McCleary Quentin Grant Rachel Matthews Ryan Fairhurst Ryan Hendershot Sabrina Hernandez Sara Lyle Sarah Petrus Seth Beathard Sharlen Dinh Shaterrika Felder Shaun Goodman Shelby Wagner Shirin Nayani Shreyas Kommein T’Anna Daniel Tam Tran Tayler Johnson Thomas Hines Tiffany Hammond Tres Kruger Tyler Hollas Veronika Herrera William Forehand Yissury Garcia Yoon Sheen Zach Warling
the roar | seniors | 7
y 16, 2014
university of texas at dallas Samuel Welch
university of texas at el paso Atallah McKinney
university of texas at san antonio Bri Jones Alexander Arseneaux
Kerry Thomas
university of north texas Steven Coté Kayley Hart Eva Araujo
Kristen LaBarbera Katelyn Willamson Lauren Gustitis
west texas a&M university Abigail Hutchcraft
Texas wesleyan university Montana Caler
university of houston Jenna Gonzalez
VIRGINIA Roanoke college Brittany Naumann
WISCONSIN university of wisconsin-madison Meaghan Threadgill
mount mary university
Ashley Contreras
States that are colored in will be home to Consol ‘14 graduates next year!
WYOMING texas christian university Bethany Pierce
Galveston college
texas LUTHERAN university
Kayla Bowman
Elizabeth Bosse
Hardin-simmons university ANGELINA college
Reggie Davis
Texas A&M Galveston
Sarah Higgins
Lauren Chatman
Carlo Chunga Pizarro Dustin Boswell
Texas A&M Commerce Ricky Desai
Ben Steiner
Matthew Heritage Chase Corrington
Tarleton state university Kenny Meissner Gabriel Munoz Parker Smith
Bianca Sevilla Heather Weir
ANGELO state university Breanna Daniel Star Lampkin
Garrison Gibson
Austin college
Rebecca McDonald
Austin Community college Eric Kubeczka
Baylor university Jordan Scamardo Kelsey Kipp
Covenant family leadership college
Andrew Lascurain
mcmurray university
Kelly Williams Naiomi Duran Ejay Day
Rachel Knight Audrey Harris
Meredith Stromberg Megan White
Prairie View A&M University
The art institute of dallas
Jasmine Tates
Steven Hernandez
Lauren Zimmermann
Rice University
university of mary-hardin baylor
Abi McDougal
SCHOOL of automotive machinists Nicholas Raley
Karleigh Adams Brittany McGee
Alexya Steels Sarah Chivvis
university of texas at arlington
DALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
Ashlynn Ford
Ryan Anderson
university of texas at austin
Sam houston state university
Kayce Campell Ezekiel Hsieh Ryan Wagner Nicole Farrell David Blinn Sarah Edelmon Nico Schlumprecht Nathan Guermond Danielle Ndubisi Jiwhan Son Maryshe Zietsman Julianna Masabni Kiara Hays Mark Ebbole
Daniel Purcell Aaron Rhodes Marit Yosko Ebonee Smith
Bobbie Smith Alexis Cadena Diana Lopez Caitlin Williams
san jacinto college Schreiner university Ally Fowler
stephen f. austin state university
Matthew Leigh
MILITARY army
Paige Cooke LeDarius Hill
AIR FORCE
Paige Cooke Austin Molitor Dillon Livingston
NAVY
Jordan Dawson
texas tech university
Shy Mosely
Kyle Barfield Channing Young Madison Farrell
Jordan Giletto
texas state university
our lady of the lake university
Texas A&M Corpus christi Corey Stoll Marli McMurray
Andrew Browning
kilgore college Dakota Beamon Cody Zavala
texas state technical college
wyotech
Jeremy Wilson
Henry Davis Connor White Ankur Annapareddy Kristy Yurim Lee Emmett Kennady Rachel Scott Brian Hong Helena Hwang Blake Steines Chengcen Shao Andrew Choi Alexander Pappas Zavier Habib
Marines
Paige Cooke Clint Hollis Taylor Hannath
TRADE SCHOOL
Emily Savage Megan Quartemont
WORKFORCE Ryan Bevans Ryan Stavinoha Quaylon Wright Chris Day Megan Hipchen
GAP YEAR
Peter Kreuter Sophia Woodward Chandlor Walton
OTHER
Veronica Rivera Jon Carpenter
UNDECIDED Qiona Payton Raymond Corbett
Alyssandra Herrera
Dereck Mills Jessie McGillivray Steven Alcala Gregory McCall Seth Lawder Logan Mahan
Brittany Amador
Tatyanna Ingram Hannah Ridgway V’Jaya Merchant Emily Royder Taylor Olexey Dalia Rawandoozi Karly Stavinoha
Debra Steele Brendan Kiwala Coby Foster Amelia Richards
8 | seniors | the roar
friday, may 16, 2014
photography editor
editor-in-chief
EVA ARAUJO
DANA BRANHAM
Senior pays homage to friends, family Not having definite plan ultimately fine Imagine I’m holding up an incredibly fancy wine glass (filled with non-alcoholic substances, of course) and have just tapped my silverware against it thrice. It is time for a toast. This is not a proper senior editorial. It is a thank-you letter: a tribute to all who have listened, enlightened, and loved throughout these four messy years of my life. This is for you. Here’s to... the one who watched The Office with me until our eyes turned bloodshot red Thanks for letting me wonder into your room every few minutes and interrupt your Netflix binging so that I could show you a really funny video of a turkey named Terrible Tom chasing a very spastic reporter. Thanks for the famous late night talks about Mom who went completely bonkers when she started going through menopause in the fall. Thanks for letting me steal a few dollars from your purse every time I was craving French fries, but was too poor to buy them myself. Thanks for not killing me after reading that I stole money from your purse for French fries. the one who left daisies on my staircase Thanks for singing and laughing with me in the bakery at work and pretending my cheesecakes weren’t horrible. Thanks for joining me on the “big kid” rides at the carnival even though you almost threw up. Thanks for staying up really late and waking up really early so that you wouldn’t miss my calls from halfway across the world in the summer. And thanks for being the most patient and understanding person I have ever met. the one I spent the most time with Thanks for spending an embarrassingly amount of time and money playing ski ball and laser tag with me even though it made you the biggest nerd on the planet. Thanks for living two streets away and letting
me come over every day I didn’t feel like watching Netflix alone. Thanks for taking up half the floor at every dance and making me feel like we were the only ones in the room. Thanks for accepting my disgusting faces and weird voices by making them with me, even when cute girls were around. And thanks for conveniently attending the exact same college as me next year. the one who wasn’t ashamed to ask for an extra order of breadsticks Thanks for understanding that Pizza Hut is the greatest and never feeling guilty about devouring two large orders in about five minutes. Thanks for the exciting midnight trips to HEB and introducing me to all your weird vegan food. Thanks for meeting me in the library every day during lunch so that we could discuss all the schoolwork that needed to be done, but never actually going through with doing it. Thanks for being equally as annoying about everything as I am. and lastly, to the one who danced to the song “Fireflies” by Owl City with me in 8th grade and became my best friend Thanks for being an ugly little boy with me when we both cut all our hair off freshman year and not caring what anyone thought about it. Thanks for being a beautiful writer and inspiring me with your words. Thanks for being annoying with me at birthday dinners by laughing so hard about something that wasn’t even all that funny, but was. Thanks for dancing to Rocky Horror in the middle of the living room floor at 1:00 in the morning. Thanks for being my first New Year’s kiss. And thanks for lying to all the ones who asked if we were sisters and telling them we were. Thanks for everything. Eva will attend the University of North Texas in Denton this fall, where she plans to study photojournalism.
“What are you two going to do after high school?” “When are you two going to break up?” What? So, I’ve gotten these questions— in varying wording and varying amounts of straightforwardness—actually, quite a lot over the past couple months. The first couple times I tried answering the question, my tongue kept getting in the way of any chance at eloquence, and I would mumble something about going to different schools and how really, everything would all be okay. I’ve heard the questions from friends, and I’ve heard them from strangers. I was getting my nails done before prom, having a mini-crisis because I happened to park really badly outside and because the woman next to me began to give me grim and unsolicited relationship advice. She was well-intentioned, but I didn’t want to hear what she had to say. I didn’t want to hear about how she tried long-distance with her high school boyfriend when they went off to different colleges, and I didn’t want to hear how it didn’t work out for her. I didn’t want to hear about all the great things that came from being single in college. What I really wanted was for her to stop talking so that I could crawl under a rock and stay there for a couple years. As if I didn’t have enough to think about—with graduation approaching fast and the beginning of the rest of my life hurtling towards me at full speed—a total stranger was questioning the validity of my relationship of almost three years. But I’m not here to talk to you about the validity of high school relationships, because I’m no expert. I’ve been in a total of one relationship, and it hasn’t ended. My boyfriend and I started dating the summer before sophomore year, when he decided last-minute to go to band camp so that I
wouldn’t be friendless for two weeks there. I, of course, was pretty oblivious to the situation until finally, he held my hand and only then did I discover the motives behind his last-minute camp registration. Since then, I’ve been happily spending any of our overlapping free time with my best friend, whether we’re leaving school as fast as we can to get French fries or we’re singing all the wrong words to songs in the car. So, while I’m trying to figure out what I’ll do next year when I’m surrounded by 20,000 people I’ve never met, I’m also trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do without my best friend by my side. I used to avoid thinking about it, but I’ve come to terms with the idea that it’s okay not to have a plan for everything. I didn’t have a plan for what college I wanted to attend until the week before the decision deadline. I didn’t have a plan for my major until after I decided what college to go to. When people ask me what my “plan” is for my relationship in the next couple months—why would anyone, given my lengthy history of indecision and total lack of foresight when it comes to anything else, think that I have a plan for anything? So, I’m not actually planning to break up with my boyfriend anytime soon, but thanks for the suggestion. And while I’d very much like to offer a neat, tied-up answer to the questions I’m constantly being asked about my “plan”—or worse, my “exit strategy”—I don’t have one. If there’s anything I’ve learned from being on newspaper (and throughout high school), it’s that the toughest questions can’t be answered simply. So I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I don’t know much about anything, but I know that everything will all be okay. This fall, Dana will attend the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, majoring in pre-pharmacy and journalism.
the roar | seniors | 9
friday, may 16, 2014
executive editor
senior editor
Nicole farrell
leah crisman
Experience leads to acceptance of self Pioneer setting retains lifelong importance When I was in first grade, I was picked for a long-term study run by A&M’s Psychology Department. Every year (up until recently), some young psychology major would pull me from class for a couple hours to ask me questions about my life and have me complete little tasks. They never told me what it was for, but then again, I never asked. The whole thing was simple enough: they had me sound out vocabulary words (luh-goo-bree-us, lugubrious), complete math problems, name the adults I felt closest to in my life (How close? Do you see them every day?) rank my confidence in my own abilities, and do all sorts of other lab-rat-eque activities that grew in size and complexity as I got older. In elementary school, they brought puzzles and pictures, and at the end I got to pick out an animal-shaped eraser to take home. In middle school, when the psych majors started giving out McDonald’s gift cards instead of little erasers, I began wondering what the rest of the people in this study looked like. I didn’t need or want a McDonald’s gift card, but what about the others? I have my answer now. I found the abstract of that study the other day, and its headline crushed my ego just a little; it went along the lines of: science jargon science jargon GRADE RETENTION science jargon AT-RISK CHILDREN (basically, it studied how well children who repeated a grade did in life, both socially and academically). Grade retention? Check. I was held back in first grade at the behest of my mother and first grade teacher. The details of that are fuzzy, but I can imagine my comically dismal math skills might have had something to do with it. I don’t know where the at-risk part comes in for me; my parents both have
stable jobs and they give out hugs, not drugs..? Reading through the results of that study gave me a bit of a jolt because it was researching the very thing that I myself tried to cover up all through grade school: I was older than most of the people in my grade. That study must have caught the fact that, academically and perhaps socially, I did pretty well for myself despite (or because of?) being held back. However, it wouldn’t have been able to catch that I couldn’t handle that I was older than everyone else. I treated my age like some unsightly skin lesion: I did my best to hide it. It got pretty bad. I tried to make people forget my birthdays. I came up with avoidance tactics to lead people away from asking me how old I was. I once made my sister take down a birthday post on Facebook because it stated my real age (in capital letters! With exclamation marks!). If that whole facade seems elaborate and unnecessary, it’s because it was. I wish I could have had the grace to accept that younger me probably didn’t have the skills to move onto second grade with the rest of the kids, but since I didn’t, it’s enough to know that I have that now. The beauty of being a senior with mere weeks left in high school is that I can look back at my two first grade years as an ‘at-risk’ child slash test subject, and then my later years trying to make people forget my age, and I really couldn’t care less. I’m not going to advise you, future seniors, juniors, sophomores, freshmen and dropouts, to Be Present In Every Moment! or to Follow Your Dreams! or any of that ridiculousness, but I do hope you find some acceptance in yourself a little sooner than I did. This fall, Leah will be majoring in psychology at Smith College in Northampton, Massachussetts.
The “Little House on the Prairie” book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder changed my life. I remember reading about a little girl just like me, adventuring out with her family into the Wild West. I was enchanted by the journey from making maple candy in the snow to running through oceans of sun-yellowed grass. The covered wagons were vessels of hope and tragedy, and even as an elementary schooler, some part of me understood the reality of the pioneers’ situation. Heading out West was scary and completely foreign. It was full of uncertainties and opportunities for failure. However, these unsettled territories were golden lands of opportunity and new beginnings. Those who were brave enough to try to make a homestead embodied the American spirit. They battled against nature to make a home, and that to me, is honorable. I was fascinated by the pioneers of the late 1880’s. Playing “The Oregon Trail” on the computer was one of my favorite afterschool activities, and I remember creating stories to type into the game’s journal. I would debate different foods to buy before always picking hardtack, worry myself sick about whether to caulk my wagon or ford the river, and would cry out in agony because I had died from dysentery or a gun accident. Those decisions were weirdly serious for an eight-year-old to enjoy making. Now that I’m all grown up and have to schedule my own doctor’s appointments and fill out paperwork for college and make a lot of important decisions, I wish the only consequence of poor choices was 150 pounds of bacon falling out of my fictional wagon into the fictional river. I believe with all my heart that “Little House on the Prairie” prepared me for life. One of my favorite television shows is the 1970’s series “Little House on the Prairie.”
I looked forward to each Christmas and birthday, because it meant I would be receiving a collector’s edition of the next season of the show. It was a beautiful show, and captured the gritty spirit of the Ingalls family and the love that flourishes on the frontier. They don’t make TV like that anymore. I love modern television as much as the next person, but there was a storytelling aspect to “Little House on the Prairie” that was captivating. I looked up to all the characters and admired how they dealt with struggles. Pa, played by Michael Landon, my first TV crush, was an extremely hard-working, honest man who loved his family and always did what was right, even at a cost. Ma was a strong woman who supported her husband, but always shared her opinion respectfully. And Laura, I now realize, was and is me: spunky, talkative, and eager to learn. I shared so much with her, crying when she fell and cheering when she got back up. We both messed up and dealt with mean tween girls like Nellie Oleson, but knew that no matter what, there was a chance for new, good things the next day. I picked Laura Ingalls Wilder for my fourth grade research project called “Living Museum,” where students would act as if they were the person they researched. My mom sewed me a dress, braided my hair and tied my sunbonnet, just like Ma would have done for Laura. I still have the report I wrote for the project, and in it I wrote, “I believe that pioneer times have passed, but they’re still in our hearts, along with Laura Ingalls Wilder.” The spirit of the pioneer times is something I hope to embody as a young woman. As I journey into the frontier that is college and adulthood, I hope to be just like Laura: resourceful, strong, compassionate and a great writer whose stories inspire others. This fall, Nicole will be at The University of Texas in Austin, majoring in journalism.
10 10 || seniors seniors || the the roar roar
friday, may 16, 2014
assistant editor
managing editor
tiffany hammond
michelle liu
Personal struggles overcome by faith Unpacking materialism not easy task Some parts of life are dictated by the choices one is free to make, while others are out of one’s hands, controlled by fate. I was given a beautiful, strong mother and a dad whom until about middle school I didn’t even feel comfortable calling dad. Life decided I was to bear the burden of being raised with no love present in the household from a father—no affection, no affirmation, no father-daughter dances and no worrying about the gun all fathers seem to have when a boy first picks his daughter up for a date. Having no father to tell me how proud he was or how beautiful his little girl was left a hole in my heart, and because I couldn’t escape the desire to be loved, when a boy freshman year called me chubby, the hole grew and burned inside my chest. That’s when life handed me an eating disorder to deal with and a frightening loss of control of my emotions. At this point of my life, I was bitter. I was resentful. I was depressed, broken, extremely unhealthy and hating every piece of skin on my body. With little knowledge as to what a healthy diet was, and much knowledge on how good it felt when I lost a pound each day, I quickly fell into what one would consider anorexia. Then, when my body fought against my best wishes to eat only an apple and some applesauce a day, I began binging on the weekends, consuming as much food in a couple of hours that a normal person would usually eat in three days. After that, shame would kick me in the gut (which isn’t a pleasant feeling when you’ve just overwhelmed your body with excessive amounts of food a couple of minutes before), and I would starve the next five or six days in order to redeem myself from the tragedy of gaining three pounds in a day. Even when the boy, whose words had started the journey of losing weight, be-
came interested in me, the previous effects on me couldn’t be reversed. I was lost in a cycle of destruction and couldn’t get out. My mom cried knowing she couldn’t put a band-aid over my pain and make it feel better and all go away. My dad stayed oblivious to what was happening in his daughter’s life. Life had given me situations that I couldn’t change. I didn’t have a dad to protect me or be that fatherly figure needed in a young woman’s life, and I don’t believe I had the chance of surviving anyone’s criticism of me (especially a person who I really, really adored) without it affecting me so badly because I didn’t know how to find self-worth from my own self. However, I still had choices to make and decisions on what I was going to do with what I was given. They say when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade…but I didn’t seem to have sugar, a juicer or water. So, I asked God to help me out. And He has provided all the sweetness through His love one may ever desire in a lifetime. I finally came to terms with what life had given me and how all I needed to do was to cut the chain by forgiving. I forgave my dad for not being there for me, because no matter how absent he is in my life physically, I know he loves me as any father loves a daughter. Life dealt him his own set of cards, and although I found it hard at times to accept his decisions because of how they affected me, he made his choices, and there was nothing to do but to try to understand with a loving heart. I forgave myself for how horribly I treated myself. I forgave life for giving me what it had. And I finally made my own choice, my choice to love myself. Tiffany will attend Blinn College in Bryan, Texas this fall and plans to go into social work.
It looked a bit like a beached whale, with its streamlined nose and unmovable presence. It was the first couple of cars of an electric train, or a modern subway, or a sleek 22nd century bus. I drove past it in seconds, its largeness a blip in my field of view, tall grass brushing its sides. (Why and how does such a large object make it outside of city limits? Who owns the field? Do rabbits or foxes make litters under its seats? If I pull over and venture inside, will I be bathed in dust and grit, or will angry insects descend upon my skin?) And so I wonder the same questions as I drive past sheds and houses so old I might blow them over with my mere breath: who leaves such things? *** I am always tucking words into my pockets. Ephemeral, coterie, hegemony, axiomatic. Even the largest arsenal of phrases, all lined up in the bullet chamber that is my mouth, can’t hide that I don’t know about the accumulation of things. (Cue myself, March 2013: I am interviewing for some intellectual summer program and arguing that sustainability can be supported by, of all things, thrifting. If only I’d known: when the privileged shop at Goodwill, they drive prices up for those who frequent these places out of necessity. How do secondhand stores get their stuff? Someone buys it and then doesn’t need it. What a lovely cycle of consumerism I so blindly backed. I didn’t get into the program.) So, then, what do we do with stuff? I’ve written before that I champion aesthetics (details, cursive, selfies, the marvel of language), that things can be the backdrops to which we build memories. And yet, the sad dreariness that is a flea market, or even me wading through clothes I haven’t worn in four years as I cross my room, are ghosts of objects that snare on my ankles. If the
ghosts were memories, I’d be fine, maybe— (I thought today, very briefly, about doing laundry in college. I walked myself through the motions. Clothes in hamper, hamper on hip, which is where I got hung up: I’m going to college in Connecticut. I’m probably flying up there. I can’t fly a laundry hamper up. I could buy one there. But where to put it over the summer? Could I find a foldable one? But doesn’t a foldable hamper lack structure—how am I going to perch it against my hip when I drag my dirty laundry across campus?) —but these ghosts aren’t even memories, just costs. Carting things to college, sorting my clothes, buying books I’ll only read once: this is just me, not accounting for other seven billion of us. I’ve internalized the value of things, their heft in my hands, their physical presence, my fingers ticking off the number of dresses in my closet. (How is it that I can justify an $80 dress purchase, but not spend eight hours making one? Or spend that eight hours at a Habitat build, or promoting an Interact project the way it deserves, or cleaning the house?) In light of tossing out the stacks and stacks of notes my AP teachers told me to keep for reference, in light of having to buy bedding and winter clothes and a laptop, in light of realizing I can only fit so many books in a suitcase and they’ll compete with all the cute blouses I’ll compulsively purchase this summer, in light of the inevitability of discarding and unburdening myself of old objects, in light of unpacking new ones in mid-August, in light of knowing and not knowing— —the accumulation of all things is no small feat. This fall, Michelle will be studying art history and economics at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
the roar | seniors | 11
friday, may 16, 2014
advice for underclassmen? Question and challenge everything you think you know, but never be afraid to do what is right. Work hard, play hard, and try to find time to sleep between the two. Abi McDougal
sports editor
channing young
Social event relieves college worries Any senior will tell you that you are constantly bombarded with questions such as: Where are you going to college? What’s your major? Why? This may be the most overwhelming part of senior year—well, not to mention applications, classes that seem to drag on, and tediously waiting to hear back from colleges. And that, friends, sums up my senior year. But of all those tasks, the most dreaded yet exhilarating decision one must make and ponder is “Where will I go?” Maybe that was just me—it seemed everyone knew since day one where they wanted to go, and for most of them it was dear old A&M. I, too, was part of this majority, but there was always this little piece of me that felt like A&M wasn’t the place for me. Just a few months ago you could ask me, “What’s your number one choice?” and I would answer “A&M” without a doubt. But when the answer I received was “Blinn TEAM,” I began to doubt myself—not because Blinn TEAM is bad (I think it is a wonderful opportunity), but because I no longer felt like I wanted to, or should, go to A&M. A&M doesn’t even have my major: it’s just that having grown up in Aggieland and having spent my fall Saturdays at football games, going to A&M was a choice I was comfortable. It just felt normal. Moral of the story: as cheesy as it sounds, college is where we get to find ourselves. It’s a new beginning where, for the first time ever, we get to choose our classes based on the majors we think we want to pursue. It’s a time to meet new people, make connections, and expose ourselves to new ideas. College shouldn’t present us with something we are familiar with. Considering I decided A&M was not the best choice for me, I chose Baylor University instead—although, yes, I’m excited, I’ve felt left out and worried when I hear everyone make plans to start this new chapter together: friends rooming with each other in various apartments we’ve dreamed about and planning their life together. Although I
am excited for them and cannot wait to see what is in store for them, I have been nervous since I don’t know many people attending Baylor. I just met my roommate over Twitter and have only met her in person once. I constantly worry: “What if I don’t make any friends?” “What if I made the wrong decision?” but that’s all a part of growing up. In late April I had the opportunity to be a part of a social event known as Cotton Palace. I spent four days with sixty seniors from all over Texas and a few from out of state, having met none of them prior to this event, in just four days we became a closeknit group who still keep in contact through snapchats, group texts, and a Facebook page. Not only did all of us get close but there were many people going to different colleges. The most popular universities were SMU, A&M, TCU and, yes, BAYLOR. You can imagine my excitement and relief that I now have a fairly large group of friends are all attending Baylor in the fall. After that weekend, my worries of living in a new town with no friends were replaced with the anticipation of starting a new school with new friends. My purpose in telling y’all about my new friends is not to say “thank goodness I’m out of here and I’m never talking to any of y’all again”, but to remind underclassmen and especially seniors who are about to face this life changing decision, don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone—that’s what college is about. When deciding what university you will attend, don’t just think about where your friends will go or what you’re used to, but where is best for you—which one will best prepare you for your future, and the rest will fall into place. You never know; maybe everyone else has the same concerns as you. Don’t forget you’re not the only one coming into something new and the beauty of it is you get to experience it and learn alongside them. Channing will attend Baylor University in the fall, majoring in speech pathology.
Study the school map if you are still unsure about where your classes are. It's a little humiliating when you ask a tall, bearded, older looking man for directions thinking he is a teacher, then realizing that he has a student I.D. on. Alex Hueste a memorable place at Consol? The stadium. Countless hours of practice, games of all kinds, heartbreaking losses and amazing victories. Memories from both sides of the spectrum. Tigerland is a place I’ll remember forever. Aaron Schechter The color guard room/storage closet will always be like a second hobbit hole. Cayley Elsik a teacher who’s made an impact in your life? Coach Goodwyn. He taught me to be critical of the world, honest about myself, and to always strive to be better. Paul Morgan Ms. Howell because she's full of advice and experience and reminds me of my grandmother. And she gives really good hugs. Karly Stavinoha Stefano Salerno, because he never let me take the easy way out. He made sure I pushed myself, even when I thought I could not. Randi Miller
seniors speak out