Senior Spotlight 2026

To the AMAZING CLASS OF 2026,

By every measure, you are a very special class to our church.  Many of you were practically born and raised in our church, while others of you have joined us along the way and have made our church family complete. Our hearts overflow with joy as we take a moment to pause and recognize you for who you are and what you mean to us.

What has made you such a special class is your collective willingness to serve the Lord Jesus by serving our church.  You are outstanding examples of true Christian servant leadership.  You have used your time and talents to make in impact here at 1707 San Jacinto, and now as some of you go, you will build the church here and in new places.

From Sunday morning bible studies to Wednesday night activities, Beach Camps to Mission trips, the moments we have made are truly a gift.  May these moments be treasured memories for years to come. Not only have you grown physically, we have also seen you grow in faith, character, and conviction. What the Lord has started in you, He will be faithful to complete.  This is just the beginning.

Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages us to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Keep seeking Him first.  Wherever you go, in whatever you do, seek Jesus first, and the rest will all make sense. Whether you’re in a dorm, workplace, classroom, lab, or study hall, let His wisdom guide your every decision.

Remember that once you are a part of First Dallas, you will always be a part of our church family.  The church is not a building nor a program.  The church is YOU.  The church is US.  YOU ARE US.  This means our love and dedication does not end now.  The relationships you have formed will continue, and every staff member, volunteer, church member and friend is but a phone call or message away.

Now it is time to celebrate the end of a season and anticipate the beginning of a new one.  Never forget the timeless biblical principles you have been taught by your parents, Kids Ministry, Student Ministry, and our Pastor.  Now it’s your turn to live out what has been poured into you.  Remember that Jesus is with you, and we are too.

We love you.

Kevin Batista
Student Ministries

Meet Our Seniors!

Isaiah Allen

• High School: Cedar Hill High School
• Future Plans: Going to UT Arlington. 
• Favorite Bible Verse: Romans 8:28—“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” 
• Most Memorable Moment: Attending Sunday School classes.
• Advice for FD Students: Please take advantage of the opportunities that are given to you, and please have a relationship with the Lord. 
• Spiritual Growth: It helped me realize that I have more potential and should work on building a relationship with the Lord. 

Ella Catherine Brown

• High School: Homeschooled
• Future Plans: I am going to be a published author in the summer!
• Favorite Bible Verse: Ephesians 2:8-10—“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Probably, at the Avenue when I was struggling with stuff in my life and started crying. My friend group surrounded me, held me, and spoke life over me.
• Advice for FD Students: You don’t have to explain or justify your actions to people. As long as you and God know that is all that matters. Those are the only opinions that matter. You don’t have to have everything figured out today. When things become overwhelming, step away, do something with your hands, and then try again. Don’t think it all has to be known today, and if you fall down? Get. Back. Up. There is a Japanese saying, “Fall seven times. Get back up eight.” Don’t stay down. Remember who your Father is and keep going!
• Spiritual Growth: It has been incredible! The presence of the Lord is palpable in the area. The love of the Lord flows from staff members and fellow students.

Kylie Bunch

• High School: Ennis High School
• Future Plans: I am attending DBU and getting my degree in Early Education. 
• Favorite Bible Verse: Romans 8:18—“The pain that you’ve been feeling, can’t compare to the joy that is coming.” 
• Most Memorable Moment: Serving the homeless in California. 
• Advice for FD Students: Serve as much as you can!
• Spiritual Growth: I feel like I have found my calling to serve after not knowing my purpose in the church. 

Braeden Castillo

• High School: Allen High School 
• Future Plans: I am going off to Community College. 
• Favorite Bible Verse: Isaiah 37:24-26—“Through your servants you have reproached the Lord, And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains, To the remotest parts of Lebanon; And I cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypresses. And I will go to its highest peak, its thickest forest. ‘I dug wells and drank waters, And with the sole of my feet I dried up All the rivers of Egypt.’ “Have you not heard? Long ago, I did it, from ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass that you should turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps.”
• Most Memorable Moment: At Beach Camp, looking out over the sea and admiring the care and beauty God adorned His creation with.
• Advice for FD Students: Check your heart before doing anything.
• Spiritual Growth: I came to realize what being a follower of Christ actually meant, and how that shapes a person.

Alyssa Cole

• High School: Homeschooled
• Future Plans: I am going off to college. 
• Favorite Bible Verse: Psalm 37: 23-24—“The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.”
• Most Memorable Moment: It’s hard to pick one thing, I have so many good memories. I’m so thankful for the friendships I made and the things I learned about God. I loved every moment and getting closer to Jesus with my friends.
• Advice for FD Students: Seek God for love, acceptance, help, comfort, need, desires, and anything and everything else. Stop trying to distract yourself or numb yourself, take it to Him. He is your savior. He is everything you ever wanted and didn’t know you needed.
• Spiritual Growth: I changed a lot I think, like wanting to be with Jesus more and more, praying more, beginning to read the Bible everyday, and understanding a little more how much love God has for me, and help loving my family and others, and coming to God with my questions.

Ella Coley

• High School: The Covenant School
• Future Plans: I will be attending Baylor. 
• Favorite Bible Verse: Jeremiah 29:11—”‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Human surf boarding on the Bahamas Mission Trip was the most memorable, but I don’t advise busting your chin open!
• Advice for FD Students: Get involved. First Dallas Students has so many great ways to get plugged in; take advantage of them!
• Spiritual Growth: Kids Cove gave me a great foundation for my faith, which FD Students allowed me to grow and put into practice.

Sophia Crocker

• High School: Grace Preparatory Academy
• Future Plans: Study Forensic Psychology at the University of Central Arkansas.
• Favorite Bible Verse: Psalm 46:1—”God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Kevin and Davin showing me kindness at camp. 
• Advice for FD Students: Read more!
• Spiritual Growth: I learned about the value of spending time with just me and God.

Hannah Curry

• High School: J J Pearce
• Future Plans: I will be attending the University of Arkansas and will be majoring in interior architecture and design.
• Favorite Bible Verse: Matthew 6:25-26—“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”
• Most Memorable Moment: My most memorable moment is when I went on the 2024 Charleston mission trip and got to help rebuild and restart a neighborhood church.
• Advice for FD Students: Don’t be afraid to branch out and be a friendly face for others.
• Spiritual Growth: I would say I went through the most growth in my faith during my high school years at FD Students because of the friends I made that opened my eyes and helped me want to be more productive in my faith. I have realized how important it is to surround myself with like-minded people and those with the same values as me. With this, I became more open in my worship and started to see what God was trying to tell me every day.

Grady Felton

• High School: Homeschool
• Future Plans: I plan to major in mathematics at LeTourneau University. 
• Favorite Bible Verse: Psalm 19:14—“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Attending Beach Camp in 2025!
• Advice for FD Students: Don’t be afraid to branch out.
• Spiritual Growth: Students helped me make my faith personal. 

John Horton

• High School: UME Prep Academy
• Future Plans: I plan to go to college at LeTourneau Christian Polytechnic University, studying Electrical and Computer Engineering: mechatronics concentration.
• Favorite Bible Verse: John 15:13—“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Being able to sing and serve homeless and less fortunate people in multiple different cities on the Student Choir Mission Trip.
• Advice for FD Students: Find the joy in everything around you, and look for the blessings God has so richly given to you.
• Spiritual Growth: I grew to love Jesus more than I ever did before. I understand so much more about myself. I’ve learned to rely on God for guidance, for protection, and for strength. I’ve learned that I don’t need to be in control of everything around me, I simply must trust God and follow the Bible and He’ll do the rest.

Katy Anne La Due

• High School: Homeschooled
• Future Plans: Obtain a vocal performance major at DBU. 
• Favorite Bible Verse: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18—”Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Junior year of Beach Camp. 
• Advice for FD Students: You don’t have to be in a big worship session with drums and loud speakers and a lot of people to praise God. There is much peace in the quiet.
• Spiritual Growth: Being in Mrs. Sedwick and Mrs. Jones’ Sunday School class greatly encouraged me in my faith. They challenged me to really think and dive deeper into the Bible. 

Chandler Landers

• High School: Prestonwood Christian Academy
• Future Plans: Attend Texas Tech University.
• Favorite Bible Verse: I Peter 4:10—”As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Enjoyed student friendships.
• Advice for FD Students: Get involved, be engaged, and be consistent. Develop your own personal relationship with the Lord. 
• Spiritual Growth: Spiritual development was greatly enhanced through Freedom Weekend experiences at Prestonwood Baptist Church.

Levi Leite

• High School: Homeschool
• Future Plans: Online college classes from home and another year of high school baseball. 
• Favorite Bible Verse: Psalm 28:7—”The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Rapping in the Dallas Christmas Spectacular
• Advice for FD Students: Soak everything up because it’ll fly by, and always keep your relationship with God above everything else in your life.
• Spiritual Growth: I really started to understand exactly how much I owe God and how much I need, not just a casual relationship with Him, but a deep relationship with Him.

William Mitchell

• High School: J.J. Pearce High School
• Future Plans: Attending Auburn University to major in Business and Economics.
• Favorite Bible Verse: Colossians 3:23—“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people.” 
• Most Memorable Moment: Going to Mt. Lebanon for camp. 
• Advice for FD Students: Bring your bible and notebook, you never know what you are going to learn.
• Spiritual Growth: I’ve loved all of my small group teachers each year.

Eryn Pineda

• High School: Homeschooled
• Future Plans: After graduation, I plan on finding a job and serving here at First Baptist Dallas while I pray about what God has planned for my future.
• Favorite Bible Verse: Psalm 139:14—”I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Too many good memories to choose just one!
• Advice for FD Students: Be yourself and don’t worry about what others think of you!
• Spiritual Growth: I’ve gained a better understanding of God’s Word, and my prayer life has grown.

Natalie Rodriguez

• High School: North Forney High School
• Future Plans: Go to Texas A&M and major in Biomedical Sciences to further my pursuit of becoming an orthodontist.
• Favorite Bible Verse: Matthew 5:14-16—”You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Getting a flower on my birthday and celebrating with the girls in my small group.
• Advice for FD Students: To enjoy all the moments you have in your senior year because they go by so fast.
• Spiritual Growth: I was more encouraged to read my Bible more and felt closer to God.

Romeo Salas

• High School: John Horn High School
• Future Plans: Continue working in commercial plumbing and apply to the Dallas police department.
• Favorite Bible Verse: Genesis 3:19—“By the sweat of your face, You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Beach Camps
• Advice for FD Students: Whatever you do, don’t give up.
• Spiritual Growth: I started to serve others just as Christ served others.

Elijah Sanders

• High School: Coram Deo Academy
• Future Plans: Pursue the PT track at Oklahoma Baptist. 
• Favorite Bible Verse: Hebrews 12:1-2—”Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Hanging out at the Avenue and going to the Stars game.
• Advice for FD Students: Keep in touch with God and take advantage of the First Dallas staff while you have them. 
• Spiritual Growth: Through mentors, I was able to learn more about God and grow in my faith. 

Ivan Swigart

• High School: Homeschooled 
• Future Plans: Attend Baylor University
• Favorite Bible Verse: 2 Timothy 2:13—“If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
• Most Memorable Moment: One of my most memorable moments from FD Students is from a night at The Avenue. The time spent with friends was refreshing and fun! The conversations with leaders were helpful and encouraging. And the discussion regarding the message was absolutely wonderful!
• Advice for FD Students: I would tell younger students to not be afraid to ask for help, and create strong connections with leaders and peers. Discover a place to serve the Lord with the gifts He has given you.
• Spiritual Growth: FD Students let me meet so many Godly leaders and friends who have greatly influenced and inspired my walk with God. FD Students helped me see that it’s ok to ask for help when going through difficult times.

Caleb Valle

• High School: Alpha Kappa Academy
• Future Plans: Dallas College Richland Campus
• Favorite Bible Verse: James 1:22—”But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
• Most Memorable Moment: Going to the San Antonio mission trip right after the pandemic felt like my life coming back together after a crazy year prior. God blessed me with the opportunity to go when my family didn’t have the money to go.
• Advice for FD Students: Don’t follow the world follow God and He will give you more wisdom. Love God and love people. 
• Spiritual Growth: Personally, I can be a bit of an introvert in conversations sometimes. But going to five mission trips in FB Students has taught me that even despite that, sharing God’s Word is important to people who need it and has encouraged me more to spread God’s Word even if you’re not on a mission trip.