From the Thomas Fire to COVID-19, the OVS Senior class has faced many challenges and has always overcome them as a team. Little did I know one of our biggest obstacles would simply be the job of crafting a senior project and ‘senior merch’ to share and wear proudly with my fellow classmates.
As OVS tradition goes, every year the senior class picks a “project” or class gift dedicated to the school to show our gratitude for all that OVS has done for us throughout our time here. The class of 2021 decided we all would like to give a new scoreboard to the soccer and baseball field.
Each senior class, starting in their freshman year, begins raising funds for their senior year to use on the class gift as well as senior merch. Collectively, we discussed what we felt would be a useful yet meaningful gift to share with the future classes.
We decided that the addition of a scoreboard would bring a lot of use and practicality to the sports program, and could be used for many years to come.
It will be exciting and gratifying when our class returns to visit the campus that gave us so much and to see what we have given back to it.
Although the process of the scoreboard seems simple in theory, it has been quite a challenge especially for myself and Adam Pepper-Macias, as we are the senior class representatives. The responsibility of guiding our class and creating the class project as well as merch falls on our shoulders.
The biggest challenge following the scoreboard has been trying to contact alumni to share the news and receive feedback as well as financial support. We had enlisted a smaller team
of seniors to construct emails and send them out to alums and those who greatly value OVS sports, especially baseball.
Not only has the class project challenged us, but creating the senior merchandise to wear proudly has been more difficult to do than I would have imagined. With the circumstances surrounding the COVID 19 pandemic and businesses operating with new rules and regulations, it has been a process of trial and error.
Personally, I have taken the responsibility of heading the senior merch department, contacting companies, and conducting polls and surveys trying to decide on what we as a class want our merch to look like.
It has been simple enough trying to collect information from the 21 seniors on sizing and color preference, and finalizing the design that will be embroidered on the decided pull-over crewneck sweatshirts, but after many failed attempts and companies turning down the project, it felt like we were never going to get our beloved merch.
But recently my luck changed after approaching OVS Upper Campus Headmaster Craig Floyd, and asking for his assistance upper hand on finding a company who will want to follow through with the rest of the project. After months of struggle and let down, we finally were told that we will be getting our much-awaited merch. The sweatshirts will be arriving in less than a month.
Overall, our senior year collectively has been a great challenge, whether it be due to the COVID-19 pandemic or simply trying to order and create custom sweatshirts and give back to our school.