Hannah Schwartzkopf – Billings Skyview High School

Throughout high school, Hannah Schwartzkopf remembers driving past MasterLube stores and admiring the murals that changed every spring. When she became a senior last year she knew it was something she wanted to do. Despite COVID-19 school closures, she followed her dream and was one of only a handful of students who participated in the 2020 War of the Walls competition.

Hannah painted the mural in April 2020 on the Heights MasterLube location, and it includes the face of a falcon, the Skyview High School mascot. The painting is stylized, and the eye of the falcon is striking in its detail.

“I wanted the mural to represent my experience at Skyview. I didn’t have a chance to compete in track during my senior year of high school, so getting to paint the mural really meant a lot to me,” Hannah said. “It gave me a sense of closure.”

Hannah’s first draft for the mural was more of a cartoon image, but as she started painting on the wall, she couldn’t stop herself from painting more realistic features, including hundreds of feathers.

“The final product was more intense than what I pictured at the beginning and it couldn’t have turned out better,” she said.

Hannah comes from a creative family and was always encouraged to draw and paint all through school. Even now, she likes to spend her free time painting and drawing. She’s inspired by the outdoors and nature and loves to travel. Hannah also painted murals at the Montana Rescue Mission and Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter.

In high school, Hannah participated in track and field, soccer and cross country. She has always been in choir and plays guitar and piano. She’s also a leader for Billings Young Life, and a camp counselor for the organization.

These days, Hannah is working with her sights set on education degree at Montana State University Billings. Her parents are Trent and Erica Schwartzkopf.

Hannah Schwartzkopf – Billings Skyview High School

Throughout high school, Hannah Schwartzkopf remembers driving past MasterLube stores and admiring the murals that changed every spring. When she became a senior last year she knew it was something she wanted to do. Despite COVID-19 school closures, she followed her dream and was one of only a handful of students who participated in the 2020 War of the Walls competition.

Hannah painted the mural in April 2020 on the Heights MasterLube location, and it includes the face of a falcon, the Skyview High School mascot. The painting is stylized, and the eye of the falcon is striking in its detail.

“I wanted the mural to represent my experience at Skyview. I didn’t have a chance to compete in track during my senior year of high school, so getting to paint the mural really meant a lot to me,” Hannah said. “It gave me a sense of closure.”

Hannah’s first draft for the mural was more of a cartoon image, but as she started painting on the wall, she couldn’t stop herself from painting more realistic features, including hundreds of feathers.

“The final product was more intense than what I pictured at the beginning and it couldn’t have turned out better,” she said.

Hannah comes from a creative family and was always encouraged to draw and paint all through school. Even now, she likes to spend her free time painting and drawing. She’s inspired by the outdoors and nature and loves to travel. Hannah also painted murals at the Montana Rescue Mission and Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter.

In high school, Hannah participated in track and field, soccer and cross country. She has always been in choir and plays guitar and piano. She’s also a leader for Billings Young Life, and a camp counselor for the organization.

These days, Hannah is working with her sights set on education degree at Montana State University Billings. Her parents are Trent and Erica Schwartzkopf.

Billings Central Catholic High School

A global pandemic wasn’t going to keep a group of Central High artists down. Despite the limitations of 2020, students Allie Sandoval, Marian Kale, Anna Deschane, Dylan Bergsing, and Rachel York teamed up to paint the Central High mascot, the ram, on the Downtown MasterLube location.

Rachel York designed the 2020 mural with inspiration from previous Central High murals and from the school itself. Students past and present will recognize the ivy in the mural as symbolic of the ivy that grows in the courtyard, and the blocks and cross are reminiscent of the chapel. The handprints represent the 90 graduating Central High seniors.

Rachel wasn’t serious about art until high school.

“For me, being able to do the mural shows how far I’ve come as an artist,” Rachel said. “When I first started, and through most of my high school career, I always thought there was someone better, someone I could never measure up to. While there are still plenty of people better than me, it doesn’t change the fact that the younger me would have been awestruck by the fact that I got to paint a mural for all to see.”

Rachel had never painted before and knew she needed help from her classmates. That’s where Allie, Marian, Anna, and Dylan stepped in. They were all inspired by the design and excited to leave their mark on the wall.

Dylan’s mother works at The Paint Center, which supplied all the paint for the mural. He was most impressed by the way everyone in the group rallied and pulled together for a common goal, especially during the school closure, when spirits were low.

“Our wall represents our school’s history of the ram and what it means,” Allie said. “The ram is strong and that’s what our small school has always been and always will be.”

The 2020 school year was cut short for these seniors, but the mural became a symbol of the resilience of the senior class. The students spent days working together on the mural.

“It was less about the competition and more about just showing my class was still there,” Rachel said.

To further her skills, Allie plans on taking some digital design classes in college. She’s at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah where she’s studying communications. She’s hoping to become a motivational speaker and life coach. Her parents are Amy and Jeff Sandoval,

Rachel is a student at Arizona State University where she’s studying Astronautical Engineering. She one day hopes to get into space exploration. She continues to draw on her tablet as a way of relieving stress. Her parents are Andy and Anna York.

Dylan left in early April for the U.S. Marine Corps. With the motto of “Live, Love, Laugh,” He plans to continue with community service projects when he can. His parents are Jeff and Janet Bergsing.

Billings Central Catholic High School

A global pandemic wasn’t going to keep a group of Central High artists down. Despite the limitations of 2020, students Allie Sandoval, Marian Kale, Anna Deschane, Dylan Bergsing, and Rachel York teamed up to paint the Central High mascot, the ram, on the Downtown MasterLube location.

Rachel York designed the 2020 mural with inspiration from previous Central High murals and from the school itself. Students past and present will recognize the ivy in the mural as symbolic of the ivy that grows in the courtyard, and the blocks and cross are reminiscent of the chapel. The handprints represent the 90 graduating Central High seniors.

Rachel wasn’t serious about art until high school.

“For me, being able to do the mural shows how far I’ve come as an artist,” Rachel said. “When I first started, and through most of my high school career, I always thought there was someone better, someone I could never measure up to. While there are still plenty of people better than me, it doesn’t change the fact that the younger me would have been awestruck by the fact that I got to paint a mural for all to see.”

Rachel had never painted before and knew she needed help from her classmates. That’s where Allie, Marian, Anna, and Dylan stepped in. They were all inspired by the design and excited to leave their mark on the wall.

Dylan’s mother works at The Paint Center, which supplied all the paint for the mural. He was most impressed by the way everyone in the group rallied and pulled together for a common goal, especially during the school closure, when spirits were low.

“Our wall represents our school’s history of the ram and what it means,” Allie said. “The ram is strong and that’s what our small school has always been and always will be.”

The 2020 school year was cut short for these seniors, but the mural became a symbol of the resilience of the senior class. The students spent days working together on the mural.

“It was less about the competition and more about just showing my class was still there,” Rachel said.

To further her skills, Allie plans on taking some digital design classes in college. She’s at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah where she’s studying communications. She’s hoping to become a motivational speaker and life coach. Her parents are Amy and Jeff Sandoval,

Rachel is a student at Arizona State University where she’s studying Astronautical Engineering. She one day hopes to get into space exploration. She continues to draw on her tablet as a way of relieving stress. Her parents are Andy and Anna York.

Dylan left in early April for the U.S. Marine Corps. With the motto of “Live, Love, Laugh,” He plans to continue with community service projects when he can. His parents are Jeff and Janet Bergsing.