“There’s been times at school where I’ve been so upset or stressed out about something and so I had to go to the bathroom,” Govek said. “I’d be crying in the bathroom and it would just make things worse.”
Govek’s negative experiences linked to being in the school bathroom strengthened her desire for a better physical outlet for improving mental health. This motivated her to begin creating a space for students to find a sense of clarity or detach from the stress of school and daily life.
With aspirations of pursuing a future career in interior design and an ambition for facilitating happier campus experiences, Govek reached out to her counselor Vanessa Ho.
“I’ve been talking to her a lot about how I want to be an interior designer and I’ve been asking her [if there are] opportunities where I can get more experience and exposure on that,” Govek said.
With the help of Ho and administrative assistant Tara Appling, Govek was given the opportunity to work on the enclosed outdoor space beside the cafeteria windows, just outside the teachers’ lounge.
“Ms. Appling had the idea to have it turned into student space,” Govek said.
Acquiring creative liberty in that area, Govek came up with “The View.”
“This space would be something where students could go during class periods, Wolverine Time, lunch, or whenever they feel stressed out about something to have time by themselves or just have their own space,” Govek said. “But then we also want to give it different purposes. Some days, we’d leave it open during lunch so that students could go in there and eat or leave it open during Wolverine Time if they wanted somewhere to sit and do their homework outside. That way they’re not stuck in a classroom. [The View would be] somewhere to go that isn’t sitting on the steps at school, seeing the gray or stuck in a classroom or the bathroom.”
Recently, Govek decided to turn the project into an organized group effort at school, submitting an application to register The View as a club.
“That way when I graduate, someone else can take it over and then they design and maintain it based on what’’s trending or what is working best with the space,” Govek said.
With the help of Zoey Lestyk (11) and Jillian Tachiki (11), Govek is planning to paint a mural in the designated area. They hope the pop of color will lift the joy of the atmosphere and the mood of whoever visits or views it. Govek also collaborated with Cecilia Brown (12) to install planters in the area, which will eventually be filled with greenery.
“We have some mural designs that we’re looking at [from Lestyk,]” Govek said. “[Brown] is an Eagle Scout, and when deciding on what to do for her end-of-high-school project, she chose to make planter boxes. She made two redwood planter boxes that have wheels at the bottom so that way we can move them and then we can also lock the wheels so that they stay in place.”
The more people who collaborate to make The View happen, the better its publicity is, Govek said.
Initial struggles Govek had to overcome while planning this project were concerns over money and staff approval.
“We had this idea but no money to do anything, and that was an issue but not a hard one to overcome because we opened a GoFundMe page where everyone was super helpful and totally wanted to be a part of it,” Govek said. “Our biggest issue was getting approval from all the staff because it’s right outside the staff lounge and also figuring out how we are going to continue maintaining it, but everything worked out.”
Through social media promotions and Club Rush activities, Govek said she hopes that more people can become involved in The View. As preparations for the space continue and the opening day nears, all Govek wishes for in the end is that the space evolves into a space where students can find comfort somewhere other than the school bathroom.
“Just having it be used is important to me, and I want it to have a good impact,” Govek said. “I want it to have a positive effect on students, especially with mental health because I’ve dealt with that and I don’t want people to have to deal with that as well.”
