Soaring over the Sky: Junior Yasmine Cheng Creates Senior Mural for Class of 2024

Arshia Sista and Shaina Taebi|June 1, 2023

Junior Yasmine Cheng first designed the senior mural by hand for the Class of 2024, which represents birds soaring over the sky. “I was just thinking of being free, being independent, choosing your own path, and when we leave high school, we basically can set our own course,” Cheng said. “I was trying to draw this piece and how I reflected on my past few years at this school.”

Painted across from the ASB classroom is the senior mural for the class of 2023. Every year, this standing mural is repainted to honor and represent the graduating class. Now, as the year approaches an end, a new design is set to capture the essence of the class of 2024.

Junior Yasmine Cheng, who is currently enrolled in Advanced Art Portfolio Prep, created the design. Cheng started by creating a unique piece based on the guidelines of the mural, such as using only flat, uniform colors that are matte, to allow the design to be interactive and a catalyst of creativity.

“When I thought about the design, I didn’t want to approach it traditionally,” Cheng said. “I thought it might be repetitive to have purple, so I wanted to try something new.”

The piece itself, a wide landscape with swallows flying over greenery, symbolizes traits students need to possess to be successful, according to Cheng.

“I wanted to capture what it meant to choose your own path,” Cheng said. “You want to take and choose your own adventure, like birds which can fly free and choose their own choices. And it reminds me of student life. There’s a balance of rigor and how carefree you need to be, so you can leave your stress. But you also have to be resilient to keep persisting and persevering through your high school career.”

Visual Arts Teacher Kearci Thompson chose Cheng’s design because of its unique and metaphorical message that is different from past murals designed by students.

Later in the year, during senior registration day, Cheng said she hopes to make it an interactive experience for the seniors similar to what was done with the mural for the Class of 2023 by allowing seniors to participate in the process of creating the mural.

Cheng used this mural as an opportunity to reflect on her high school experience and express joy for what is to come after graduating.

“I feel like it passed by so fast. But with this piece, I was thinking of being free, being independent and choosing your own path,” Cheng said. “And when we leave high school, we can set our own course.”