From morning to night fall, Tiger stripes slowly emerge on the wall of McKinley High School’s tennis court. With precision, John Rau outlines McKinley’s logo to inspire all.

The Rau family gave their time and financial generosity to create several Tiger Pride murals on campus for the McKinley community and guests alike.

John and Dionne Rau are alumni of McKinley and have the commitment and dedication of a Tiger. They are former athletes of the baseball and softball teams, respectively. John Rau was also in the marching band. In addition, he was on the yearbook staff and a sports editor for The Pinion, the school newspaper, during his junior and senior years.

“I have a lot of pride in the school,” said Rau. “I was always in school, especially in the summertime. I was here seven days a week. And I loved it.”

Artistic works and commitment are not new to the Rau family. In their backyard, replicas of the past ten Super Bowl stadiums, and the Sugar Bowl in 2008, when UH went against Georgia, were constructed and increasingly developed a cut above year after year.

The McKinley images were created with stencils constructed by hand. The first mural the family painted for the campus was at the baseball dugout and portrays the McKinley Tiger logo and accentuates “The Home of The Tigers.” Inspiring quotes and Tiger images also line the weight room walls.

The tennis court wall mural is currently being designed with different McKinley logos that have been used throughout the years. These logos are boarded by Tiger stripes.

“The reason I wanted to put up those designs, those specific ones, is because if and when there are games here or events, tennis or softball or track and field, cross country, whatever, then kids could take pictures in front of it with their family or teammates,” Rau said. “And then if they have a stadium and alumni come back to watch, as they see their old design there, they might say, ‘Oh, that’s cool,’” Rau said.

Rau said, “School is where you enjoy your time and is a special place and you can make what you want out of it. So you can be who you want to be and try what you want to try.”

He continued on and stressed, “If people are teasing you about whatever you’re doing, it’s on them. But if you do what you want to do, then that’s where you’re going to find the most enjoyment.”

“I’m here (creating this mural) with my wife, son and daughter. We have family time. But then it’s giving back to the school and creating this,” said Rau. “It’s kind of like you just can relax, listen to music, and just enjoy the day.”

John Rau said that it is the best day off when he and the family are painting.