STATENVILLE — Echols County High School student Sam Gilbert is determined to leave a mark on her alma mater.
The senior has painted three murals, is currently working on a fourth and has plans for a fifth at ECHS.
The murals are primarily located in the high school building and have a patriotic theme.
During Gilbert’s freshman year, FCCLA sponsor Karen Stone presented the idea of decorating the halls with murals after receiving an e-mail about a rock in Iowa that had been patriotically painted.
Stone asked for volunteers and while many students have helped over the years to bring the murals to life, Gilbert is the only student who has stuck with the project throughout high school.
“I quit softball so I could work on it,” Gilbert said.
She plans to spend at least four afternoons a week working on the murals this semester.
The first mural was a representation of character-building words and deeds. The following murals, all located in the same hall, pay tribute to the men and women who have served in the military.
The first is a depiction of a navy pilot with his plane on the deck of a naval ship. A quote from President George W. Bush accompanies the mural.
The next mural which Gilbert calls the “Rock of Man” pays tribute to Echols County veterans. The mural features three soldiers reflected in a rock with names from area veterans inscribed on it. On top rests an American flag.
“We wanted to do something to honor the veterans of Echols County,” Stone said.
The mural Gilbert is currently working on showcases the fall of the Twin Towers in New York and a firefighter with his head lowered.
Gilbert, who this week began working on the project again, hopes to finish the third mural in a couple weeks and begin work on the fourth immediately afterwards.
The fourth mural will be a celebration of America’s independence; a picture of George Washington and his soldiers crossing the Delaware.
This mural will be Gilbert and Stone’s largest and most ambitious project and Stone hopes to have other students pitch in and help.
Gilbert hopes to be completely finished with the project by February so the work can be presented at an FCCLA regional competition.
While Gilbert doesn’t believe her art will blossom into a career, the project has broadened her knowledge of the events that inspired the drawings.
Stone hopes to have the first three murals finished and hopefully the fourth mural almost completed by November so the project can be presented to the area veterans during a Veterans Day program.
While the patriotic murals will be finished once Gilbert graduates in May, Stone said future murals could be started if a student shows interest.
FCCLA, Family Career and Community Leaders of America is a nonprofit national organization focused on career and technical student organization for students in Family and Consumer Sciences in public and privates schools up to 12th grade.
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Echols County High senior Sam Gilbert paints a patriotic mural in the hallway of the new wing at Echols County High School.
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Expressing herself with murals
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