ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Various shades of blue blend together on a wall in the second floor common area of Louis E. Dieruff High School, representing students' husky pride.
After seven weeks of embracing creative skills, 81 10th-graders on Friday unveiled the mural they painted in collaboration with local artist Kyle Edwards.
This is the second student-led mural to be completed in a districtwide series funded by PA State GEAR UP, which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. GEAR UP is a grant program funded by the U.S. Department of Education to provide equitable college access and success for low-income students.
The 10th graders who participated are a part of Dieruff High School’s 1,400-student GEAR UP cohort.
“It definitely taught me a lot of creativity, determination and patience."Mia Guerrero, Dieruff High School sophomore
The mural depicts Dieruff’s mascot — a husky — and the quote, "Your Life is your story. Write it well."
“It definitely taught me a lot of creativity, determination and patience,” said sophomore Mia Guerrero. “This took a lot of work and I’m proud of it.”
Principal Geoffrey Schmidt said the mural is a powerful representation of the students' hard work and the impact the GEAR UP partnership has on the school.
As he addressed the student artists, he said the quote on the mural is a detail he feels strongly about, and is glad to have their art in the main hallway.
“The quote really speaks to me because it talks about the importance of self determination,” he said. “And one of the things we talk about here when we talk about husky pride, is that you guys (the students) are the ones who choose your own journey, and I think this is a great, emblematic moment of you guys doing just that.”
Schmidt said the last time the wall was touched was in 1987.
A previous student-created mural occupied the space for nearly 40 years, but as it began to age, he said he reached out to Dieruff High's alumni association president to discuss replacing the mural with a new art piece.
“She said, ‘Absolutely, it is time for this group of students to really leave their stamp on this school,’” he said.
Edwards, founder of the brand a true l.o.v.e story and manager of Inkwell, a shared creative space in Allentown, advised both the William Allen High School and Dieruff student-led murals.
As an alum of Dieruff High, he said he’s proud to be back to work on a project that means a lot to him. He said the main goal in working with students is to show them the agency they have in their lives, and the talent within all of them.
“I am just the vessel, you’re the artist,” he said.
At one point in time, Edwards walked the Dieruff High halls every day. He said the previous mural showcased the history of huskies, how they originated in Alaska and eventually became the dog breed many love today.
Edwards said wanted to pay homage to the school's past artists, and the students wanted to showcase their school pride — so it was no question the husky would stay front and center.
A pleasant surprise
Guerrero said she was initially hesitant about the project.
As art teachers with sophomore classes gave up their class time to the project, she said she and many of her peers simply didn’t know what to expect.
She said they anticipated it to be boring. However, once the students got to know Edwards, incorporated their creative ideas together and started painting, she said it got a lot more interesting.
“As the weeks went forward, I got to really think about art and what it means to me and this school and what it means to me as a husky,” she said.
Sophomore muralist Angelica Galloza agreed with Guerrero, and said the beginning stages of the project were tedious.
“But once we all got closer as friends, and we all started working together, it turned out to be such a blast.”
Galloza and Guerrero said most students, including themselves, participated in every part of the mural. However, some students definitely took interest in certain aspects of the painting, falling into more specific roles.
For example, Guerrero said she did a lot of work on the flowers in the bottom left corner of the painting.
Galloza said one part she is most proud of is the eye and nose of the wolf. When picking out the colors, she said Edwards told her to trust her instincts.
“He encouraged me to trust myself and do what I felt was right for the mural,” Galloza said.
Every stroke of paint counts
Evelyn Homan, also a sophomore muralist, said she learned a lot about shading and blending paint throughout the project, and the colors in the husky’s fur were done with careful intention to make it pop out.
“Even the slightest detail can make a huge difference,” she said.
For her, Homan said the husky represents teamwork and sticking together. In terms of the other details included in the mural, she said the musical notes, flowers and plants represent certain careers students aim to pursue in the future.
She said she hopes to pursue art one day, and is really into digital drawing at the moment.
“(This project) it actually made me feel like I can be something more and I can achieve my dreams with every stroke of paint,” she said.
