Mark Dearing and Trevor Wart, Portland Adventist Academy (PAA) seniors, designed, raised money for and remodeled the PAA locker room as their senior project. Dearing and Wart said that they wanted to do something for their school that would benefit students after they leave.
Dearing, who, through his work with the Portland Trailblazers organization, had seen the inside of a professional locker room, knew that PAA's locker room could be improved if he and Wart brought change themselves. They wrote letters to all PAA basketball team alumni requesting donations for new lockers and soon had the needed money.
The young men chose gold paint and navy carpet to reflect PAA's school colors. Dearing’s father, a cabinetmaker, set up the saw cuts for the first locker, and then Dearing and Wart cut the pieces from wood they had selected, assembled the lockers and spray-finished the cabinets on site. Gale Crosby, PAA principal, advised on the carpet installation, but the two students did the actual installation.
Both Dearing and Wart plan on going to college after graduation and feel that the experience they gained in completing every part of the project will help them as they finalize their plans for life. Wart is seriously considering physical therapy as a career while Dearing is thinking of a career in business law. They both want to go to a college that offers a basketball program.
Mark Dearing and Trevor Wart built these lockers for their senior project.
