Senior Serves Up School Spirit

For GPS senior Juanitta Garcia, jewelry has always been a way to showcase her style and creativity. In fact, she remembers the first piece that really resonated with her: a pair of earrings with cherries on them. “That’s when I fell in love with unique, expressive jewelry,” she says.

It wasn’t until the pandemic, though, that her interest in creating her own jewelry blossomed. “I had time to work on different creative projects, so that’s when I picked it up, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” she explained.

Today, one of Juanitta’s custom designs is featured in the GPS school store, The Bow, and they’re pretty apropos. She’s making GPS dress earrings—all class colors included! She first started experimenting with the concept her sophomore year, when she made a pair from craft foam, but she has since gone through various models and modifications to get the best product and uses polymer clay now.

Susan Davidson, who runs The Bow, first noticed Juanitta’s earrings when she was wearing a pair while working a shift in the store. Juanitta explains, “Mrs. Davidson saw them and was like, ‘Those are so cute!’ She was impressed that I had made them myself and said, ‘We have to sell those!’” The idea sounded great to Juanitta, who loves sharing her art with others. “I love expressing myself through art and jewelry, so I thought spreading that joy would be so much fun,” she said. “There is something about being able to spread that GPS spirit, not just to students but alums and girls who may want to be Bruisers in the future. I hope these earrings can bring them joy!” 

Juanitta’s GPS dress earrings will be available through The Bow. Contact Susan Davidson to inquire.