Valedictorian
J.R. Bishop, the 2025 valedictorian of Cuero High School, follows a family tradition of academic excellence, with his brother and sister also being CHS valedictorians.
His parents, Doug and Wendy Bishop, encouraged his academic pursuits without pressure.
“They've never forced us to be top of our class. They've never forced us to be the greatest athlete,” Bishop said. “They just supported us in whatever extracurricular activity or whatever our goals were, and so Cody and Leah, both achieving that goal, kind of set the bar for me and made me want to achieve greatness like they did.”
Bishop said his siblings helped him understand tricky science and math concepts, and he has always been interested in the STEM pathway (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics).
He earned Bronze, Silver, and Gold academic achievement awards and was National Honor Society 1st vice president. He was a student council member as well as a varsity football and golf athlete.
Bishop credits his involvement in 4-H leadership as pushing him out of his comfort zone.
“It's definitely the 4-H program that has grownme into a more social person,” he said. “I started out high school very introverted. Yeah, and the 4-H program has definitely grown my skills in a lot of different areas.”
In addition to leadership in the Arneckieville 4-H Club, he is currently the DeWitt County Council president. Outside of DeWitt County and District 11, he serves on the Texas 4H State Council.
“I got elected by all my peers at Leadership Lab in the summer to become our District 11, first vice president,” Bishop said. The position allows him to sit on the state council. “To the best of my knowledge, there hasn't been anybody on the Texas 4-H State Council from DeWitt County in a very good while. That’s a goal that I set for myself starting out in high school.”
CHS English teacher Denys McCarter said Bishop is very determined, and when his mind is set on something, he is going to see it through.
Bishop plans to major in chemical engineering at Texas A&M, aiming to balance leadership skills with a career in the power industry or agriculture.
“We’re going to see big changes in the world from both of them,” Mc-Carter said, referring to Bishop and salutatorian Arissa Carbonara.
Salutatorian
Arissa Carbonara, the 2025 salutatorian of Cuero High School, credits her early years of education at St. Michael’s Catholic School in developing her foundation and work ethic.
“I feel like that really shaped me and helped me become hard working and very devoted to whatever I'm doing, and then just being centered with Christ,” Carbonara said.
Entering Cuero ISD in 6th grade, she said her parents, Will and Chandra Carbonara, were both salutatorians, so making top honors was something she wanted to do since she was little.
“I knew I had good grades,” Carbonara said. “And I'm always putting my best effort into everything I do, so I knew it was achievable. Being able to complete it at the end of my high school career is just really such a special honor.”
Cuero knows Carbonara for her best efforts as an athlete in championship volleyball and basketball, most notably this year’s state basketball playoff. Carbonara has earned multiple MVP and all-state awards in both sports. She also ran track and played a year of varsity softball. She was Anchor Club president and a member of the National Honor Society and student council.
Carbonara will attend the University of California Berkeley on a volleyball scholarship. She will study business and media in the College of Letters and Science.
“She’s going to set the world on fire,” McCarter said. “They both will.”
