Letterman jackets tell students’ stories
As the cold weather rolls around each year, students from every high school across the nation wear what is essentially a token of all their high school memories and accomplishments.
The letterman jacket is a representation of the many triumphs students have achieved throughout their four years of high school. Students earn patches for their letterman jackets when they accomplish anything from a varsity sport to outstanding academics.
Adam Rubio, 18, is a threeyear varsity football and basketball player at Southwest High School. Rubio said that seeing all of his fellow classmates with jackets filled with patches motivated him to work hard so he could eventually have one of his own.
“I think my letterman represents my journey throughout high school. It showcases all my accomplishments in football and basketball,” Rubio said.
Rubio began designing his jacket after receiving his varsity “S” and football insert his sophomore year. Like many students, the first patch on the jacket sets the tone for the rest of the story that is told through chenille stitched letters.
“My favorite patch is my CIF state patch.” In 2017 the Southwest High School football team competed at the state level attempting to win the California Interscholastic Federation state championship title. “It means a lot to me because we were the only team in the Valley to ever make it that far,” Rubio said. “It’s an achievement that no one else has.” ( Actually, Vincent Memorial High School’s football team competed in the Division 6- A CIF State Final that very same year.)
From afar it might seem as if it’s just a jacket with a couple of patches slapped on, but it is in fact the story that these patches tell that students say mean the most to them.
Madeline Jungers, 17, is a senior at Southwest High School, and as her years of high school quickly come to a close, she reflected on how her jacket represents her and her accomplishments.
Jungers has a multitude of patches. Her patches represent her four years on the varsity volleyball and softball to academic and Associated Student Body accomplishments.
“I was really happy when I got my jacket because I always saw my older siblings with theirs and it helped challenge me to work hard for my own,” Jungers said.
This motivation really fueled the fire for Jungers, she says it helped her in the long run because once she got her first patch she never wanted to stop working hard for them.
“If I had to pick a favorite patch it would probably be my CIF Softball championship patch because that was the year we won it all, and it was a really special feeling. But I think what’s most special is all the memories within each patch on my jacket. All the hard work and dedication summed up into one beautiful jacket,” Jungers said.
The common thread in these jackets is of course, multiple varsity sports patches, but now there is a wider range of patches available for students who are all about the creative and performing arts. Those students get to showcase their hard work and dedication in their jackets as well.
Faith Diaz, 17, is a senior at Southwest High School and an active member in the Southwest Academy for Visual and Performing Arts. Diaz was a former student at Imperial High School but transferred her sophomore year in hopes of expanding her knowledge in the performing arts through the SAVAPA program.
“My favorite patch would definitely have to be my SAVAPA Dance patch because that is the whole reason I moved and I would have never been a part of this amazing school if it wasn’t for that,” Diaz said.
Diaz expressed her gratitude for the Southwest Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts program and how she has accomplished many goals through the program and, most importantly, that she is able to keep a trophy of those accomplishments through the patches on her jacket.
“To me, it means success. It shows not only all of my accomplishments but also the different talents I have considering that I only have SAVAPA patches and not the typical varsity sports patches,” she said.
Through the trials and tribulations of high school, students put their physical and mental talents to the test to accomplish great things, and they get to keep a token of those accomplishments for the rest of their lives on their letterman jacket.