Standing outside of the large, new building, she absorbed the embodiment of Coppell High School. The thought of new teachers, new classrooms and new faces filled her head.

Mind racing and heart pounding, CHS freshman Shreya Kottapalli took a deep breath and opened the doors, taking her first step into the next four years that awaited her.

“My first day of high school was frightening because coming from a private school with around 30 people per grade, I didn’t expect there to be so many people,” Shreya said. “I didn’t really know anyone coming in, but everyone here has been so nice and welcoming and understanding.”

Moving from The Highlands School, a private Catholic school in Irving, to a large public school in Coppell, Shreya’s dad Mahesh Kottapalli was nervous for the transition.

“At the last school, everything revolved around religion and if you didn’t believe in the same things, you weren’t very welcomed in that place so things did not go well for us,” Mr. Kottapalli said. “I [was afraid that religion might be the focus] here as well, but in Coppell, the pressure of religion is not there and there’s so much diversity and personality in the students and we love that.”

Shreya used to spend much of her time teaching taekwondo at Valley Ranch Taekwondo but as the school year has started, she enjoys being a part of the CHS basketball team.

“Taekwondo was fun because you got to teach little kids and the joyful expression on their faces was really indescribable and warming,” Shreya said. “But basketball is so fun to play and to work with your teammates to achieve something together is the best part about being in it.”

Although she is a new face to both CHS and the Coppell community, Cowgirls assistant basketball coach Eve Engelbrite has noticed the talent and bright energy she brings to the team.

“Shreya is really encouraging to her teammates and she really helps the team stay up and positive,” Engelbrite said. “She has an overall good attitude and I know she will blossom into a wonderful person as she grows in all the areas she may not have had access to grow in before.”

Her new, bubbly personality has also caught Mr. Kottapalli’s attention as she continues to assimilate to the Coppell community.

“We have been adjusting to Coppell very well and we love it so far,” Mr. Kotapalli said. “It’s different, but I see that Shreya is much happier in this school. She goes happy and comes home happy, and she enjoys every minute of it which is all that

matters for us.”

While many may not know her yet, Shreya looks forward to revealing more of herself and adjusting to the Coppell life.

“I may seem shy at first but I’m very outgoing and social when you get to know me,” Shreya said. “A lot of people don’t know me yet, but I look forward to that change. In the next four years, I look forward to meeting more people and becoming a bigger part of Coppell and hopefully Coppell becoming a bigger part of me.”

In the future, Shreya hopes to pursue her passion for helping others.

“Later in life I want to become a successful doctor or something in science because I love helping people,” Shreya said. “My mom always tells me about how it’s really cool when someone comes in and you send them out and you know that you saved someone’s life or you’re contributing to saving someone’s life. For me, it doesn’t have to be a big thing where I work in a big hospital, but I just want to be able to help people through my life and career.”