Students paint symbols of hope near hall where, one year ago, tragedy struck
The lily of the valley enchants with its white, bell-shaped blooms dangling from a delicate, arched stem.
In Christianity, the flower is said to have blossomed from the Virgin Mary’s tears of grief during Jesus’s crucifixion. In the Victorian era, the flower symbolized a return to happiness, making it a hopeful gift to give friends experiencing hardship.
The bloom is also the May birth month flower for Mason Schermerhorn, one of the Apalachee High School victims who, on Sept. 4, one year ago, was fatally shot. He was only 14.
When the school’s recovery specialist, Kelcie Zimmer, met with Schermerhorn’s mother to ask her what she might like to see painted on one of the school’s walls as part of a planned mural, Schermerhorn knew her answer: a lily of the valley.
“It is important to her symbolically,” Zimmer said. “We incorporated it into the mural. It will have 11 buds on it, which represent all 11 of our (wounded) victims from that day. We know those are just the physical victims. An entire school and entire community could really be labeled the victim here.”
Of the 11 blooms, four will be outlined in pink to represent those who died: two students — Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14 — and two teachers — Richard Aspinwall, a 39-year-old math teacher and assistant football coach, and Cristina Irimie, a 53-year-old math teacher.
The mural, which is underway and will be finished next week, is a collaboration between the school, Atlanta artist Elaine Stephenson and Paint Love, a Georgia nonprofit that delivers arts programming to schools and youth-serving organizations. Paint Love’s projects are artist-led and combine creative experiences with emotional regulation tools and reflection.
About six months ago, shortly after Zimmer took on the role of recovery specialist, she contacted Paint Love, looking for help to brighten a school hallway in time for the one-year anniversary of the school’s tragedy.
Before Stephenson designed the mural, she, Zimmer and members of Paint Love’s staff met with students, faculty and parents to gather ideas. Art students made paintings and drawings. A survey collected suggestions. Utilizing the feedback, Stephenson sketched a plan.
The lily of the valley is just one of several symbols incorporated into the painting.
A colorful butterfly, having transcended from its cocoon, is central to the painting.
Four wildcat paw prints are on the wings, one for each person lost.
A lotus flower is a symbol of rebirth and regeneration.
“A sunflower reaches for the light,” Stephenson said.
The location of the mural is meaningful. It is near J-Hall, where the shooting occurred. It is the point of unity where three hallways intersect. It is the first wall faculty sees when entering the school.
And it is the wall that bridges the school’s counseling offices (where two full-time therapists are now available for students daily) and a new room called the Wildcat Wellness Den (a space Zimmer spearheaded for students to retreat, regulate and find calm).
Last week, Stephenson painted the first outline of the mural. Over the past week, students have come in groups to fill in sections. The groups are the same Wellness Wednesday cohorts that were together during second period of first semester last year when the shooting occurred.
“They can choose to go paint or not, but they’re at least meeting at the mural with people that mean something to them, who have been through something with them,” school principal Jessica Rehberg said. “They can go through the art therapy together as a group.”
The butterfly on the mural is not just aesthetically uplifting. It also offers a backdrop for photos.
“It’s a large enough butterfly that the students can pose in front of the mural and become part of it — like they are the butterfly — coming together through the change as a community,” Stephenson said.
Across its wings will read the school’s enduring motto: “Chee Strong.”
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