Senior Lane is a tradition among Chanute High School seniors. The afternoon of the painting of the lane in front of the school typically resonates with a cheerful, excited aura.

This year, however, a deeper feeling filled the hearts of many while painting their sections of the road.

On December 31, 2015 Chanute experienced the loss of Carlie Almond. That day many lost a friend, some lost a teammate, two lost a daughter, and one lost a sister.

Although there may be an unfillable space where Almond once was, many make sure her memory lives on. The most recent remembrance of Almond can be viewed on senior lane, alongside the rest of the 2018 graduating class.

“Everyone does [Senior Lane]… it’s a make your mark thing,” Senior Dominique Becannon said. “It’s important that we still keep her with us and make her mark too.”

The decorations on Almond’s section consist of a green background, “#theCarlieChallenge” written through the middle with a small white heart placed above it, two arrows going opposite directions, and “Day 20” painted in the top proportion of the rectangle.

“We did the green and ‘#theCarlieChallenge’ because that’s… the impression she left on all of us,” Lexi Costin said. Costin is a senior credited with the idea and decoration of Almond’s remembrance.

“The Carlie Challenge is doing what you’re grateful for,” another senior Kaylea Richards said. “It just reminds me to be grateful.”

Along with “#theCarlieChallenge”, is “Day 20” painted on the pavement.

“Day 20 was when she talked about how she was thankful for God’s grace and just being able to be a Christian,” Kaylea Richards, another senior credited with the memorial, said. “That was what Carlie was all about and what she has been gratefully known for.”

Although The Carlie Challenge is well known and “Day 20” has a specific meaning, the painted arrows on Almond’s rectangle are also symbolic.

Costin explained that “she was really into arrows before she died.”

For her, the arrows are a hint at what Almond enjoyed in life. Before passing away, Almond was designing arrows into her bedroom decoration.

For Richards the arrows also represent forward progression. Progression for The Carlie Challenge, the memorialization of Almond, and overall life.

Even though there may be different themes taken from Almond’s personalized decorations, the overall idea and purpose remains the same, proving that Almond still remains spiritually with her graduating class of 2018.

“I think it’s a great thing to do because she is still part of our class; she is still roaming these hallways,” Richards explained. “To drive on that road and to see it every day just makes me grateful that our school allowed us to do that and to help remember Carlie.”

Although each individual who put time, effort and love into Almond’s Senior Lane decor had a different relationship with Almond, they all worked together for the same reasons: gratitude and remembrance.

“She’s gone, but she’s never forgotten. We’ll always have a piece of her with us,” Costin said.