Losing someone you care about is difficult. A group of Carroll County High School students are proposing the creation of a memorial garden on their campus to help deal with losses.
Ruby Atilano Zarate, Kevin Gutierrez Herrera, Lizeth Aguilar and Heidi Lopez are part of the Project-Based Learning class that is identifying a need within their school and working to find solutions. CCHS has selected 50 seniors to be part of the pilot project. They all have the same math and English teachers, Joseph Creager and Kevin States, and work on their projects every Friday while incorporating them into their classes the rest of the week. Work-Based Learning Coordinator Jeff Fremin advises the PBL students.
“A year ago one of our friends passed away. It affected us personally,” said Heidi Lopez.
The students said they saw people were sad and there was no place for them to gather to talk about their experience.
“This will give them a place to sit and talk about their feelings and also memorialize the one who passed away,” Heidi added.
They are proposing the garden surround an existing tree and marker for CCHS teacher Tom Buchanan, who passed away during the COVID pandemic.
Their vision includes planting hydrangeas and roses in a semi-circle, placing a bench built with the help of the Carroll County Area Technology Center’s carpentry class and erecting a plaque that says “Once A Panther, Always A Panther” with the aid of the ATC welding class.