City and School leaders gathered on Jan. 15 to unveil the Higgins Middle School Student Resource and Support Center’s new logo, which was designed by seventh grader Ester Canario Soto.
All Higgins students were able to submit designs to earn a chance to artistically impact their school, and according to Jason Lamkin, art teacher, there were more than 50 designs submitted.
This initiative was a collaborative effort among Jason’s Legacy Foundation, Peabody PROMISE, Peabody Public Schools, the mayor’s office, and the Henry Breckenridge Foundation.
Before Canario Soto’s design was unveiled, Mayor Ted Bettencourt acknowledged the six other finalists: Melanie Alberto, Anida Babic, Amaya LeMay, Lydia O’Neil, and Lyla Swope.
Each of those finalists received a $50 Amazon gift card, courtesy of the mayor’s office, and a Certificate of Achievement for excellence in design. Additionally, Superintendent Dr. Josh Vadala shared that the finalist’s designs may be used as art either throughout the school or in the center.
“All of the adults here know how difficult middle school was for us, and for those of us who are parents, for our children. You guys are navigating a very difficult time at middle school, and to be able to bring some joy and to bring some community to people is really inspiring,” Vadala said. “We were very impressed with all the artwork that was done and the message that it sends around being close together, being in the community, being kind to one another.”
Canario Soto’s design is a blue circle with the Higgins Middle School logo and a heart with arms around it, symbolizing a hug, inside the circle. On the rim of the circle, at the top, it says “Student Resource & Support Center,” and at the bottom, the words “You Are Not Alone” are shown in bold text.
“We chose this one, and I really like the visual of it, of the heart with the embrace, but also the ‘You Are Not Alone’ tagline. That’s something that we thought was really smart,” Vadala said. “It reads really well. It’s nice and clean. It has the Higgins logo in it as well, which we thought was really thoughtful, and… because of the shape of it and the design, it could go on T-shirts.”
Canario Soto earned a $100 Amazon gift card, courtesy of the Henry Breckenridge Foundation, and a Certificate of Achievement for best logo design. She said she was “mesmerized” when she learned about the design contest.
“I’m like, ‘Oh my God, (this is) my opportunity.’ In the past, I’ve had issues with mental health, so it goes deeper than the content. I made that logo with my heart,” Canario Soto said.
She admitted that she doubted herself at the beginning of the design process, but she’s very proud to have designed the winning logo.
“I’m proud of myself,” Canario Soto said. “I know that my mom’s going to be very happy for me. I know she’s definitely going to be like, ‘Oh my God, I would never think my daughter would do this.’ Even I didn’t know I was going to get here, so I’m definitely proud of my work. I’m proud of the effort I put in. I was just very concentrated on it.”
