GAMES
RANKINGS
DRIVING THE BUS: Bridge City’s Woolley has become a leader in multiple fields
Bridge City is home to someone who could easily be described as a future CEO.
Throughout her tenure at the school, senior Addison Woolley has already made her presence known on the football field, via her role as a Drum Major for the Cardinal Band.
Perhaps even more intriguingly, Woolley is a leader among the select few students chosen to run Bridge City’s inventive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Bus Project.
“Back in 2021, our administrators decided to turn a retiring STEM bus into a mobile STEM lab,” said Woolley. “They got all of our engineering students to pitch design ideas. There were 70 of us, so we all pitched in our ideas and a ‘super-team’ was selected. Eventually, 15 of us were chosen to be a part of the final STEM bus.
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
“We collected all our ideas and started presenting them to various companies and organizations, and we raised over $50,000 in funds to create the lab.”
Both Band and the STEM Bus Project are undoubtedly huge commitments to make as a student. Just how does Woolley manage to do both simultaneously?
“It’s a lot of effort to balance the two,” she said. “I’ve had to talk with some of my teachers about it, but they’ve been really helpful with my schedule. All the classes I have are linked though, so it’s become a little easier as I’ve gone through it.”
Given her ability to multi-task and make quick decisions, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Woolley is currently tied for the distinction of being her class’ valedictorian.
Woolley alongside her fellow Drum MajorsBradley C. Collier (VYPE)
“The competition of being tied for first in my class can be stressful at times,” she said. “But, it kind of works out. The person I’m tied with is a drum major as well, so we’re friends and we just talk each other through it. We both take some hard classes but we’re trying our best.”
With all the achievements she has accrued at BCHS, paired with the experiences gained in the process, Woolley has a clear picture of what’s in store for her future.
“My future is definitely going to involve leadership,” Woolley said. “I realized, as I was taking my time through the projects, that I like managing and the organization-aspect, which is why I want to go into the business field. That kind of combines the two leadership capabilities that I’ve acquired here.”
Something tells us that the STEM Bus is just the beginning for Woolley.
No Duden De Nosotros: Mariachi is a Movement at San Marcos
THE MUSIC PROGRAM AT SAN MARCOS IS ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
With a talented group of performers, combined with the direction of Latin Ensemble/Classical Guitar director Juan Carlos Cavazos, SMHS has the distinction of featuring a Mariachi band in the school’s music program.
Having taught at the high school for 16 years, Cavazos has had a front row seat to see the program’s development.
“It’s tremendously rewarding to see how far it’s come,” said Cavazos. “Back when I first started here, if you had told me there would be 100 classical guitar players and 40 Mariachis, I would’ve said you’re nuts. To see what it has become over the last six years is absolutely wonderful.”
The program had humble beginnings.
“We started Mariachi with one student, just one kid,” Cavazos said. “Initially, it was just her and I in the orchestra room, learning how to play vihuela or the guitar. From that kid, growing to 140, it’s incredibly satisfying.”
Dating back to when he was teaching at Eagle Pass High School in 1996, Cavazos hasn’t just seen Mariachi reach new heights at San Marcos, but in high schools throughout the state of Texas.
Considering it’s now a UIL event in band competition, San Marcos Mariachi has become one of the premier ensembles in Texas, having advanced to the State Championship in 2022.
The appreciation for the music is clearly prevalent among his students. But, what else is Cavazos teaching?
“I want to instill how to be passionate about something and work for it,” he said. “My goal is to inspire my students to figure out how to reach their own goals by understanding the processes they need to take to do so. So many directors will teach that same thing, how to be decent human beings but with different mediums. Some people use football, some use home economics, I use Mariachi and guitar.”
In addition, Cavazos has the pleasure of knowing that the devotion for Mariachi doesn’t end when his students exit the stage at San Marcos.
“Even though the program is still fairly young, a lot of the students I teach do keep playing after they graduate,” said Cavazos. “For example, Harvard Mariachi is run by a former graduate. There’s another former graduate at NYU who is looking to start one there. Some of the kids that graduate look to perform at their respective universities, and there are some of my current students who are starting to play with their family groups out in the community. I’m all about that.”
Mariachi has become a movement at San Marcos and it seems to only be gaining momentum.