Traditions are passed down from generation to generation. They bring people together and create a strong sense of community. Traditions are an important part of any high school to help give its unique identity by continuing customs that have been part of the school for many years. It gives students something to look forward to each year and creates memories that last long after graduation.
For the Spring Lake Girls Cross Country team, under the leadership of coach Aaron Andres, traditions are well established and practiced. Some of the traditions they do include going up north for a camp every August, doing the Whiteboard project, painting pumpkins, and decorating the Mel Hall course.
One of these traditions, the painted ceiling tiles in Andres’s classroom, caught the attention of the administrative office this year. These were slated to be removed, but the tradition meant so much to the team that the girls refused to let it disappear.
Every year, starting in 2015, the seniors get to pick a theme they think best represents the team that season and paint their creation on the ceiling tiles of Coach Andres’s classroom. For example, in 2022 the graduating class picked the theme of a trending online game that year, “Among Us.” They painted each runner on the team as characters from the game. Even though that was four years ago, each new incoming class gets to see the story of those that came before them.
“It instantly became very popular with each team,” Andres said. “We have a cross country course where people can’t go see regularly and the tiles are a nice way to celebrate recent groups and having the student body see and celebrate that.”
He described it as providing a name and face for those students, saying, “It provides a snapshot of that year that can be savored and cherished for years to come.” But that all came crashing down this winter.
Andres was told by the administrative office that the seniors could no longer paint the ceiling tiles and the existing ones would have to be taken down. “When I first heard the news I was sad and disappointed,” Andres expressed, “But overtime I recognized an opportunity to voice a solution.”
The team did exactly that. They rallied together in protest and broke off in groups to tackle this problem. Some cross country runners emailed Spring Lake Superintendent Dennis Furton, others went to the local fire department to prove this tradition is not a fire hazard, and others turned toward the general student population and rallied support from their peers. Voices are powerful and each girl on the team demanded to be heard.
And it worked!
They caught so much attention that Furton proposed to have a meeting with the girls. The four senior captions, Sam Conley, Lydia Brown, Lily Gyer, and Meghan Guczwa, along with junior Shannon Losee, met together multiple times leading up to the meeting to create and rehearse a presentation that proves that the long-lasting tradition should be saved. They talked about how important this tradition is not only for the team but for the district as well, and proposed many solutions to compromise on the problem. High School Principal Ben Armey and Andres also sat in on the meeting on March 3.
Their hard work and dedication paid off because Furton agreed to one of the solutions presented to him. The new plan is to keep the tiles in Coach Andres’s room until his retirement, and then hang the continuing tradition in the pole barn out by the track.
“We got to change and make an impact,” Andres said, “The student body is part of the district as well and has a stake in all of this and as adults we overlook that. Instead of letting it happen our students came up with a solution and fought for it. I honestly wish more opportunities like this happened because it’s so important.”
The team was overjoyed with this conclusion and will continue to work with the administration to put their plan into action. Not only were traditions saved, but the action is inspiring to all.