Chapel Hill HS announces honor graduates

• Harbour
• Gonzalez
• Sekulic
• Newman
• Mizell
• Mizell

Abbie Harbour is Valedictorian for the Class of 2024 at Chapel Hill High School.

She is the daughter of Aaron and April Harbour and the big sister to Abbot and Austin Harbour. Her grandparents are David and Linda Hatfield.

In August of 2024, Abbie will be attending Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. She is looking forward to her time in Aggieland as she works towards earning a degree in public health.

Throughout high school, Abbie has been involved in many different organizations including CHHS Varsity Cheer, National Honor Society, FFA, IDEA!, FCA, Ragin’ Red Yearbook, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and varsity tennis. She has enjoyed staying busy and being connected with Chapel Hill’s organizations which presented her with many opportunities. Abbie is a twotime state champion earning the title once as a freshman on the FFA Public Relations LDE team and once as a junior on the FFA Ag Advocacy LDE team. She also earned the title of All American Cheerleader at UCA camp during the summer of 2022 and 2023. Also, her junior and senior year, Abbie was named “Cheerleader of the Year” at the annual banquet.

Not only has Abbie enjoyed being a member and participating in all the organizations at Chapel Hill, she has also had the honor of holding many leadership roles over the past four years. She served as class president her freshman, sophomore, and junior year. As a sophomore, Abbie held the title and served as the chapter sentinel for the Chapel Hill Northeast FFA Chapter.

She served in the leadership role of team choreographer for CHHS Varsity Cheer her junior year. Lastly, her senior year, she became head captain for CHHS Varsity Cheer and enjoyed leading the team in their year-long season. Abbie has also received various awards and has earned certifications throughout her high school career. She has received four Academic Blankets: Pre-AP Algebra I her freshman year, Honors Physics her sophomore year, English 1301 her junior year, and British Literature her senior year.

As a freshman, she earned her Level One Floral Certification. As a senior, she earned her Animal Science Certification.

During high school, Abbie has also had the honor of holding some very special titles such as Freshman HOCO Princess, Sophomore HOCO Princess, Junior HOCO Princess, and as a senior, she was honored to be on the HOCO court. As a junior, Abbie was elected as the Junior Prom Princess, and as a senior, she was elected to represent Chapel Hill High School as Christmas Queen.

Abbie is thankful for her time on Chapel Hill’s campus which has been her school home for the past thirteen years. Abbie would love to thank her Heavenly Father for giving her strength and perseverance the past four years. She will forever and always give all of the glory to Him!

Isela Gonzalez is the Salutatorian for Chapel Hill’s class of 2024. She is the daughter of Ramiro and Lourde Raquel Gonzalez, sister to Ramiro Alexander Gonzalez and Cristian Gonzalez, and granddaughter to Raymunda and Inocencio Gonzalez, as well as Bacilicia and Julio Palacios. She will continue her education at Texas A&M University at College Station, where she will enter as a General Engineering major and define her major the following year. Isela has received multiple scholarships that will contribute to paying for her college education. These scholarships include the Greater Texas Foundation Program, the President’s Achievement Scholarship, and the Titus County Fair Scholarship.

During her four years at Chapel Hill High School, Isela has been a very involved student participating in various organizations. These include being the FBLA Area 6 Secretary for 2023-2024, a four-year member and President of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), four-year member and Vice President of Future Farmers of America (FFA), Vice President of the National Honor Society, various UIL Academics teams, Upward Bound, Early College Academy, RYLA, Spanish Club, and Student Council. Academically, Isela excelled in Honors Physics, receiving an academic blanket for the class. Thanks to her SAT score she received the College Board Hispanic Recognition award and Rural and Small Town Recognition award, while also being nominated for the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award by her teachers this Fall.

In FBLA, Isela is a 4 time State Qualifier and a three time National Qualifier, In FFA she’s received the Lonestar State degree, advanced to the state level twice in Agricultural Sales, and proudly represented her heritage through her participation in Spanish Creed Speaking. In UIL academics, she has competed at the Regional level for three consecutive years in Calculator Applications, Computer Applications, and Accounting. Isela would not have been able to accomplish this without the support and motivation she received from her parents and siblings. She thanks her parents for the endless sacrifices they’ve made and the values they’ve instilled in her, her older brother for helping her forge a path to success and being there every step of the way, and lastly to her younger brother for being a constant source of light in her life.

Natalia Sekulic is ranked 3rd in her senior class. She is the daughter of Yanet Sekulic from Havana, Cuba, and Milan Sekulic from Sisak, Croatia. She is granddaughter of Miriam and Pastor Torres, as well as Radmilla and Mirko Sekulic. She attends church at Cornerstone Baptist Church, and has worked at Taco Bell for 10 months this past year, being promoted to a manager position in January.

Aside from being a leader at Taco Bell, Natalia has also been a leader in many different organizations throughout high school, including being treasurer and vice president of Chapel Hill’s FBLA chapter, vice president of Student Council, a CTE Student Ambassador, and a class officer for all years of high school.

Additionally, she has been an active member of Destination Imagination for 10 consecutive years as well as a member of National Honor Society, Beyond the Box, and IDEA. In FBLA, Natalia is a four-time National qualifier in Business Presentation, Business Communication, Computer Applications, and Database Design. Last year, she had the honor of walking the stage in Atlanta, Georgia, as the FBLA National bronze medalist in Computer Applications, and this year she will travel to Orlando, Florida, following her State Championship in Database Design. In UIL Computer Science, Natalia is a three-time District Champion.

Last year she was Regional Champion and placed 3rd at State. Additionally, she had the honor of placing 1st in Texas out of 776 competitors of all classifications in a Virtual Computer Science meet. Natalia is also a two-time District Champion in UIL Computer Applications. Last year she was Regional Champion and placed 5th place at State. Her other achievements include being the Daughters of the American Revolution Essay Contest Winner last year, and earning 3 Academic Blankets in Honors Biology, Pre-AP Algebra II, and AP Computer Science.

Additionally, through Chapel Hill’s amazing technology program, Natalia was able to earn her Java IT Specialist certification as well as become expert certified in Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. After graduating from Chapel Hill with 63 college credits as well as a Computer Programming Certificate from NTCC, she plans to continue her education at the University of Texas at Dallas where she will major in computer science in hopes of becoming a videogame developer. She was only able to earn all of these achievements through the love from her friends, the education from her teachers (especially Mrs. Amy Thomas), the encouragement from her coach (Coach Anthony Williams) and advisor (Mrs. Suzie Hall), the support from her family (especially her big sister Nicole), and the guidance of God.

Emi Newman is ranked fourth in the class of 2024 at Chapel Hill High School. Emi is the daughter of Pam and Joe Newman and the sister of Carolina Newman. Emi has attended Chapel Hill since Kindergarten, and she says it has been such a privilege to go to school there and grow up with the people that she has.

She is so honored to be here today, and she is extremely grateful for this opportunity. Throughout these years at Chapel Hill, Emi claims she has grown as not only a student, but a person as well. She played softball for three years, volleyball for two years, and was an active member of the National Honor Society her junior and senior year. Through the National Honor Society and various other organizations, she has completed 56 hours of community service her junior and senior year. Emi was awarded academic all mention each year that she played softball, along with hon- orable mention. She has been an active member in FFA all of her elementary, junior high, and high school years. Emi started off showing pigs for 3 years in elementary then took a break and began showing goats her sophomore year and continued to her last show this past year at the county fair.

She won senior showmanship and reserve grand champion. Emi also attended different conventions and leadership camps through this organization and served a year on the chapter team at school as Student Advisor. Emi also competed in career and leadership development events for three years in high school. She was awarded as a “Helpful Hand” in FFA. She has worked extremely hard to be where she is academically and will finish off senior year with 52 college credits along with her high school classes. She would not have been able to be where she is without the support of her parents or teachers and mentors. She attends church at First Baptist in Cookville, Texas and she is beyond blessed to have grown up with Christ so close to her. Emi’s plans after college are to attend Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. She plans to minor in biomedical science and major in occupational therapy. She wants to specialize in pediatrics with the hopes that she will own and run her own clinic one day. Emi will be graduating alongside the people she has been to school with for 12 years, and she could not be more excited to share this opportunity with the people she holds so close. Graduating fourth in her class is one of the greatest accomplishments she has ever had, even though it was hard, it was all worth it to her. She would be nowhere without God, and she will continue to praise Him through this next season of life and every season after.

Jordan Mizell is the 5th in his senior class, the son of Kerri Mizell and Jeff Mizell, and the grandchild of Etta Ray and Dan Case, as well as Yvonne Mizell and Jimmy Mizell. Transferring into Chapel Hill as a Freshman, Jordan decided to compete in multitudes of competitions and participate in several student-led organizations. He is a four-year member of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, as well as the chapter president this year. He has competed in Event Management every year and advanced to the state level every year. He is also a fouryear member of the Chapel Hill Theater department, as well as President of the International Thespian Society and founding member. He is also a four year member of student council and has served as vice president this year. He has competed in UIL Computer Applications, winning 2nd in the state his junior year; UIL Spelling and Vocabulary, being a part of the 1st Place Team at the district level; and UIL Lincoln-Douglas Debate, winning the District Championship his freshman year. He has competed in Future Business Leaders of America for 2 years, winning the 2nd place title for Database Design and Applications his junior year and advancing to the national level held in Atlanta, Georgia, and winning the State Championship for Computer Applications his senior year, advancing to the national level held in Orlando, Florida. He is also the treasurer for his local chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America. He was the recipient of both the Honors World Geography Academic Blanket and the Dual Credit American Literature Academic Blanket. After high school, he will go on to attend Texas A&M University and major in business honors.

Jenna Mizell is ranked sixth in Chapel Hill High School’s class of 2024. Jenna is the daughter of Kerri Mizell, twin sister of Jordan Mizell, and granddaughter of Dan Case and Etta Ray Case. She is incredibly grateful for all their support. Throughout high school, Jenna has worked very hard for her accomplishments. Most relatively, she has maintained a high grade point average, allowing her to rank in the top 10%. Along with academic participation, Jenna has held many leadership positions. Most prominently, she has been class treasurer her entire high school career. Jenna thoroughly enjoys her leadership positions but appreciates competitive events more. She participates in UIL journalism and Future Business Leaders of America and has been fairly successful in each. Along with these, Jenna has also participated in many fine arts extracurriculars. She has starred in ten full-length productions in Chapel Hill’s theater department, participated in DI’s fine arts challenges and instant challenges, and VASE, which is an art competition. Additionally, Jenna participated in the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America: Cupcake Presentation, and placed second in the state for an original Black Forrest “Forrest” Cupcake her junior year. She is incredibly grateful for FCCLA because it introduced her to her favorite hobby - baking. Jenna is quite pleased with her time in high school. After she graduates, she plans on attending the University of Texas at Austin to major in psychology. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree, she plans on pursuing higher education to become a psychiatrist. She recognizes that she has been very fortunate in her extracurriculars, something she attributes to her exceptional support system. Jenna is grateful for all of her opportunities and will always appreciate the support the school, her friends, and her family gave her.