Salado High School Commencement Exercises will be at 10 a.m. June 4 at University of Mary Hardin Baylor’s Mayborn Campus Center.

Morgan Bird

Morgan Bird is the Valedictorian of Salado High School for the Class of 2016.

She will attend Duke University in the fall, after graduating as Valedictorian of Salado High School with a final GPA of 110.68679.

She is the daughter of Drs. Erin and Kim Bird. She has attended Salado schools for nine years.

She has a younger brother, Andrew, who is in fifth grade.

Morgan was active in UIL Academics and Athletics. In Academics, she competed in Number Sense. In Calculator Applications, she was fourth in Region individually and second place team as a sophomore. As a junior, she was part of the first place team in Region and fourth place team in state.

As a senior, she competed in Number Sense, where her team was first in Region and fourth in State. She placed third in region in Calculator Applications and sixth in State as a senior.

She lettered on the varsity soccer team all four years, named to second team All-District her freshman year. As a sophomore, she was part of the bi-district qualifier and named to the All-Area team. As a junior, she was part of the Region IV runner-up and District champion team and was named to All-District and All-Area teams. Her senior year, she was named to the first team All-District and Defensive MVP. The Lady Eagles were State Semi-Finalists this year, winning District, Area and Region.

Bird was a UCA All-American Cheerleader and was named Class President her freshman, sophomore and junior years.

She was also the president of the Mu Alpha Theta math club her senior year. Bird participated as a freshman in Salado Youth Leadership and the Student Senate Leadership class her sophomore and junior years. She has been a member of the Student Council all four years in High School.

She was a varsity Cross Country runner her senior year. She played volleyball her freshman year and was a manager her sophomore and junior years.

Bird was inducted into the National Honor Society as a sophomore and was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

She was an AP Scholar, taking AP coursework in the following courses: World History, English Language & Composition, United States History, Calculus, Statistics, Government, Economics, Physics, Spanish and English Literature & Composition.

She was a student liaison to the Village of Salado board of aldermen her junior and senior years in high school and was an intern for Camp Invention her senior year. She also volunteers tutoring math and is active in her church youth group and volunteers as a crew leader for Vacation Bible School.

She will begin her studies in neuroscience at Duke University this fall. She plans on attending medical school and will pursue a career in reconstructive plastic surgery.

“My favorite memory from Salado High School,” she said, “was playing in the 4A soccer state tournament this year with my teammates, who are my best friends.”

“Salado has taught me to never sell myself short and to always dream big,” she adds. “My teachers, peers, teammates, family, and community have always supported me, which has made me the person I am today. With their support, I have learned that I can achieve anything I set my mind to.”

“Mr. Cabaniss has been my math teacher for the past four years,” she says of one of her favorite teachers in Salado, adding “He has allowed me to delve into mathematics and find a subject that I truly enjoy. Without his support and teaching, I would not be the student or UIL competitor that I am today. His teaching has inspired me to continue my education in the STEM field.”

“Because he has instilled all of the qualities of good leadership in each of his players, I was able to grow as a leader and teammate over the years,” she said of soccer coach Michael Goos, for whom she played all four years in high school. “To be a captain on the Salado Soccer team, candidates must complete summer projects where they are required to do a project about what makes a good leader, whether that be to read a book, create a presentation for the team, etc. Because of what Goos has taught me about the characteristics that make a good leader throughout my past four years on his team, such as drive, collaboration, organization, listening, and humility, I have experienced much personal growth and will be able to transfer these important personal traits to my undergraduate education and later to my professional career.”

Preston Kimbrough

Preston Kimbrough, the son of “Jacquline” Franks and Luke Franks, will graduate as SHS Salutatorian with a 108.23 GPA this week.

He is the older brother of Orrin Kimbrough, a junior at SHS, Tate Franks, a fourth grader and Reese Franks, a second grader.

Kimbrough will study engineering and computer science at Texas A&M.

He took a tough course schedule, taking Advance Placement whenever available in the following subjects: AP Government and Policies, AP Calculus, AP Macroeconomics, AP Statistics, AP United States History, AP World History, AP Physics (Algebra Based), AP English Literature, AP Spanish Language and AP English.

During his three years in Salado schools, Kimbrough has been the lead runner for the SHS cross country team. He also ran distance races for the track team. He was Vice President of Mu Alpha Theta, a math club at SHS. He was also active in Escalera, a mentoring club to help young Hispanic children with their homework.

Kimbrough said that “winning cross country district meet both individually and as a team” is among his favorite memories, along with “learning ‘the Calculus’ in Mr. Cabaniss’s class.”

Coming to Salado in High School gave Kimbrough “The culture of a small town unfelt while living in a big city.”

Kimbrough said he had two favorite teachers in Salado, “Mr. Cabaniss because he is a fair, honest man that so happens to teach my favorite subject” and “Coach Baird because she is energetic and motivating even at 5:30 in the morning.”