Director of Activities, Sammer Darwazeh and ASB officers installed water stations for students to refill their water bottles in the summer of 2016. What started as a quick decision turned into a resourceful tool and an environmental change for the school.

Darwazeh first saw the idea to install the stations as an opportunity to fill a need — one that was long due after multiple requests from students asking for a water refill station.

“I was talking with student government and ASB officers and we saw that this could potentially be something that would be very beneficial for everyone,” Darwazeh said. “So if it benefits students and faculty, why not?”

However after a couple of weeks, Darwazeh noticed that these fountains served a purpose beyond refilling water bottles.

“Ultimately we’re reducing our carbon footprint and doing our part to be a little more ecofriendly with the plastic bottles” Darwazeh said.

The hydration stations are designed specifically for each location in which they are placed.

“Because there is so much traffic, what we wanted to do with the ones in the halls was make it really easy to use,” Darwazeh said. “All a student has to do it push a button and it fills their bottle. They’re intended to be straight-forward.”

Essentially, the stations are beneficial for not only during school hours but also after 2:05.

“We’re a very busy campus, very active,” Darwazeh said. “Students are going back and forth to their classes, we have athletes, students doing extracurricular activities and everyone has their Hydroflasks and Swells.”

Over a period of two weeks, three stations were installed – near the gym, in the G1 hallway and in the choir class – and the feedback from students and faculty was positive. Because of the increasing popularity of the water stations, ASB hopes to add another feature that will help not only ASB but also students.

“In the future, ASB is going to be putting announcements on the front of the stations,” Darwazeh said. “So while you’re standing there for those five or ten seconds, you’re able to be ‘refreshed’ on what’s going on.”

As well as being ecofriendly and helping students stay hydrated, the stations add a touch of color to the halls

“The beauty of them is that they look so clean,” Darwazeh said. “They’re aesthetically pleasing and it worked out really well that they were blue.”

For many students and teachers, the refill stations are exactly what SMCHS needed.