Cody Miller’s creativity captured attention all the way to the state capital. The Ida Rankin Elementary fourth-grader prefers making notebook paper illustrations of SpongeBob SquarePants in various poses.
But a recent class assignment through the school’s academically or intellectually gifted program got recognition from Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane. Students in Tabatha Woods’ class picked different North Carolina cities to profile. They had to write papers highlighting facts of the cities and create bumper stickers as illustrations, Cody said.
He had a hard time settling on a city. “So Ms. Woods picked one for me,” he said.
Illustration inspiration
Woods gave him the state capital to study. He soon began researching the city’s industries, colleges and attractions.
Then the 9-year-old put crayon to paper. His bumper sticker features the city’s name with the message “Come to Raleigh.” The red, white and blue N.C. state flag serves as background. A small illustration accompanies each letter in the city’s name. That’s what Cody thinks made his work unique.
A Ferris wheel drawn in the “R” represents the annual state fair. The state legislative building sits on the letter “g” and the letter “h” doubles as a field goal on N.C. State University’s football field.
‘Proud of me’
Cody said he’s proud of the grade he received on the assignment. He scored “over expectations.” His teacher also sent a copy of the bumper sticker to Mayor McFarlane. What happened next surprised him. McFarlane printed 100 of the bumper stickers and invited Miller to a City Council meeting on Jan. 21 for recognition, he said. “She wanted to congratulate me on the bumper sticker,” he said. “She said that she was proud of me and she wanted me to keep doing this whenever possible.”
He’s taken her advice. Cody tries to draw something each day, even if the creativity happens after school. “I’m very proud of him. He is a great student,” said Rankin Elementary Principal Kristin Kiser. “If you’ve shown that kind of creativity and initiative, it shows what kind of student you are.” You can reach Wade Allen at 704-869-1828 or twitter.com/GazetteWade.