On Feb. 2, members of the Academics Department hosted an event in DCC Commons from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., which they called What Lifts You? The idea came to Veronica Lee after seeing a mural in O’Hare Airport in Chicago. She received help from Logan Elliott and Victoria Lewis. That mural was the main inspiration for the event, along with a few teacher blogs doing interactive bulletin boards as well. Students were encouraged to write positive messages on paper feathers. The feathers were arranged on black paper to symbolize wings that will lift students’ spirits. The wings and feathers are on display in DCC near the bookstore.
Lee hopes students will take pictures in front of the piece and take the time to read what makes a positive influence on other students here at Blackburn. “I want this piece to be uplifting and light. I also just want to encourage people to keep thinking about all the positive things going on in their lives,” said Lee.
The turnout was better than expected. “I was almost sure that I would end up working with a lot of blank feathers, but to my surprise, every single feather ended up being filled out,” said Lee. She said she enjoyed seeing the joy on the faces of students as they filled out a feather.
A few examples of what can be found written on the feathers include, “my fiance,” “Jesus,” “coffee,” “life,” “dogs,” and “Blackburn.” Christina Sanderson said “this is a great way to inspire students to keep going and see what inspires other students to keep going.”