Student Draws Portraits of His 411 Classmates for Their Senior Year

For his last year of high school, Phillip Sossou decided to do something to bring his classmates together.

The 18-year-old Boston Latin student undertook a project that even his teachers didn’t think he could finish, according to The Boston Globe.

For four months, Sossou worked on drawing portraits of all 411 seniors. On the last day of school, Sossou went in early with six friends to hang all the portraits in time to surprise his classmates.

“I was trying to show everyone in a positive light,” Sossou told the Globe.

The school has been somewhat divided recently after students were upset with the way the administration handled the use of racial epithets at school. The school also came under fire for keeping policies that led to low enrollment of students of color.

“Our class has been kind of divided,” Sossou told the Globe. “Having these pictures helps us to embrace our diversity.”

Sossou frequently stayed at school well passed normal hours, and admits there were times when he wanted to stop.

“There were times that I wanted to stop,” he said. “I thought they probably are not going to appreciate this because we are so divided.”

But the reactions from the student body were all positive, with many students congratulating him on a job well done.