CCHS Holds Senior Achievement Night
By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
Nearly 300 Copperas Cove High School seniors were recognized last Thursday evening at the Senior Achievement Night Awards Ceremony held in the Lea Ledger Auditorium.
The Class of 2024 has a total of 453 seniors set to graduate this week. Senior Assistant Principal Megan Kenobbie greeted 298 of those students and their guests and shared a brief message before the presentation of awards.
“For the past three years I had the immense privilege of being your principal,” Kenobbie said. “It has been a true blessing to witness your growth, resilience and transformation. Each of you has contributed uniquely to our school community and watching you evolve into the incredible individuals you are today has been one of the greatest joys of my career. Seniors you have faced challenges- COVID - and embrace the opportunities with grace and determination. You have grown not just in knowledge but in character and compassion. As you stand at the threshold of this new beginning, know that you carry with you the spirit of Copperas Cove High School, a spirit of excellence, perseverance and community.”
Kenobbie also gave a thank you to the high school staff and the students’ families for their support and dedication to the students’ success.
“Class of 2024, the future is yours to shape,” Kenobbie said. “Continue to dream big and make a difference in the world.”
Of the 298 students recognized Thursday, nine have made a commitment to the military: Stetsyn Beyeler (Army National Guard); Shane Farmer (Navy); Jamie Fraga (Navy); Nicole Gonzalez (Army); Jayden Jubilee (Navy); Jazmine Letterman (Navy); Angel Mateo (Marine Corps); Jaime Viera (Navy); and Alexsis Voitenko (Air Force).
In addition to military enlistments, Students were recognized for Highest Achievement in different content areas, American Citizenship Awards; AP Scholar w/ Honors awards; UIL Academics; Gold & Silver Presidential Awards; and various Performance Acknowledgments such as earning an industry based certification; Bilingualism; earning an Associate’s Degree (of which 16 students will be graduating this year, earning their high school diploma concurrently with an associates degree); earning 12+ Dual Credit Hours w/ average GPA of 3.0+; earning a score of 3 or higher on an AP exam; earning a score of 1350 or higher on the SAT; earning a score of 29 or higher on the ACT; as well as Dawg & Lady Dawg of the Year.
Different scholarships awarded, totaling more than $3 million as of press time, included the following:
- Lucille & C.R. Clements Scholarship
- Miss Jewell Yarbrough Scholarship
- Noon Exchange Club-Excel of the Year Scholarship
- Killeen NAACP-The Premier NAACP Scholarship
- Mu Tau Sigma Alumnae Chapter of Sigman Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc Scholarship
- Coryell County Area Go Texan Committee Scholarship
- Groundwater Stewardship Scholarship
- Bob Weiss Board of Trustees Scholarship
- Frank Mayborn Memorial Endowed Scholarship
- Central Texas College Retiree Association Endowed Scholarship
- Mirabeau B. Lamar Scholarship for Mt. Hiram Masonic Lodge
- Copperas Cove Retired Teachers Association
- Copperas Cove Education Foundation Scholarship
- Cari Lowery Legacy
- Kenneth Barnett Memorial Scholarship
- Copperas Cove PD Chief Tim Molnes Scholarship
- Exchange Club of Central Texas—ACE of the Year
- Killeen Police Department LEAF Scholarship
- Ft. Cavazos Family Scholarship
- Blaine Radenz Memorial Scholarship (through the Copperas Cove Moose Lodge)
- Copperas Cove Lions Club Scholarship
- Copperas Cove Rotary Club-Woody Shemwell Scholarship
- Pride of Cove Band Booster Senior Scholarship
- Altrusa International-Geslia Kelly/Joyce Wilson Memorial Scholarship
As friends and families of the seniors entered the auditorium and found their seats, a video announcing the Top 10 students played on screen on the stage.
The Class of 2024 Top 10 students are:
- Samantha Parker
- Hayden Peacock
- Robert Hopko
- Madison Sims
- Joleeanna Hair
- Jayden Manyen
- Peyton Brewster
- Emmett Harrell
- Meagan Hunt
- Luke Olson
This year’s valedictorian and salutatorian were also officially announced.
The Copperas Cove High School Class of 2024 Salutatorian is Hayden Peacock.
Peacock is a member of the Pride of Cove Marching Band Drumline and plans to continue with band in college at the University of Texas at Austin, where he will study engineering. Peacock received the award of Salutatorian, the Gold Presidential Award, Performance Acknowledgements for AP Physics I, Dual Credit Hours, AP World History and Python Level I Certification, as well as Highest Achievement in the following courses: AP Biology, AP Government, AP Economics, and Computer Science II. Peacock also was a District UIL Mathematics competitor and a UIL Scholar for academics and athletics. Peacock earned several scholarships, including the CCPD Chief Tim Molnes Memorial Scholarship, the Copperas Cove Rotary Club Woody Shemwell Rotary Scholarship, the Pride of Cove Band Boosters Senior Scholarship, the Lucille and C.R. Clements Scholarship, the Coryell County Area Go Texan Committee Scholarship, and the Bob Weiss Board of Trustees Scholarship.
Samantha Parker is the Class of 2024 Valedictorian. Parker is a member of the Copperettes dance team and Voices of Cove Choir, and she was selected to the All-State Choir as a senior. Parker plans to attend Texas A&M University in College Station to study engineering. Parker received several awards including highest achievement in AP Statistics and recognition for being a UIL scholar for academics and athletics. Parker also received several scholarships including the Fort Cavazos Family Scholarship, the Coryell County Go Texan Area Committee Scholarship, the Bob Weiss Board of Trustees Scholarship and the 2024 Blaine Radenz Memorial Scholarship (formerly known as the Moose Lodge Scholarship).
Dr. Jimmy Shuck, who has served as the principal at Copperas Cove High School since the 2019-2020 school year and was recently promoted to the position of Assistant Superintendent of Operations and Support, said that this year’s graduating class has achieved the highest College, Career and Military Readiness Rating ever, with 98 percent of the graduating seniors being CCM ready.
“The thing that I always say is we have great kids in Copperas Cove, and tonight, what you heard was a testament to that,” Shuck said following the ceremony. “We continue to expand the opportunities here at Copperas Cove High School so that our kids have every opportunity to find an area of interest in a career field and be able to get certifications.”
“We’re super proud of them,” Shuck added about the seniors and their achievements. “We're super proud of the families. They give us great kids, and it's a testament to our community for these kids to come out and achieve all these things and do fantastic. We look for great things from this group of kids.”
More than a few students received so many recognitions that they ended up back at their seat or off the stage before the list was finished, including Steven Castillo. Castillo received Performance Acknowledgements for Accounting Basic Certification, Social Media Marketing Certification, Dual Credit Hours, Bilingualism, as well as Highest Achievement in the Practicum of Marketing, the American Citizenship Award, and is a District and Regional UIL Speech and Debate competitor. Castillo received an astounding 10 scholarships: the Lucille and C.R. Clements Scholarship, the Jewell Yarborough Scholarship, the Copperas Cove Education Foundation Scholarship, the Noon Exchange Club Excel of the Year Scholarship, the Killeen NAACP- the Premier NAACP Scholarship, the Mu Tau Sigma Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Moving Towards Success Scholarship, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Mu Theta Omega Chapter and Pearls of Service Foundation of Central Texas Scholarship, the Kappa Sigma Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Scholarship and the TASB Risk Management Fund Scholarship. Castillo plans to attend the University of Houston in the fall.