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Makerspace
Giovanni Salvatore
Pronouns: he/him
Senior
“It kind of started because of the piano, and I always found (playing the) piano more calming … When they introduced the makerspace with the piano in there, not many people have heard about it, and so I was able to go in and just play the piano … I just started getting more used to the space and so I started going there a lot, and because of the piano it was a place where I could relax and create something … There’s not that many people in here so I’m able to just kind of be myself without having to worry about a bunch of people being around … I was having a fight with a friend, and it got pretty stressful, and I didn’t want to go in any classrooms because there was a bunch of people, and I didn’t want to look upset around people, so I went in the makerspace and I sat down and started playing piano for a little bit and I distracted myself with that, so I was able to calm down a little bit more … Recently I had (an) injury and so I ended up having to go to the hospital at one point, and I haven’t been at school the past couple days. So when I came back I was in a lot of pain, so I was able to just go to the makerspace and relax and forget about it, and not worry about anything at school. I was able to let the pain heal up a little bit instead of tensing up and getting all stressed.”
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Library
Sarah Meilinger
Pronouns: she/her
Junior
“I am in there in fourth period – I shelve books and I help check out books, and when a class is coming and they need novels to read, I’ll help check that out. It’s a quiet, calming space … I’m more happy and relaxed because it’s a nice place to be, with all those big windows a lot of sunlight gets in and you can kind of take a deep breath … I remember last year I was also a teacher’s assistant (at the library) and it was my first period of the day … I would get there and take a deep breath and I could listen to music and shelve books, and check books out to people … I get to go there and I get to sit behind the desk and help people, and also read and kind of decompress from my day … You can ask the librarians for help, or you can sit down and read a book, or … take a deep breath, or you can be on the computer and get work done or do a puzzle … (I am a teacher’s assistant here) right after AP English, which is my hardest class, so it’s nice to come here and decompress. (I can) try and rush to do homework, or take deep breaths after the stress.”
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Nook by Counseling Office
Mei Zuch (pictured left)
Pronouns: she/her
Freshman
“You have a view of the hallway so you can still talk to people when they walk by, but it’s also out of the way so you’re not just sitting out in the open. It’s nice alone time, just not being surrounded by people … We’ve been sitting there since the beginning of the year, so it’s like this comfort spot … I have Mr. Lickey’s class right before lunch on B Days … sometimes because of his teaching style, everyone gets fired up in class … and then being alone is a nice way to cool down. It’s convenient, it’s right next to the front of the school, and it’s kind of just close to both (Zenzi Adams) and I’s next classes. I think it’s become habit now, just because we’ve been doing it all year. It’s a cool-down spot.”
Zenzi Adams (pictured right)
Pronouns: she/her
Sophomore
“It secludes (Mei Vugh and I) from the rest of the school and the loudness of everybody else passing. I feel safer than in other places of the school, because it’s a place that we’ve been sitting since the beginning of the school year, so it’s kind of our own little place. It was right at the beginning of school. In the first week we were looking for a place to sit and we just stumbled across it … I like being out of the way of passing people, because at the old Grant I would always sit near center hall, but there wasn’t really a place that you could recede into, instead you were constantly getting stepped over by people … Not a lot of days I’m really (feeling) at home at Marshall, and (the nook is) kind of a place that I know will be there … I’d already been at the old Grant building for a year, and during the last couple months at that building I was actually feeling at home there, and now we’re at Marshall. It’s like a totally different building, it’s a totally different feel, so it’s just another building to get used to.”
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Art Room
Elise Abrams
Pronouns: she/her
Senior
“My sophomore year, one of my friends passed away, and after he passed away I spent two weeks, solidly two weeks, in the art room … just working on projects. It’s like my go-to place for whenever I’m feeling upset or overwhelmed or need a place to just kind of exist without outside influence. I think it’s the one place, especially in Grant, where learning comes from within because you’re creating and it’s coming from your own self … Ms. Rockwell and all the art teachers do such a good job of giving you like ideas to go off of, but then it comes from what you’re feeling and (in what direction) you take the projects. I feel very happy, it makes me feel very calm and I feel really content … The nice thing is that Ms. Rockwell doesn’t necessarily pressure you, like, ‘What are you doing? Why are you in here?’ because she knows if you’re going to be in here you’re in here for a good reason.”
