June 17—When the bell schedule for Albuquerque Public Schools changed last year, it meant many families had to adjust to later start times for high school students.
To fill the two-a.m. gap between the old start time and the new one, the Boys and Girls Club of Central New Mexico introduced the Fun United Educational Learning Program, or FUEL program, to 24 high schools in APS.
FUEL, a free program, provided students with a safe space to gather before school from 7:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., eat a free breakfast and receive academic support from big brothers and sisters. In addition, five schools were selected to participate in a special project where they could express their artistic imagination and love for New Mexico.
Known as the New Mexico PRIDE Murals program, students from Truman, Harrison, Ernie Pyle, Polk and Taylor high schools were each tasked with brainstorming and designing a painted mural that they believed represented what it meant to be New Mexican .
In partnership with APS and Warehouse 505, a nonprofit organization that provides children with creative arts and individual sports mentorship, the Boys and Girls Club has assigned an artist to each high school to help students bring their dreams to life.
Using the FUEL block before school, the artists met with students to discuss their mural ideas and formulate what the final product would look like. Once the final design was finalized, the students and artists began bringing their pride to life.
From hot air balloons to aliens and more roadrunners than anyone can count, every design and figure was instantly recognizable to anyone who had grown up or lived in New Mexico for most of their life.
Over the course of several weeks, each mural was carefully crafted. Each has their unique spin on what it means to be proud to call yourself a New Mexican. By early May, the murals were ready to be unveiled.
Over the course of two weeks, the Boys and Girls Club of Central New Mexico hosted five events to celebrate the efforts of the students and artists and unveil their murals to the public. Each event featured food, music and a video documenting the creative process of that specific mural. All videos can be viewed by the public on the One Albuquerque Media YouTube channel.
In honor of the murals, a poem or spoken word was delivered at each event to share what the images mean to the students’ creators, their school and their community.
By gazing at each design, it was easy to see how the students, their families, and the artists saw themselves reflected in what they had designed. And now that reflection has a permanent place on all five campuses.
