“I can only imagine the disappointment the students must have felt when they could not have a graduation ceremony due to the pandemic,” said Terrey. “My ultimate goal in life and my career is to bring smiles to people’s faces, so this was a perfect opportunity for me to do that for these sweet kids and their parents.”
Piper shared that when the decision was made to close the schools for the remainder of the year, she and her fellow Connections teachers at J.W. Long collaborated together on ideas to celebrate the graduating kindergarten and fifth grade students in a special and memorable way.
“We knew that ending school early was not easy for our students,” said Piper. Specifically, we were concerned about how canceling our end of year ceremonies and graduations would take an immense toll on our students.”
While Terrey normally charges for her freelance work, she delivered the custom pieces as a gift to the students and their families.
“It was an honor to give back in this way, said Terrey. “It truly warmed my heart.”
Jennifer Nolen, the parent of fifth grade Connections student Addison Nolen, expressed that seeing her daughter’s portrait brought both a smile to her face and a tear to her eye.
“It was amazing to end the school year by receiving such a personal and sweet gift from Addi’s teachers,” said Nolen. “Doing something like this shows how much love the teachers have for each student. We will treasure it forever.”
Terrey’s gallery of artwork, including her portraits from Piper’s class, can be seen on her website, https://4castbrainstorm.myportfolio.com/work.