FREMONT CENTER — Sullivan West eighth graders turned a school capstone project into a permanent tribute to local veterans.
Members of the Sullivan West Class of 2030 installed three engraved bluestone benches at Fremont Center Veterans Memorial Park on June 30, creating a place for visitors to sit, reflect and honor those who served.
The project involved 108 eighth grade students participating in a variety of ways and was guided by teachers Catherine Hillriegel, Juliette Zerello and Ara Roden.
“This year, the 8th grade team decided to focus the capstone project on both academic topics we had covered throughout the school year and also a community connection,” Zerello said. “Capstone projects are all about students showing what they learned and how significant it might be to their lives or those in the community.”
Students researched veterans, wars covered during the school year, modern wars and other topics related to veterans and their impact on Sullivan County and New York State. Some students wrote short articles, while others created maps, graphs or other projects from their research.
At the same time, groups of students worked on fundraising plans and designs for the stone benches. Students contacted bluestone companies to request quotes, developed cost estimates and planned ways to raise the money needed for the project.
Zerello said those real-world tasks were a major learning experience for many students.
“This was a big deal for many students; they had never called a company or gone through this type of process before,” she said.
The class raised money through two student-led fundraisers: a June 5 Walk-a-thon at Sullivan West Middle/High School and a “Pie-a-teacher” fundraiser held during lunch periods. Students collected donations, planned the walkathon route, worked with school administrators and helped organize the events.
Hillriegel, a history teacher and member of the Fremont Parade Committee, said the project connected the students to the community in a meaningful way.
“As a veteran teacher and member of the Fremont Parade Committee, it seemed like a perfect fit — connecting our students to the community,” Hillriegel said.
Hillriegel said the idea developed over the school year from two needs: honoring veterans and providing a place to sit at the park.
“A park is a place you go and experience — not drive by,” Hillriegel said. “The benches were a perfect fit.”
The project builds on ongoing work at Fremont Center Veterans Memorial Park, where the parade committee had already begun honoring local veterans through a paver project. Hillriegel said the benches are a natural continuation of that effort.
She said the benches create a physical connection between the Class of 2030 and the community.
“It’s a way for the students to give back,” Hillriegel said. “As adults, we are all about the students. This project is a way for the students to show their appreciation and gratitude in return.”
The project also carries a special connection to the late Dennis Bernitt, a veteran, longtime Parade Committee member and beloved community fixture. Hillriegel said Bernitt had long dreamed of creating a unique tribute to honor local veterans.
That dream began taking shape through the park’s paver project, which installed more than 30 stones honoring local veterans in its first year. More than 15 new pavers are expected to be added this year.
The benches, Hillriegel said, represent the second phase of that dream.
Parade Committee member Tony Wayne proposed engraving Dennis’s name on the center bench. Hillriegel said Dennis’s name would serve as the centerpiece of the tribute.
In order to get the project approved, students presented their bench ideas to the Fremont Parade Committee, which moved the discussion outdoors to the proposed site so students, committee members and audience members could consider the layout of the park. The group discussed bench placement, distance from the roadway, overall arrangement and potential line-of-sight issues before returning indoors for further discussion.
Hillriegel said the final choices reflected a collaborative, community-driven decision.
Students said the project also pushed them beyond an ordinary classroom assignment.
Emily Ducey, who worked with the fundraising group and helped present bench ideas, said the project taught students teamwork, how to work with classmates they did not know well and how to communicate in different ways.
She said she learned professional communication, independent research and public speaking.
Presenting the project, Ducey said, was stressful at first because she worried she might be asked questions she did not know how to answer. But she said the experience helped her step outside her comfort zone.
“I hope that people will feel grateful and think about our veterans and all of their sacrifices,” Ducey said.
Aria Partridge said she researched the 143rd Infantry Regiment and helped present the project as part of the capstone. She said the project was meaningful because it gave students a way to honor veterans while learning about their struggles and victories together.
Partridge said she learned about working with people through email, as well as presenting in front of others for an important decision.
For Allie Hellerer, the project also had a personal connection. Hellerer said her grandfather served in the Navy, and many of her classmates either have family members who served and appreciate the purpose of the tribute.
“This project is more than a few benches; it is a way to have the community fully understand what the veterans have sacrificed and the place they hold in our hearts,” she said.
Eighth grade student Micah Baillie-Feinblatt said the project stood apart from other school assignments because it had a real-world impact.
“Many school projects are not really important and don’t have any impact on real world things but this one was different and was a learning experience for all,” Baillie-Feinblatt said.
Baillie-Feinblatt said students learned about teamwork, fundraising and compromise while working on the project.
“We worked really hard on it,” Baillie-Feinblatt said, “but the main goal of it is to honor those who protected our country...”
Roden said the project helped some students connect with history in a new way.
“Students that I’ve seen struggle to engage with remote historical concepts brought their A game to this project,” Roden said. “Connecting historical events with a physical object honoring those who served brought history to life.”
Zerello said she was especially proud of the problem solving and resilience students showed as they worked through roadblocks, especially while planning fundraisers.
She said the Walk-a-thon became one of the strongest examples of students coming together.
“Not only were we able to raise money for our memorial benches, but students who were not in class together or not particularly ‘friends’ with one another came together, chatted while they walked or ran, and rooted for each other during that event,” Zerello said.
The benches were purchased from Tompkins Bluestone and Johnston & Rhodes Bluestone, with designs prepared through Galloping Horse Graphics.
“By honoring the legacies of our veterans,” Hillriegel said, “the Sullivan West Class of 2030 have created a legacy of their own.”