A garden built from grief now stands at the south entrance of Marv Moorehead Memorial Stadium in Upper Arlington, dedicated Friday to a teenager who spent more than five years fighting cancer before his death in 2024. The Hope Garden honors Sam Short and, through six stones and a planned rock bearing a QR code, seven other Upper Arlington students who have also died.
Sam's parents, Tori and Mike Short, conceived the project after their son's death, according to NBC4 WCMH-TV. Mike Short said it was Tori who first suggested honoring Sam the way the district already recognized students for championships and academic achievements, an idea that grew into a permanent space rather than a one-time tribute. The Upper Arlington school district donated the land for the garden, and the project came together through private donations rather than public funding.
Tori Short told the station the community made the project possible, and she said society as a whole struggles to deal with grief after a student dies. She described wanting the garden to give people a place to acknowledge hardship and figure out their next best step forward, rather than a spot defined only by sorrow.
According to a 2023 study available through the National Institutes of Health, 70% of American teachers reported having at least one grieving student in their classroom.
A Garden Shaped by One Family's Story
The six stones in the Hope Garden represent each member of the Short family, a family of six, according to the same NBC4 report. Plaques throughout the space remember seven other students who have died, and organizers plan to add a rock with a QR code that will link to information about each of the honored students.
The garden's design draws directly from the motto Sam adopted during his illness: “you can do hard things.” He was diagnosed with spinal cancer in 2018 and fought the disease for five and a half years, according to Upper Arlington Schools. Local landscape architect Aaron Chew and Cornwell Landscaping worked alongside district administrators and the Short family to design and build the garden, the district said.
A Life Marked by Milestones and Resilience
Sam completed his academic requirements early, in December 2023, making him the first graduate of Upper Arlington High School's 100th graduating class before his death the following April, per district records. During his treatment, building Star Wars Legos doubled as physical therapy for his hand function, according to the student newspaper Arlingtonian, and the hobby also helped him form connections with other pediatric cancer patients.
In April 2022, at age 16, Sam was named an honorary U.S. Marine at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina after completing a four-day boot camp experience arranged by Make-A-Wish America, according to footage from DVIDS. The honor reflected a dream Sam held onto throughout his years of treatment.
Fundraising and a Formal Dedication
The Upper Arlington Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports more than 6,500 district students, managed the fundraising as fiscal agent for the Hope Garden Fund. The campaign reached its $150,000 baseline goal by April 2026 and ultimately raised roughly $175,000 in donations, according to the Upper Grandview Record.
The high school and the foundation held the official dedication ceremony Friday at 5:30 p.m. near the stadium's south entrance, the district previously announced. Marv Moorehead Memorial Stadium itself reopened after a comprehensive renovation in September 2019, giving the new garden a well-established civic backdrop. Columbus station WBNS-TV covered the unveiling, framing the garden as a permanent space for families grieving students they have lost.
According to the Ohio Department of Education's Supporting School Wellness Toolkit, people can call or text 988 to connect with a crisis counselor and call 988 for Mobile Response and Stabilization Services.
For the Short family, the garden closes one chapter of their loss while opening another meant to help others carry theirs. Tori Short's hope, as she described it, is that anyone who walks through the space finds room to sit with hardship and still find a way toward what comes next.
