The Old Gold and Blue

When we grow too old to dream
Terrell High we’ll remember.
When we’ve drifted far apart
Your love will live in our hearts.
The Old Gold & Blue
To you we’ll be true
And through the years that come and go
We’ll sing of old Terrell High!

In 2016, my father took me to see a historical landmark in downtown Fort Worth: I.M. Terrell High School, the city’s first African American high school. The school is not only a landmark of segregated education in our city, it is where my grandfather, Dr. Ambrose Adams Sr., taught. Little did I know that two years later, I would start high school in that school, now known as I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM and VPA.  

Knowing I had a legacy to uphold, as well as being a part of the first graduating class of my school, the pressure was on. Before freshman year at I.M. Terrell starts, the school hosts Panther Camp, a time where new apprentices can meet teachers, see the school, and even get a head start on meeting other apprentices. (I.M. Terrell has apprentices, not students.) My Panther Camp, being the first one ever, was filled with establishing class traditions and talks from our principal, Mr. Brown, about the responsibilities our class faced as the first graduating class. I remember him telling us that we would be the seniors of the school for all four years. At the time his words seemed insignificant; senior year felt so far away. We soon understood there would be classes coming in under us every year, looking up at us.  

Once Panther Camp was over, it was time for our first day of high school. We walked into a year of uncertainty and (in all honesty) trial and error, not only for the students, but for the teachers and administrators as well. We were learning the Cowan Academy in the Humanities model of teaching for the first time. Many of us were taking physics as a freshman. And there was the expectation to achieve and excel for the brand-new school and its pioneering class. However, I would not change anything. By the end of the year, the bond my class built with our first-year teachers is something that cannot be duplicated. Subsequent classes and teachers will build their own bonds, but they will never truly understand the experiences of that first year.  

Class of 2022 their freshman year
I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM & VPA

With freshman year under our belt, I.M. Terrell’s 2019-2020 school year would be a breeze, right? The year started off strong. The energy within the school with another class under us made me feel happy to be there. There were more opportunities to get involved, including student government, the Black Student Association, the National Dance Honor Society, and much more. Sophomore year gave me great opportunities within my art as well. I danced in my fellow apprentice Ella Ratcliffe’s piece, which was accepted at the National High School Dance Festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We performed her piece in front of college representatives and other high schools, and most importantly, we represented how far our new program had come within just one year. It was so rewarding, and for the first time, I felt like all the hard work we had been doing to get our school recognized had paid off.  

Soon after our trip, however, COVID-19 changed everything. A fun spring break soon turned into an extended spring break, which then turned into online learning. After one year of experimentation and bonding, we faced a year of global uncertainty. 

With the school district trying to figure out online learning, my class began the most academically important year of high school in a pandemic. As students at our school, a hands-on STEM and art magnet school, we lost important time in our studios, practice rooms, and labs. I think I can speak for the class when I say it took some time for everyone to get into the groove. But we did. Students and teachers both learned how to work with restrictions. We did classroom streams and online performances to get back to “normal.” Now, with only a few weeks left of my Junior year, honestly, I’m feeling a little afraid. The long talks Mr. Brown gave our freshman year about the expectations for the first graduating class are finally soaking in, and the pressure to excel is truly on now!  

Looking forward to our senior year, I am filled with excitement, joy, relief, and sadness. Thinking about saying goodbye to the classmates and teachers I have experienced so many “firsts” with feels unreal. Yet, I also feel honored. Not everyone gets to say that they were a part of the first graduating class of the “Old Gold and Blue.” After three years of the most unconventional school years, I cannot wait to see what is in store for I.M. Terrell’s class of 2022 in our senior year and beyond!  

Amaya Adams is a member of the inaugural graduating class of I.M. Terrell Academy of STEM & VPA and will graduate in May. She hopes to get her B.F.A. in musical theater.