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SALT LAKE CITY — Fourteen-year-old Celeste Litchfield said she feels right at home walking through the halls at West High School, even though she's only in eighth grade.
And she notices the finishing touches, saying that they help the really old building feel nice.
"I remember thinking when school started that the sayings on the walls were really cool," Celeste said. "It's nice to have good things to look at."
The inspirational quotes, at least 22 of them, that now adorn the tall concrete walls at the 127-year-old school were put there by Fidelity Investments of Utah employees on Saturday, along with a couple dozen high school and university students who wanted to help. The volunteers returned to the school this year after making some much-needed enhancements last year, as well.
"Our company is about inspiring better futures for people and helping them live the lives they want through making better decisions, mostly around their finances, but we like to do the same for our communities," said Kris Liacopoulos, general manager and regional leader for the investment firm's local outfit. "We feel education is right in line with that, and we want to inspire better futures for people."
More than 200 volunteers could be seen in varying aspects throughout and around the school's widespread campus, painting, cleaning, landscaping, refurbishing and just bettering the environment for students, faculty and staff at West High School.
In all, Saturday's workers painted five new murals, used 18 scaffolds and 12 ladders to reach arches in the school's broad hallways, placed 50 rolls of adhesive shelf liner to revamp the tired library, emptied 60 gallons of paint (most of it Panther-approved red and black) on walls and trim throughout the school, spread 3 tons of mulch and built half a dozen benches using 120 planks of wood.
And they did it in four hours.
Liacopoulos said the company and its employees ascribe to the research that shows learning environments are strongly correlated to educational outcomes, and she wants students to feel pride for their schools, but also feel good about being there.
The high school — established in 1890 and the oldest in the state — was selected in partnership with Salt Lake City School District officials as one in need of attention, said Principal Paul Sagers.
"Cosmetically, they've really dolled up the place," he said of the work done by Fidelity's volunteers. "Being as old as it is, the building has maintenance issues the district doesn't have the time or resources to address."
Sagers said that just like a home, "it's nice to go to someplace where you're proud of the appearance."
The efforts, he said, help those who use the space take better care of it in the long run.
And, just as Celeste is inspired by what's written on the walls, as well as other pieces of art and paint colors throughout the school, Sagers said it gets noticed.
He feels the physical enhancements to the school help it live up to its well-known reputation of being an educationally rigorous, athletically competitive and extremely diverse and inclusive experience for students — nearly 2,700 of them each year, grades seven through 12.
"If we create a better learning environment for students, they do better and achieve more," said Monica Yocom, Fidelity's senior manager of community relations. "It also lets them know someone cares about them."
Fidelity has about 2,000 employees in Utah and has been operating in the state for more than 40 years. The Fidelity Cares' Transformation Day initiative has been active in Utah communities since 2010, and through the corporation's 18 regions nationwide, has reached more than 13,000 students and 950 teachers at schools throughout the United States.
In addition to the physical enhancements made Saturday and in years past, Liacopoulos said Fidelity offers financial literacy instruction at West High School, invites students to learn from employees at local offices, and has donated equipment to help with college entrance exams.
"We hope kids have a much possibility as possible to pursue their dreams and live the lives they want to live," she said.
