Brookline Clerk Creates Mural to Inspire Students to Attend College
Painting reinforces school’s effort to prepare students for college
March 22, 2011
Guadalupe Rivera, a clerk at Brookline Elementary School, uses her artistic talents to make lessons come alive for students at her southeast-side campus. Her paintings and drawings have been used as the backdrop for school plays and as the centerpiece for exhibits designed to teach students about important historical figures, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
March 22, 2011
Artist and Brookline Elementary School Clerk Guadalupe Rivera discusses her new mural with students.
Rivera’s latest work is a mural in the school lobby that is meant to inspire students to go to college. “I want them to know that they can reach very high,” Rivera explained. The piece depicts a diverse group of college graduates holding diplomas. “I want the students to see themselves, to know they can be like these people.”
It’s clear the children are making the connection. Recently, several of them stopped to look at the mural after school. “That’s me,” some of the students said as they pointed to people in the mural. It’s the type of reaction that makes the artist smile.
Rivera says she has received a lot of input from students. They have been closely following the process, watching the mural evolve from just a few strokes to a nearly finished work of art. The painting features three schools, Brookline, a high school, and a college campus, to symbolize student academic growth. Brookline Principal Michelle Cloud believes the mural will help reinforce the school's commitment to leading elementary school students on a pathway to college.