Within the last year, Lakeland High School has received a new and improved mural in the main gym, where the majority of basketball, volleyball, and wrestling tournaments are held.

The new mural was painted during the summer of 2021 in July, by a group of people called Artcolab. Former Booster Club President Jacquie Neff was the one to find out about this group of artists. They have done previous mural pieces at both Timberlake and St. Maries High School. 

Sophomore Rylee Wirth said “I like it more because it shows how the hawks look and it also gives us a positive vibe when we are at games or competitions.”

The whole mural was done with cans of spray paint by two guys named Scott and Jeremy from Artcolab, who spent from early morning to later in the evening working on it. They started Tuesday, July 13th, 2021, and finished that following Saturday on July 17th. 

Neff says, “The students and the staff are exceptional and deserve to be so proud of the school they belong to and represent. The mural we had in the gym prior to this was fantastic but it was time for a fresh update.” She then followed with, “by adding this amazing mural to the gym I hope the students at Lakeland understand that they deserve the best.”

After Mr. Derrick had approved the idea for an updated mural then finding the funding was crucial. Each graduating class usually leaves behind a “gift” or “legacy”, the class of 2021 made the gracious choice to donate towards a third of the cost needed to make the mural happen. 

The Booster club donated another third then lastly the owners of Selkirk Construction donated the last third. The owners are Lakeland graduates and big supporters of the Laklenad community all around. 

“I told Artcolab we wanted a big hawk, mountains, lakes, and the prairie and then some words,” Neff said. The fight song seemed appropriate to pull words from, hence where “Fight for Victory” came from for the mural. 

With the help of a committee consisting of “a student, a teacher, Mr. Derrick, a person from the Class of 2021 committee, a booster club member, and someone from Selkirk Construction,” Neff explained that they mixed and matched designs until they found the one best fitting. She also explained that “the mountains in the mural are what Rathdrum mountain looks like from the student parking lot.”

On the visiting side of the mural in the gym, you can also see a nest with bones of a bear skull and a bulldog, considering Moscow and Sandpoint are our biggest rivals. “Just for fun,” Neff said.