TPC Journal-Vol 10- Issue 2-FULL ISSUE

274 The Professional Counselor | Volume 10, Issue 2 This student recognized that other students from LHS might also want to access the school studio; therefore, they wanted to gain the perspectives of others, beyond their peers who were co-constructing the studio, regarding what should be included. In this sense, students discouraged individual choices because that approach would not create an inclusive space. Another student, Tasha, stated that “for the wall, it was hard to know what everybody likes and the whole school and put it into just one small wall.” Again, students who had the opportunity to co-construct a school studio were thinking about ways to create a space that reflected, represented, and was inclusive of the entire school. Student Design Choices The second higher-order theme, student design choices , suggested that students experienced being able to make their own design choices during the co-construction process. For example, a particular student quote read: We just came in here and it was like, everything messed around so we came in with an idea of like, where we think stuff should go, and that’s how we came up with that. Put it on the corner where the studio gonna be. The student design choices theme contained three lower-order themes which indicated that students experienced (a) designing an authentic studio , (b) needing ownership , and (c) thinking independently . Designing an Authentic Studio Within the second higher-order theme, the first lower-order theme of designing an authentic studio illuminated that students made design choices in alignment with what they defined to be a professional or culturally appropriate studio environment. One example of a student quote that demonstrates this theme came while a student detailed the process of co-constructing the school studio. Specifically, Jay commented that “it makes it feel like a real studio. When you see rappers in a studio, you see all these lights and it looks professional and stuff, so I think it would make it look like the mood of that.” The installation of colorful LED lights within the school studio supported the students’ feeling that the studio was real or professional. The professional aesthetic that students established with the studio enabled the creation of a particular “mood” that also made the school studio space and experience feel culturally authentic. Students also chose to infuse their school colors into the design of the studio, reporting that design element as an authentic representation of their school. When discussing the design process, Devante shared: “Yeah, and then like, [the foam pads] matched with our school colors like the purple and the green in the middle represents our school.” Finally, when sharing about the process, Alexandra detailed her most and least favorite moments: “My favorite moment: actually being able to build the studio, the checkered over there, the foam. The most challenging part: missing one day then being lost.” For Alexandra, the foam also functioned as an indicator of an authentic studio space. She also added that missing school made her feel lost or disconnected from the studio construction process, and that was particularly challenging. Needing Ownership The second lower-order theme, needing ownership , highlighted that students experienced needing ownership of the studio space. When discussing their design process, Gabriel said, “yeah, basically I said like, you put the ‘L’ so whoever comes in here know that Liberty was here first. We created this place. And that was our main point of putting that big ‘L’ right there.” In this quote, Gabriel spoke to the importance of design choices in letting the surrounding community know who was responsible