CCHS holds senior awards night
By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
More than 120 students from the Copperas Cove High School graduating class of 2016 were recognized for receiving scholarships and awards at the Copperas Cove High School Senior Achievement Night held Thursday evening at the Lea Ledger Auditorium.
The awards and scholarships were announced by Choir Director Daniel Montgomery and presented by CCHS assistant principal, Daniel Dodson and senior counselor, John Avritt.
Before awards were handed out, CCHS principal Miguel Timarky expressed his pride in the group of students and shared an inspirational quote.
“Mario Andretti said, ‘Action is a foundational key to all success. Desire is the key to motivation. But it is determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal and commitment to excellence that will enable you to obtain the success you seek.’” Timarky said. “I have no doubt these amazing seniors will have an abundant and successful journey. As you will see by the awards presented tonight, these seniors are on their way to a promising future. They have impressed me with their actions, efforts and results and are a joy to be around. I’m extremely proud of all their efforts and they deserve a moment tonight to have the light shine down on them for all their hard work.”
Over 30 different universities and colleges across Texas and the United States were represented and all together, students accepted scholarships from more than 60 different scholarship funds, including:, the Frank and Ellie DiMuccio Scholarship, the Copperas Cove Alumni Association Scholarship, the Fort Hood Family Members Scholarship, the Clements Scholarship, the Welch Foundation Scholarship, an Army ROTC scholarship, the Morning Exchange Club Scholarship, the Heart of Texas Scholarship, the Coryell County Go Texans Scholarship, the Gordon Graves Green Vest Scholarship, the Noon Exchange Club Youth of the Year Scholarship and the Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful Scholarship.
Awards given included the AP Scholar which requires a student to receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams, the AP Scholar with Distinction which requires students to receive scores of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on five or more AP exams, the American Citizenship Award which is selected by a committee, the Dawg and Lady Dawg Athlete of the Year, Course Awards which are based on teacher selection, the Presidential Award for Excellence which requires a student to earn a GPA of 4.0 or higher and score in the 85th percentile in the reading or math section of the ACT, SAT or the PSAT, UIL Academics and UIL Athletics awards.
There were several times during the ceremony where the recipients received so many awards and/or scholarships that they made it back to their seats before their accomplishments were finished being read.
Nadjaliette Hernandez-Lopez received six awards and nine scholarships and was declared the 2015-2016 CCHS Best All-Around Senior Girl. Senior class president, Kaylyn Kirkpatrick, received seven awards and 11 scholarships and Ashley Prax received 10 scholarships.
The Salutatorian and Valedictorian were announced by CCISD Superintendent Joe Burns. Before he revealed who they were, he encouraged parents to enjoy the time of celebration.
“We have had a very challenging year in CCISD and there’s been a very challenging year in public education across Central Texas with the loss of young people right at the threshold of graduation,” Burns said. “So, hold them tight, keep them close, tell them you love them and know they will never forget you. You may not get another chance to do that.”
He then added that the graduating seniors should let their parents hug them and kiss them.
The Salutatorian of the Copperas Cove High School Class of 2016 is Kayla Wilson, who received three awards and 14 scholarships. She plans on attending Baylor University in the fall and majoring in biology.
The Valedictorian of the Copperas Cove High School Class of 2016 is Laura Purvis, who received seven awards and three scholarships, including a full ride Honors College scholarship to Texas A&M University at Commerce where she will major in vocal music education.
The last day of school for the senior students was May 27 and graduation is this Friday, June 3, at 7:30 p.m. at the Bell County Expo Center.