Students Learn to Bling Their Things

Fifth grade students have learned how to embellish their possessions courtesy of Quest Food Service team member Kendra Rush.

Rush shared that being unique had always been important to her, and she began adorning her clothing and hard goods with embellishments to distinguish herself from her peers at a very young age. When she injured her ankle earlier this year, Rush brought this same sense of style to her rehabilitation—adorning her crutch and immobilizer boot with pink duct tape and paving both with miniature stick-on sparkle jewels to help her heal in style.

Rush’s handiwork turned many heads in the cafeteria as she progressed through physical therapy, garnering compliments from adults and students alike. Even Principal Dan Frank took notice, and it didn’t take long before he connected Rush with Art teacher Kay Silva so the pair could work together to orchestrate a class showing students how to bling some things of their own.

In class, Rush showed some pieces she had created beyond the crutch and boot and offered some tips for success before students got to work on their own materials, including:

With this guidance in mind, students then got to work measuring, cutting, sanding, sticking and adhering gems to a wide range of items, including hair clips, watch bands, Crocs, hand sanitizer cosmetics and more. Students in subsequent art classes enjoyed using materials left over from this experience.

Parker thanks Rush for taking the time to share her talents with students and Silva for opening her classroom for this collaboration.

Enjoy photos from the experience here.