In anticipation of the school year, the Waldrep family spends their summer helping to prepare for numerous events and fundraisers, sacrificing their free time for the betterment of Texas High School.
Susan Waldrep holds the role of the student activities coordinator for Texas High School. She started as an English teacher in the fall of 1997 while instructing leadership classes on the side. As she progressively became more involved in Student Council (STUCO), she switched over to the leadership program, where she currently works.
“When I was in 5th grade, we had to write about what we wanted to be when we grew up, [and] I wanted to be a Texas High cheerleader. I often think of that experience and know that I really did grow up to be a THS cheerleader,” S. Waldrep said. “Student activities and promoting the school spirit usually falls under my category.”
Bringing the school together to celebrate students showcases the supportive nature of Texas High, as well as how well STUCO and Leadership work together to elevate others.
“We started doing it broader and broader, and we sent it to our STUCO friends all across the state of Texas,” S. Waldrep said. “He won out of everybody in the nation [who] got to do this.”
By her side, her loving husband, Roger Waldrep, attends her class regularly, helping the students with their activities.
“[I] hopefully [help] in a positive way, I enjoy doing anything [to help],” R. Waldrep said. “From cooking for the kids on student council nights [to] helping [with] athletic trips or anything else [that is] needed.”
Mr. Waldrep has the privilege of watching Mrs. Waldrep’s students grow from adolescents to young adults, helping them gain important skills while also letting them stretch out their wings and learn on their own.
“[I enjoy] watching how the kids develop from the time they’re freshmen to seniors. As they grow from freshmen to sophomores, [they learn more about how to become a leader], so by the time they join Leadership their junior year, they understand what it’s all about,” R. Waldrep said. “My favorite thing [is] watching kids develop, learn, and mature as students and leaders.”
To carry on the tradition, the Waldreps’ daughter, Courtney, now works as a cheer coach at THS. She runs the cheerleading program while spending her free time helping them with leadership and STUCO. Along with her mother, Courtney enjoys partaking in the Texas High school spirit.
“I like all the Texas High traditions,” C. Waldrep said. “Sometimes [I] don’t think about it until we go to other schools [and] just that some of the things that we kind of take for granted.”
Even though she has only been a member of the Tiger faculty team for a short period of time, her favorite memories consist of the trips the cheer team goes on.
“Cheer would travel with any team that went to state,” C. Waldrep said. “Any money that was left over, the principal would pay in their leftover funds towards the end of the year for us to go to state [meets].”
Each one of these family members hold a special place in Texas High history, and hopefully, the legacy continues in the future.
“I want to see all of our students succeed and be happy. I want staff and students to be proud to be Tigers,” S. Waldrep said. “I want everyone to have the best possible high school experience and positive memories to last a lifetime. I’ll miss the people when I retire [and] the opportunity to influence young leaders.”
