CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — If you were ever a student at the old Carroll high school or ever visited the campus, they were not hard to miss, those senior class year murals on the ceiling of the breezeway.
The artwork allowed seniors to leave their creative mark every year.
It became a tradition that started all the way back in 1973.
Now there's a massive effort underway to revitalize that tradition at the new campus but they need your help.
There were five decades of murals at the old campus and school staff is hoping to find alumni who worked on the originals to come back and leave their mark once again.
Art teacher Monique Scheurich gave 3NEWS a look at pictures of the murals preserved in the last year book at the old Carroll.
There were pictures of the murals that span 50 years and give a glimpse of the decades of school pride.
Each one with its own unique style and story.
"The 80s had a lot of mosaics," she said. "The kids had their favorite, they would always pick which one, and come up with ideas of what they wanted to do for next year."
There were pop culture references in the styling that was popular at the time.
The mural that represents 2018 shows a huge wave with snow in the background. It was created by the class who went through a wild weather year that included 2017's Hurricane Harvey, followed by a snow event.
Scheurich said when it was time to switch campuses a plan was formed to bring the old murals to the new campus.
"Thea Cain, our journalism teacher and Carroll alum she was really adamant about wanting to capture and preserve the murals as best she could," she said.
School staff and students are planning to re-create the murals.
"They'll go in on the ceiling just like they did at the old Carroll High School indoors out of the elements," said school principal Robert Arredondo.
Arredondo showed 3NEWS the hallway where the panels will go up.
He said it will be enough space for 150 years.
"Students will understand the history and any alumni or visitor that come through the building will see their graduation year on the ceiling just as they did at the old high school," he said.
Students like Jerimiah Ellwood are also excited to do their part.
"It's cool to see everyone's own little thing and different ideas, " said Ellwood.
And they are drawing inspiration from where it all began, with 1973.
Diana Diaz helped paint the new '73 panel.
"It's really nice to redo them for the alumni. It's be exciting to just know that I did this, for others too, it means a lot, " said Diaz.
They won't be able to tackle the project by themselves. The group is putting out a call for those alumni who helped create the original works of art to come back and help leave their mark once again.
"There's a lot of artist who put their heart into these murals we would like for them to come back," said Scheurich.
This, as the class of 2023 brainstorms how they too will add their legacy.
"We want to do something about the eclipse, the Barbie move was big this year, maybe incorporate some pink," said student Izzy Mcdonel.
They're also hoping folks will show up who didn't get to create a mural for their class, like the students who were not on campus during the pandemic years of 2019-2021.
Beginning Jan. 17 the group will meet every Wednesday and will start by creating the 1970s murals.
To get involved you can reach out to Monique Scheurich at moscheurich@ccisd.us. Information is also being shared on Carroll High School's Facebook and Instagram pages.
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