Staff Writer

1. Mitu Bhattatiry
College: Columbia University
Major: Biomedical Engineering (BME) or Financial Engineering
Number of “I Rock CHS” shirts: 7
Advice to incoming freshmen: Join clubs and never take tests on an empty stomach – it’s torture
What are you going to miss most about CHS?: The accessibility of the students, teachers, and counselors – everyone part of the southern hospitality
Favorite study snack: A bowl of Lucky Charms or Fruit Loops
Guilty pleasure: Infomercials
Biggest pet peeve: Impossibly difficult-to-open and dangerous packaging
My bucket list: 1) Get in a food fight (like the ones in movies) 2) Learn how to use chopsticks 3) Watch a scary movie 4) Learn how to juggle
What do you enjoy doing during your free time?: Playing Fruit Ninja or Tiny Wings
Average hours of sleep on a school night: 9
Biggest fear: Tripping down the stairs in high school

2. Kim Le
College: Rice University
Major: Bioengineering
Number of “I Rock CHS” Shirts: 3
Average hours of sleep on a school night: 6
Favorite study snack: Double chocolate chip brownies and milk
What would you have done differently at CHS?: Taken more art classes
My bucket list: 1) Try every type of cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory 2) Travel through Asia 3) Visit both Disneyland and Disney World in the same year 4) Enter an eating contest 5) Attend a massive concert (like Austin City Limits)
What are you going to miss most about CHS?: The mint chocolate chip ice cream in the school store
Guilty pleasure: Project Runway and Top Chef
Biggest pet peeve: People who talk during movies
Biggest fear: Spiders and insects
Favorite memory during high school: Going to Disneyland during the BPA nationals trip
Study tips: Never procrastinate (especially while studying for AP tests or English IRPs)
Most unique skill: Drawing cartoon cows
Scariest Class: Pre-AP Precal
Nicknames: Kimkim, Kimothy, Kimberle

3. Jenny Wang
College: University of Texas at Austin
Major: Biochemistry
Study tips: Effective studying rarely entails the use of a compute. If you dispute me, you are wrong. If you are really smart, you don’t have to study.
Advice to incoming freshmen: If freshman year sucks, people always tell you it gets better – it doesn’t
Favorite memory at CHS: 1) Mr. Damrau walking down the hallway towards me with a cream puff 2) Eating said cream puff
Guilty pleasure: Any reality show starring any of the Kardashians (except Kris – I hope she never gets her own spin-off)
Most unique skill: Predicting who the killer is on CSI
Scariest class: 2009-2010 Calculus BC with Richardson 4^th period . That class was a zoo! (Not to mention, freezing.)
Biggest fear: I’m scared of a lot of things: bugs, torture, failure, and poverty

4. Benjamin Huang
College: Washington University in St. Louis
Major: Double majoring in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology (PNP) and Biomedical Engineering (BME)
Advice to incoming freshmen?: Don’t be afraid to try new things! Make love not warfare.
Favorite midnight/study snack?: Double Chocolate Milano or Ritz with laughing cow cheese
Most unique skill: Twisting my tongue both ways
How many different ranks have you been?: 3 (4, 5 and 9)
Lowest rank you have been: 9
Lowest grade you have gotten: 54 on a Pre-AP Precal quiz
Scariest class: Foundations of Personal Fitness (oh, those track days…)
Who’s the most boss teacher you have ever had?: A tie between the raw awesomeness of Coach Kemp and the sheer intelligence of Mr. Brock
What are your nicknames?: Benji, BenJammin, Bennyboy, Benihana, Asian
Favorite memory at CHS?: Saving the Blackland Prairie
What would you have done differently at CHS?: Get to know my teachers better
School accessories that contributed to my success: Pilot G-2 pens, an agenda, a TI-89, and a murse
Biggest fear: Running out of batteries on the SAT or running out of V-necks
Most embarrassing moment: When I blanked out during an APES presentation. There was a solid 10 seconds of pure silence

5. Adam Warner
College: University of Pennsylvania
Major: Bioengineering
Advice to incoming freshmen: Buy AP books early
Favorite midnight/study snack: Reese’s Puffs
Biggest pet peeve: Boy’s restrooms
What do you enjoy doing during your spare time?: Wasting time on the computer
Biggest fear: Spiders
What would you have done differently at CHS?: Taken Health Science Tech instead of P.E
Scariest class: Russell’s Precal
What is the lowest rank you have been?: 6

6. Srishti Goel
College: University of Texas at Austin
Major: Double majoring in Plan II and Biomedical Engineering (BME)
Number of “I Rock CHS” Shirts: 8
Favorite midnight/study snack: Cup noodles or cranberry tea
Most unique skill: Solving the Rubiks cube in 26 seconds
Lowest rank you have been: 27
Scariest class: AP Biology with Mrs. Martin
Biggest pet peeve: Grade grubbers
My bucket list: 1) Traveling the world

7. Krish Suresh
College: Northwestern University
Major: Math, Economics, or Biochemistry
Advice to incoming freshmen: Find your niche and devote yourself to it
What are you going to miss most about CHS?: The teachers
Favorite midnight/study snack: Cookies and milk
Guilty pleasure: Ke$ha
Biggest pet peeve: Biased journalism
What do you enjoy doing during your free time?: Swimming or playing ping-pong
Average hours of sleep on a school night: 8
Favorite thing about CHS: The supportive, spirited atmosphere
Study tips: Find the most efficient way to get things done – planning saves time
Most unique skill: Working efficiently
School accessories that contributed to my success: An accordion folder and an online to-do-list

8. Dmitri Potemkin
College: New York University
Major: Philosophy
Advice to incoming freshmen: Do IB
What are you going to miss most about CHS?: Mr. Williams
Favorite midnight/study snack: Goldfish
Guilty pleasure: Soulja Boy Tell Em
Biggest pet peeve: When people don’t use their blinkers
My bucket list: 1) Shake Bill Cosby’s hand 2) Travel the US coast to coast 3) Skydive … in a suit 4) Visit all seven continents 5) Eat an ortolan
What do you enjoy doing during your free time?: Playing Super Mario World
Average hours of sleep on a school night: 5
Biggest fear: Falling from large heights
What would you have done differently at CHS?:Taken a foreign language other than German
Study tips: Cram at the last minute every time
Scariest class: Pre-AP Precal
Lowest rank you have been: 47
Nickname: D-Lux
School accessories that contributed to my success: A Graphing calculator, mechanical pencils, and chewing gum
Most interesting thing on resume: My name

9. Audrey Eichenberger
College: Baylor University
Major: Biology
Advice to incoming freshmen: Manage your time wisely and get a healthy amount of sleep every night because late night cramming doesn’t help much when you’re too tired to even focus during the tests. Try to prioritize your workload!
What are you going to miss most about CHS?: My amazing friends – after continuously providing me with encouragement and entertainment throughout these past four years, they acted as an essential gateway to stress relief
Favorite midnight/study snack: Hot Cheetos or strawberry milkshakes
Guilty pleasure: Enrique Iglesias
Biggest pet peeve: People that not only lack individuality, but also crave the constant approval and acceptance of others
My bucket list: 1) Travel throughout the world 2) Create or discover something that helps society 3) Be a guest star in a KevJumba YouTube video 4) Not only run in but actually complete a marathon 5) Visit the Hello Kitty Hotel in Taiwan
Average hours of sleep on a school night: 4
Biggest fear: Failure to meet my goals
What would you have done differently at CHS?: Allocated my time more effective, so that I could have been better able to avoid stress and partake in more extracurricular activities
Most unique skill: Keeping track of assignments despite a noticeable lack of organizational skills
Scariest class: IB English
Lowest rank you have been: 21
Nicknames: Aud, Odri
School accessories that contributed to my success: An alarm clock, agenda, and graphing calculator
Most embarrassing moment: During my freshman year, not only did I fall down an entire flight of stairs in the back hallway, but also my calculator toppled down and exploded with batteries … graceful

10. Jeanne Feng
College: University of Texas at Austin
Major: Economics
Advice to incoming freshmen: Try your best all four years – don’t get into the mindset that you can fix your errors later
What are you going to miss most about CHS?: My friends and the comforts of home
Favorite midnight/study snack: Melon bars, banana milk, or Pringles
Guilty pleasure: Talking with slang, reality shows, eating pig intestines, and cheesy pick-up lines
Biggest pet peeve: Poor grammar, when people sugarcoat their words, and dirty bathrooms
My bucket list: 1) Watch the sunrise from the countryside 2) Learn a musical instrument by myself 3) Go through an entire videogame without referring to a guidebook 4) Try all the flavors of Izze 5) Witness a meteor shower 6) Star in a movie or drama 7) Fly first class 8 ) Go on a road trip with my friends 9) Attend the Olympics 10) Try food from every country
Biggest fear: Failure, spiders, bugs, dying an unnatural death, roller coasters, having regrets, pain, and being forgotten
What would you have done differently at CHS?: Be more involved around the school
Favorite thing about CHS: The affability of everyone and the atmosphere of the classes
Study tips: Don’t procrastinate or cram, take notes, and collaborate with others if necessary
Most unique skill: Being stubborn
Scariest class: Those classes with Julia Kim in them
Lowest rank you have been: 32
Nicknames: Jeannie, Jeannie Baby, Je-Anne, Jiyuan, Skirt Fungus
School accessories that contributed to my success: My brain, 0.7mm PaperMate mechanical pencils, Pilot G-2 black pens, a TI-84 Plus Silver Edition, a HP Pavilion dm4, foray highlighters, and a Liquid Paper DryLine Grip

Members of the Coppell Jazz Club practice their sheet music in the commons after school. Photo by Frances Ruiz.

by Divya Kumar
News Editor

When the word ‘band’ is brought up at Coppell, the first thought in most minds is that of the high school’s marching band. However, the recent formation of a new Jazz Club created by juniors Alex Park and Krish Suresh looks forward to bringing a new type of band to CHS.

Park and Suresh, saxophone and percussion players respectively, are both active members of the CHS band. Both excel in their respective musical areas and show a passion for their instrument. This passion has increased within the last year, when thoughts of expanding the style of music that CHS is used to were brought up.

“I went to a jazz camp over the summer at Baylor [University in Waco],” Park said. “I loved the way the music sounded and how laid back everything was.”

Following up on this newfound love for jazz, Park and Suresh consulted Spanish teacher Patrick Melville, who recommended they form a club and volunteered to be its sponsor. The club currently holds around 26 members, who steadfastly meet every Wednesday in the cafeteria in order to practice. Members are instructed to bring their respective jazz instrument to each meeting, during which they will prepare for what Park and Suresh hope will ultimately end up with a performance.

“Really, we just want everyone to be introduced to this style of music,” Park said. “And we also want to give students and teachers the chance to fall back into music. It wasn’t too hard to spread word and get a group of students and sponsors.”

Beyond being just a sponsor for this upcoming club, Melville also happens to have a personal history in jazz. His beginnings in music originated with his parents, both of whom followed through with careers in jazz.

“My mom is a singer and my dad plays the trombone professionally with a band,” Melville said. “I remember going to bed at night to the sound of his band practicing in the living room. I guess you could say that I basically grew up with jazz.”

Melville allowed his passion for jazz to carry him through college at the University of North Texas, during which he decided to minor in jazz studies. Now he plays gigs in Dallas during the summers and performs at other opportunities during which a pianist, trumpet player, bass player or, the instrument in which he specializes, a guitar player, may be needed.

As for his role as sponsor, besides providing some extra personal jazz music for the club to practice with, Melville also volunteers to fill in for any missing instruments during practices. As for the other co-sponsor of the club, math teacher Ian VanderSchee, jazz may not be as prevalent a part of his life, however, his role as conductor of the band does serve as a rather important one.

“I’ve conducted before for church choirs, and I’ve really enjoyed it,” VanderSchee said. “I was really excited when Alex and Krish approached me to do this.”

The purpose of the club meetings are to help members hone their musical skills and learn more about the genre of jazz.

“The club is really just for fun and a good way to bring about appreciation for this genre of music, which isn’t really focused on much in areas around Coppell,” Suresh said.

The ultimate goal of the club, according to its founders, is to hold a spring concert alongside the official band in order to demonstrate the skills they have learned over the process of the semester. Beyond just prepping for this concert, club members appear to take an interest not only in the type of instruments they’re playing, but also the new type of music overall.

“What’s really inspiring about this whole thing is everyone’s eagerness,” Melville said. “It’s easy to start something half-heartedly with people occasionally showing up. But with this, everyone seems super excited to be a part, and I think that’s what’s going to carry us through.”

Melville also expresses hope for the club performing at non-academic UILs sponsored by colleges.  But for now, as the club is still in its early stages, members will continue to polish their music skills, practice their instruments, learn new music… and all that jazz.