In 2010, the school opened its doors for the first time, with 101 staff members. Fifteen years later, only 11 of those individuals have been at the school from the beginning. Among those 11, receptionist Meredith Stewart is in her 24th year of working in education and said she started by teaching preschool.
“It is a big jump [to high school], but teenagers are the same as little kids,” Stewart said. “They get into trouble, they negotiate their way out of it, they need things, they still have to contact their mom for certain things, they still need permission slips, so the only thing [different] is just size and age.”
The staff members who opened the building have memories of the school that not many students and current staff members know. Business and marketing teacher Erin Fine said a lot of changes have been made in the past 15 years.
“When we first opened this building, the 700 hall was blocked off completely,” Fine said. “There was no access to the classrooms back there.”
Stewart said she made many lasting friendships and memories with students in her 15 years working at Southwest and has many fond memories.
“I looked up from my desk and there was a kid walking down the hallway with a fishing pole and a bunch of bananas that were all tied together, not individual, but in a bunch,” Stewart said. “I remember looking at him and thinking, ‘What do they do in the corporate world? Do they ever have people just walk by with fishing poles and bananas?’”
The school has had many traditions that have come and gone throughout the years. Along with traditions like class chants and spirit days, there are also traditions that started a few years after the school opened like the Diversity Assembly.
“I [always] enjoy the Diversity Assembly,” Stewart said. “We’re just a lot of people that have school in common, but we also have [different] customs outside of school. We have different foods that we eat outside of school and we have different clothes that we wear.”
Since opening, Southwest has grown in size; the first freshman class had 251 members, with this year’s class having the most so far in school history: 299. Stewart said the larger size of school has allowed more clubs and sports to develop. Fine said she likes the growth and the community.
“[I like] the fact that it doesn’t matter what class you walk into, you can feel a part of it,” Fine said. “I am looking forward to seeing more growth.”
