Jag Shack: Forever on the Wall

Sophia Lopez, Features Editor
May 3, 2023

   Sophomore Sophia Assis achieved the extraordinary. Amidst all the preparation for the looming testing season, she concluded what she would call one of her biggest side projects yet: The DECA mural. 

   This mural, dedicated to the opening of the school store, The Jag Shack, is a manifestation of Sophia’s attention to detail. With all the stress and pressure swirling around her, channeling her energy into effortless results was no easy task. 

   The DECA mural was a project where everything came together in the end. “I painted as much as I could, and I needed supervision and. Whenever Ms. Ferrer or Mr. Schwartz could supervise, I’d go,” Sophia explained.

   Dating all the way back to October, she would dedicate an hour and a half of time around 3 times a week after school. In order to get the mural finished in a reasonable amount of time, she pushed some of her own commitments aside.  “So, regardless of what I had to do, I’d go. The schedule had to be really flexible.”

   Sophomore, and AP Drawing student Emily Arcia also aided Sophia in the painting process. Despite having a busier schedule, she still put time aside to help out with the mural, specifically with the jaguar. “I’m really glad we finally finished. Since it’s such a large project, it took longer than I thought, even with two people working on it,” she emphasized. 

   As an AP student, Sophia had to juggle this mural, her AP Drawing Portfolio, and preparing for last month’s art show. Not even mentioning the plethora of assignments, tests, and club meetings that come up in the final months of school. “It felt like a lot of things were being pushed together,” she admitted.  

   “I dropped everything to do this mural.” Sophia adopted the mentality of viewing it as a once in a lifetime opportunity. “I learned the commitment that comes with having and completing a really big project and how rewarding it feels to step back and say yeah I painted that, it’s finally hitting.”

    “My signature there. My name is there. Me and Emily, forever on the wall.”