Students’ exhibit to chronicle experiences amid pandemic

Display will feature photos, videos, oral histories and more.

North Fulton students are producing an exhibit that chronicles experiences of the pandemic through art, oral histories, photography, videos and more.

The exhibit, “Same Storm, Different Boats,” by Student Leadership Johns Creek will be displayed at Northview High School on April 19, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., before moving to it permanent location at Ocee Library.

The students have been compiling research since last summer that shows how people adjusted to life after the start of the pandemic in 2020. Included are experiences that reach across the globe, voices of local resi- dents and leaders such as Gov. Brian Kemp, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Pastor Andy Stanley and Marilyn Margolis, CEO of Emory Johns Creek Hospital.

Irene Sanders, executive director of Student Lead- ership Johns Creek, said a common theme for public figures was understanding they had to do things dif- ferently.

“The one word we heard a lot was ‘pivot,’ ” Sanders said.

Student Leadership Johns Creek includes 30 students attending Johns Creek, North- view, Chattahoochee high schools and Innovation Acad- emy.

Dr. Katherine Perrotta, a professor at Mercer University, has led the students throughout the project.

The “Same Storm, Different Boats” project is funded by a $25,000 grant from a Library of Congress/Waynesburg University program and will be the property of Fulton County. Students also received a $4,000 grant contribution from Mercer University.

Johns Creek Historical Society and the Gotham Center for New York City History also assisted students with research and information, Sanders said.

An accompanying book on the exhibit with a forward by Margolis will be published in April.

COURTESY Student Leadership Johns Creek is producing an exhibit, “Same Storm, Different Boats,” that chronicles experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic.