By Sarah Therrien, Staff writer
Among many of Indian Trail High School & Academy’s students, Jaci Zemenchik, a General Studies senior, is one talent who has gained recognition from staff, her peers, and the local community.
Zemenchik has volunteered countless hours of her hard work and talent to creating an extraordinary mural for the school. The mural’s design represents all of the extracurricular and core-curricular activities and programs the school has to offer. When it’s complete, the mural will be mounted on the wall along the staircase by Room 1101 where study hall is held. The mural’s display will include a 3-D hawk that is meant to give viewers the idea that the hawk is soaring upward, pulling the mural and all of the school’s activities portrayed in it.
“It basically summarizes Indian Trail,” said Zemenchik.
She plans on having the mural finished by the end of the school year. So far the piece has taken around 300 hours to create. The mural is not the first donation she has made. She has donated many other talent-filled pieces to other businesses and buildings, places such as nursing homes, Mahone Middle School, and the Ronald McDonald House in Milwaukee.
“I’ve always loved art,” says Zemenchik. “Disney movies inspired me. I always loved creating the characters in the movies, I’d love to work for Disney someday.”
In order to create the mural, Zemenchik got in touch with Sarah Gapinski, an Indian Trail art teacher.
“She came to me and asked if there was a way I could help her create something for the school. We came up with a plan, showed school administrators, and got it approved,” said Gapinski.
Gapinski had Zemenchik in her Intro to High School Art class during Zemenchik’s sophomore year. Zemenchik’s drive, passion, and positivity are what impress Gapinski on a day-to-day basis.
“Her creative touch never stops, her art shows constant movement, and it shows her own unique style,” said Gapinski. “She takes on a lot of projects like it’s no big deal, she doesn’t understand her potential.”
Keep an eye out for the Zemenchik’s piece later this school year.
