Student Life
Student Spotlight - Hayden Coogan ('24)
By Hannah Koepp ('22)
Sophomore Hayden Coogan has been working on IWA’s Student Council for the past two years. As Coogan said, it has been her whole high school career. The Student Council is made up of representatives from each of the four classifications, and Coogan holds the position of Sophomore Class President. She has loved the opportunity this role has given her to be involved and see the “behind the scenes” work that goes into different IWA events.
“We help plan events like the dances, and I am the chair of the Energy and Environment Committee. We’re responsible for fifteen projects. Right now, we are working on getting recycling projects approved and stuff to conserve energy like putting tabs on light switches,” Coogan said.
Aside from being on various committees this year Coogan, along with the rest of IWA’s Student Council, decorated the hallways of the school for Spirit Week. It is a tradition that all of the students get excited to see, and Student Council members work hard to deliver. Coogan’s favorite hallway this year was the sophomore “super hero” hallway.
“Walking away from all of the finished Spirit Week walls was so surreal. Seeing all the work we had put in was so satisfying,” Coogan said.
Throughout her two years on Student Council Coogan has learned a lot about leadership. She said that she has learned that leadership is specifically about building others up and working as a team. Taking all the credit for yourself does not benefit the team, and this is a very valuable lesson that Coogan has taken away. It does take experience to learn these kinds of lessons. The experience in Student Council comes from two seniors, Alyson Ubungen and Alessa Elkare.
“Alyson and Alessa, ‘The A Team’, are super great leaders. They have shown and been great models of how to be leaders at school,” Coogan said.
If you are looking for a great way to be involved at school, Student Council is the way to go. It offers a new way to see the school, meet people from all four classifications, and be a part of school events that benefit everyone.
“I knew I wanted to be involved in my school community, and I knew STUCO would be a great way to do it so I tried it out. It worked,” Coogan said.
Photos and content by Hannah Koepp
Mrs. Gibbons
By Mary Flaherty ('23)
Being well known to Incarnate Word Academy, our Junior English Teacher, Mrs. Gibbons allowed us to interview her to get her insight on what it means to be a teacher here at the 609. From waving hello in the hallways, to sitting down to help you through something, Mrs. Gibbons is constantly providing for her students. Mrs. Gibbons started teaching at IWA in 2018, and has taught numerous students here. “Teaching has made me the mother of 160 students, teaching is my family.” Although she holds that nurturing habit and is an extraordinary teacher, English was not her original passion.
Mrs. Gibbons attended the University of St. Thomas here in Houston, Texas, where she hoped to fulfill her masters in philosophy. She then soon realized her talents and strong suits were in English. Although still having a minor in philosophy, she chose to pursue her goals in English instead. Her decision in teaching roots from the love of students she holds, and the desire to never leave the classroom. For senior superlatives, she was voted “most likely to come back and teach”. She was constantly in the classroom, and didn’t want to leave. Her favorite part of being a teacher is the students, due to their desire to learn and being so kind-hearted.
”I love it, I want to teach as long as I can here.”
Incarnate Word Academy values the education Mrs. Gibbons provides for her students and has given Mrs. Gibbons a family she will never lose.
Senior Spotlight - Bella Coenen ('22)
By Lily Coenen
Bella Coenen is a unique senior that contributes to IWA and our community in numerous
ways. By being a part of school and national organizations such as being an executive
ambassador within the Ambassador program at our school, an active member of NHS, and part
of our district champ cross country team, Bella is an outgoing and integrated member of the
sisterhood at Incarnate Word.
In addition to her in-school accomplishments, she is a valued member of the community
and has volunteered hundreds of hours of her time to Dreamcatchers stables, a nonprofit stable
dedicated to equine therapy for children with physical and mental disabilities. Over the past few
years of her volunteering, she has formed personal bonds with the children she works with, and
truly makes a difference in their lives.
Being a senior as successful as herself, none of her achievements came to be without
hard-work and dedication. She has had her fair share of difficulties throughout her high school
career, and has plenty of advice for underclassmen who want to learn helpful tips, and anyone
else who is simply wondering how to be more successful in high school and beyond. Learn more
about Bella’s journey and experiences as a student at IWA in our interview below!
Me: Tell us a little bit about your journey at IWA.
Bella: I’ve definitely experienced a lot of growth during my time here, and I’ve had to figure out
what works best for me with schoolwork and how to balance my social life with academics.
Me: What were some difficulties you faced?
Bella: Online school definitely threw me for a loop, it made a lot of things like volunteering and
just socializing a lot harder. I had to get a little creative. (Also definitely Dr. Johnson’s
chemistry!)
Me: What kind of tips can you offer to students having some trouble right now?
Bella: Surround yourself with good people who you know you can rely on both inside and out of
school, that kind of mindset and support system will help. Also, if you know you’re having
trouble in a class you should definitely take the step of reaching out to the teacher, trust me it
helps a lot.
Me: What colleges are you looking at right now, and how is your college search experience
going so far?
Bella: It’s a little bit chaotic to be honest, I’m looking all over the country at everything from
small liberal art schools to military schools. But Mrs. Watkins, the college counselor, has helped
out a lot with my essays and college search, and being very encouraging.
Me: What kind of extracurricular activities have you done during your time here?
Bella: At school, I am co-president of the forensics club, I am an executive falcon ambassador,
and take part in photography club. For freshman and sophomore year, I ran track, but since then I
have done cross country. Outside of school, I found an incredible charity called Dreamcatchers
stables where I volunteer almost every weekend teaching horsemanship to disabled children.
Me: What benefits are there to things like this? Do you think these are going to be helpful in the
future?
Bella: You find a really amazing community working together over the years, and it can spark
your passion for a career later in life; I found what I want to do by working here. It has definitely
impacted my future in a positive way, with colleges applications and finding my future career.
Me: If you could give one final piece of advice to those looking, what would it be?
Bella: Finding a friend group that matches your personality and interests really helps make even
the hardest parts of high school better. Also, make sure you find a service organization that you know you’ll love; this was an extremely important part of high school for me. Also, if you don’t
already, you better start liking coffee because you’re going to need it!
The St. Thomas Band
By Elizabeth Hunt ('23)
The St. Thomas Band has been livening up STH football games with songs like ‘Louie
Louie’ and ‘Sweet Caroline’ for years now. From parading into home games straight from the
band hall, to enduring three hour bus trips to San Antonio, the band has worked tirelessly
to support the STH football team during the 2021 football season! Zachary Hanse, the
band’s current drum major, even goes as far as to describe being in the band as one of the
most “hyped, energetic, and overall exciting” experiences St. Thomas High School has to
offer (Hanse).
However, despite the immense amount of dedication the band has put in during this
football season, it wasn’t always the easiest for them to keep up with the taxing schedule.
Were you aware that the STH band learns three new pieces each week for the weekend
football half-time shows? And that’s not even including the music pieces played in the
stands! Every year as the band gets new underclassmen recruits, it is a constant struggle
for the drum major and the STH band director, Mr. Thoede, to teach all the new songs
before each game—this year being especially rough as Mr. Thoede unfortunately had been
unable to attend practices during the band’s preparatory summer camp and the week
leading up to the first football game. Luckily, under the excellent leadership of Hanse, the
band not only came prepared to the game, but parents say it was one of the band’s best
games yet!
“I am really impressed with how the underclassmen have done, because I never
thought that we could keep up the energy and pace that we started with throughout the
year, but everyone has kept up.”
- Zachary Hanse
A definite encouraging start for the band after a year of virtually being unable to
play due the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The St. Thomas Band has done so much to
make STH football games special, so as the football season draws to a close, make sure to
recognize your band as we cheer on the STH football team during the regionals!