Class of ’21 leaves behind a long-lasting legacy
Jazmin Martinez and Christina Chattic left a piece of art as a gift from the class of 2021. This piece will be seen by all SHS students for years to come.
A tradition at Sterling High School is that every graduating class leaves a gift behind for the school. To make this happen, the 2021 graduating class used the leftover money they fundraised throughout high school. Some examples of past gifts are campus additions such as benches, trees, and more.
Last year, senior class officers Tyra Brands, Kenzie Sisson, Jordyn Bryant, and Hannah Jacoby came together and thought of the idea of a mural as their class gift. After getting the idea approved by S.H.S. administration and Sterling Public Schools superintendent Dr. Tad Everett, the mural was placed in a hallway of SHS. The mural was a memorable way to show how the class of 2021 pushed through the challenging school year.
The mural was painted by graduating seniors Jazmin Martinez and Christina Chattic with occasional help from the class officers. The mural took Martinez and Chattic around two to three weeks, with breaks on the weekend.
Graduated senior Jazmin Martinez says, “It was a process just to get the initial sketch of the mural before painting.”
With the class of 2021 having to go through covid taking over their high school career, they deserved something memorable as a class gift.
Martinez shared, “It was such a surreal experience to be a part of creating something this big. It felt like I could leave my mark on the school one last time for an important reason. Once the mural was done, it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I was given the opportunity to do something important for our class and I wanted to do everyone justice. I was especially grateful that I was asked to help create this, because for me it meant that my peers trusted me with something monumental. Plus, it was a nice thing to work on right before leaving for college in the fall. I haven’t really worked on much art in the summer to prepare for my coming to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, so it was really fun.”
The class of 2021 deserves the world when it comes to how hard they worked in order to push through the hard times. The gift was a great way to say congratulations to all the students that were a part of the graduating class of 2021.
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