Roughly 40 Urbana Middle School Students enrolled in summer programming collaborated to create something in the school that represents them, and it’s all thanks to Summer Coordinator Hillary Allen’s vision. 

“My goal was to change the way students viewed summer school,” Allen said. 

When she first approached Principal Joe Wiemelt about the idea of creating a mural he wasn’t immediately sold. “My first thought was no way, absolutely not. But then I thought, why not? And it turned out great.”

UMS Student Engagement Advocate, Jack Schools, known as Mr. Jack to the students, taught an SEL class this summer. He took the lead on guiding the students through the mural process; “I’ve learned so much about the students through doing this,” Mr. Jack said. “The pandemic, a lot of kids lost faith in school and we wanted them to be proud of something in the school. And being proud of something increases involvement,” he said. 

The students were involved every step of the way, from helping choose the design, to painting and adding their own flair to it. One student even created a logo to add to the mural.  Each day students worked making it their own, adding colors and details they thought worked best. 

“For them to come together, it’s been an amazing experience” School said.