After years of planning and fundraising, the Santa Fe High School community is set to receive a poignant tribute to the victims of a tragic school shooting that shook the nation six years ago. The Santa Fe Ten Memorial Foundation, on the anniversary of the May 18, 2018, tragedy, unveiled the design for a memorial to honor the lives of eight students and two teachers lost in the gunfire.
The design reveal on Saturday coincided with the annual Run In Remembrance 5K, an event aimed at raising funds for the memorial, set to become a $2.5 million park and reflection area. "There is no blueprint for how a community recovers." Megan Grove, Chair of the Foundation, expressed in an interview obtained by Fox26Houston. Despite facing initial hurdles, the foundation and school district finally reached an arrangement, securing a location for the memorial on the school grounds.
The Houston Chronicle reports that the memorial's center will be a "sacred space" featuring 10 large stainless steel feathers arranged in a circle, each uniquely bent to reflect the person it represents. According to Grove, the heart of the memorial aims to recognize the heroism of the victims. Additional elements include walkways leading to the sacred space, small green areas, trees, an outdoor classroom, and a pre-existing monument known as "The Unfillable Chair."
Subsequent to the school board's approval of the PBK architectural firm and Edgeland Group's landscape design, the memorial's detail was met with positive reactions, especially from the victims' families, who played a significant role in the collaborative design process. “It's one of the more special projects in my 25-year career as an architect that I've ever worked on,” stated Christopher Green, an associate principal at PBK, during an interview with the Houston Chronicle. The memorial will also house a 9/11 Survivor Tree seedling, emphasizing community resilience and remembrance.
The memorial's fundraising efforts continue, with the Santa Fe Ten Memorial Foundation aiming to raise around $2.5 million to begin construction. With the collaborative spirit evident in the community's steps toward healing and remembrance, the foundation looks forward to transforming the renderings into reality.