Chapel Hill High School’s student government worked with the Future Teachers of America club (FTA) to organize a backpack drive during the first week of school, resulting in a number of seniors wearing kids’ backpacks.
The idea was to bring the Class of 2024 together for a throwback moment and then donate the backpacks to young students in need.
Natalie Thomas, the student body president, said the various backpacks highlighted the character of the senior class. “I loved seeing everyone’s personalities come out when choosing a backpack,” Thomas said.
Two seniors, Alexandra Dye and Stella Schmaling, president and vice president of the FTA respectively, came up with the idea of donating the backpacks to children in the area in need of school supplies.
Dye and Schmaling brought the roughly 40 backpacks to the Triangle Non-Profit Volunteer and Leadership Center in Durham.
Their favorite part of the process was meeting the women working at the donation center. “They were so happy that we had donations because they had kids that were in need,” Schmaling said.
Originally, Dye and Schmaling had doubts about pulling the donation off, but ended up being pleasantly surprised by her graduating class’s involvement. “We were so excited to see so many students participating and that other students knew how important this drive was to our community,” Dye said.
Senior Sebastian Clapham, who sported a light-up Pokémon backpack, said the drive made the first week of school an enjoyable one.
“The senior backpacks brought a fun and lighthearted feel to the school atmosphere,” he said. “I really enjoyed seeing all of my classmates come together for the first week of our final year together.”
Senior Mia Azul Molina, who is still sporting her Spiderman backpack, agreed that the backpack drive offered her peers a fun—and nostalgic—way to begin their final year of high school.
“We got to see a little throwback, and it was in a way a last chance to relive a part of our childhood,” Molina said.
Not only was this new activity a way to make a change in kids’ lives, but it was also a way to bring the senior class together to kick off the school year.
