A paint brush is pressed carefully against the wall, the maroon color precisely filling the original pencil sketch. He arrives before the bell and sets up his paint cart with the Hawk design an ever present reminder of his goal.

“I think it makes it more of an inviting environment for the students and they definitely like having something other than beige walls,” Ankeny High School (AHS) art teacher Guy Loraine said.

Students founded a group called Freshening the Nest with a goal to make AHS more welcoming. This October, Loraine continued this beautification process in the 2400’s hallway. Students were allowed to help during Hawk Times.

“I think that more color in the school will be nice and make it feel more homey,” sophomore and painter Lily Bullock said.

Freshening the Nest

Common understanding among students and teachers is that the beige walls around AHS are monotone and boring. It doesn’t aid some students’ already dwindling will to go to school each day.

“The hallways, lowkey, nothing on them, blank, you just wanna take some paint and paint on them,” sophomore helper Lizzie Brix said.

Last school year, a group of students spoke up. Though the group hasn’t met this school year, they brought to the school’s attention one difference between AHS and other high schools: color.

“There was a group called Freshening the Nest, it’s been a two year process where we have been making minor cosmetic changes to our building,” AHS Associate Principal Nick Nelson said.

This group has taken initiative in a few different ways. The photo cases used to be scattered around the school, but the students agreed they should be condensed by the auditorium. They also influenced the purchasing of bulletin boards to better organize the fliers and posters. And most notably, they had the idea to paint murals around the school.

The Hawk murals

The original thought was to add abstract colorful murals around the school to break up the consistent beige. ‘Freshening the Nest’ took this concept to the teachers who could make it a reality.

“Our students went and coordinated a couple visits with Mr. Loraine. They narrowed down the focus of what they wanted those murals to be and look like,” Nelson said.

Though the idea wasn’t originally supposed to be hawks peering down at the students, Loraine and the students collaborated to make it happen and it was well received.

Loraine commented, “Once we got that first hawk up on the wall they’re like, ‘hey, that’s kind of cool. It’s nice to have something different.’”

Now that this first step has been taken, the murals are very quickly being accepted and encouraged by students. It’s a way kids can take pride in their school and leave a legacy at AHS.

“I do like that the students have had ownership of it and it’s kind of what they wanted,” Nelson said.

Student-led

As it was the students who brought the idea of murals to the teachers, Nelson and Loraine both left a lot of the decision making to them. The locations for each mural is discussed and determined by the students.

“Initially we wanted students to design the work and we’re still hoping that we can get some designs from students, but to move the project forward last year I designed the mural over in the new wing,” Loraine said.

A common theme among teachers is wanting students to lead changes in their own school. ‘Freshening the Nest’ attempted to create a photo wall outside the nurses office, asking students to submit photos.

“[The photos] don’t need to be of them in the building, but we were trying to get more student representation. To live out a story about what our building is,” Nelson explained.

Despite the photo wall idea not gaining very much traction, the hawk murals are definitely attracting a lot of attention. This displays how students can make changes to their school environment if they take action and work for it.

“I think as long as students are driving the process, [AHS head principal] Dr. Johnson wants to support the students,” Nelson said.