As the Class of 2024 was deciding on what the topic of their graduating mural would be, the theme of a historical painting was thrown out. The brainstorming group quickly came up with the idea to recreate the painting The Death of Socrates. Camille Bridgewater, who would be leading the painting of the mural, took this as a challenge, and decided to dive in.
Something was missing, though — the tie-in to their class. How would the Class of 2024 chemistry majors be represented? Bridgewater couldn’t just paint The Death of Socrates, so the brainstorming group sent out a form to members of their class to submit their memorable quotes and funny stories from the past four years.
It was a success, and Bridgewater was flooded with good ideas for their mural. She took the easiest suggestions to picture and paint and created a collage of memories.
“It was so much fun to just reminisce on all of the different memories that came together,” said Bridgewater.
There are countless stories represented in the Class of 2024 mural, such as a depiction of a screaming gummy bear on fire; to remember the time when Professor Daniel Crawford performed the screaming gummy bear experiment for the chemistry majors, but the ring stand caught on fire. There’s also a moped painted in the mural, to forever remember Professor Paul Deck’s preferred mode of transportation. The class also chose some quotes like “I don’t know, you’re the chemist,” and “the more French you say Grignard, the more correct.”
The most notable parts of the mural are the deeper meanings behind the figures from the original inspiration. Bridgewater wanted to represent the process of moving on and leaving Virginia Tech Chemistry. She did this by replacing the deadly cup of hemlock poison in the original painting with a diploma, symbolizing the professors releasing their students to the world. Then, Socrates is pointing towards the handprints of the class members, showcasing the next step of their class’s journey in going wherever their path takes them.
“I really wanted to show the evolution of us. We’re going off to all different places. We are, in effect, having our last lecture, as depicted in The Death of Socrates. I wanted to bring it full circle — this is where we came from, and this is where we’re going,” said Bridgewater.
The tunnel connecting Davidson and Hahn Hall is full of murals, all of which represent classes of chemistry majors that are tight-knit, and worked as a unit to find success in their four years of undergraduate studies.
Bridgewater describes how being in many of the same classes with the same people year after year brought the Class of 2024 close together.
“If we all had a homework assignment, we could work on it together, even if we were all struggling. Even though we had our different paths, we would all come together,” said Bridgewater. “I don’t think that is something that you find a lot of in other departments.”
Ann Marie May, who spearheaded the Class of 2019’s mural, agreed with a similar sentiment. “You learned who was in your core community, and we just grew together over four years.”
May’s story with the Class of 2019’s mural aligned with the spirit of Bridgewater’s 2024 mural in the sense of togetherness that it brought to their respective classes.
“Being the person who really led the project, I felt a big sense of community. Everyone kind of stopped in after class, or whatever breaks they had, and they would come work on pieces of it.”
In the 2019 mural, May depicted an atom structure, with each orbital focused on an area of chemistry, to make sure everyone’s journey with the chemistry department was represented. Their mural also features little symbols from their four years at Virginia Tech, like a mini Fiji water bottle that was a staple of Professor Nicholas Mayhall’s lectures for a period. Most of the mural is made up of symbols, graphs, and structures from their time in their various chemistry classes.
“We brought what we liked and didn’t like all together to represent good and bad memories, but memories all the same,” said May, reflecting on the process of creating the mural.
The handprints, a key feature on many of the murals, marked a moving on for students. They represent a chance for every undergraduate student to memorialize their time at Virginia Tech.
“At that time, I think putting the handprints on was really impactful for a lot of people. It was their last stamp on the university in a way,” said May.
That “last stamp” is something that sticks with students as they leave. As students move to what comes next, they take with them lessons learned and a number of invaluable experiences from all of those within the Department of Chemistry.
“The biggest thing is to appreciate that time and also take your experience of collaboration and tight community and try to bring it wherever you go, the best way you can,” said May.