PHOENIX — High school seniors across Arizona and the rest of the country have missed out on a lot because of the coronavirus outbreak.
But some students are taking matters into their own hands and working to send the love by painting a mural just outside Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix.
The mural is meant to pay tribute to the class of 2020 and is being led by a local artist, Ray Rivas. It was crowdfunded by a neighborhood association.
"They can come and have those memories…take pictures with the mural, have that interactive experience that they've been missing from school," Rivas said.
"I know it's definitely not close to any substitute."
Rivas says the mural tells a story. It starts with the high school's logo and "Class of 2020" to depict the end of the school year, followed by graduation day, pictures with family and what will be inspiring quotes.
“To a bright future” is one quote expected to be painted. Rivas said, “It's encouraging for the students that moving on to higher education whether it be in any element of arts and academics.”
Grace, a 2020 graduate of Sunnyslope who preferred not to share her last name, talked about what it's been like to miss out on all of her extracurricular activities.”
"It's kind of hard cause I kind of expected to do all this like choir stuff and band stuff and doing auditions,” Grace said.
“But you know...now that its ended it’s -- it’s harder."
As for missing graduation, Grace says being in front of all those people isn’t her thing. She said she feels terrible for her classmates, especially first generation graduates.
But it's not all bad.
“I mean we'll have a story to tell,” she said.
“I mean that's, that's pretty significant for us...and we'll have the most unique graduation experience. So...there's one way to look at it.”
