{"id":59138,"date":"2025-06-05T09:58:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T13:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=59138"},"modified":"2025-06-04T15:23:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T19:23:04","slug":"wcsc-unveils-student-created-mural-celebrating-inclusion-identity-and-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2025\/wcsc-unveils-student-created-mural-celebrating-inclusion-identity-and-community\/","title":{"rendered":"WCSC unveils student-created mural celebrating inclusion, identity, and community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Washington Community Scholars\u2019 Center (WCSC<\/a>) unveiled a vibrant, student-created mural on the side of the Nelson Good House, supported and funded by an EMU Inclusive Excellence Grant<\/a> from the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mural was the result of a collaboration between WCSC staff and Spring 2025 students in an effort to counter narratives of exclusion and reclaim public space for inclusive representation. The mural also reflects the journey of WCSC students from EMU into D.C. and the impact that life in the city has on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spearheaded by WCSC\u2019s artistic genius and associate director of student life and program administration, Ann Butwell,<\/strong> the mural project was a semester-long effort that invited deep reflection and creative expression from all involved. More than a visual installation, it became a community-building experience rooted in storytelling, identity, and social justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe mural encapsulates the experience students have in putting together the pieces of their journey through the city,\u201d said Butwell.  \u201cThe community response has been overwhelmingly positive; 25 neighbors have taken the time to have conversations with us. They are excited about having a new piece of local, communal art, and they are feeling inspired to do something similar to their property.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students and staff at the Washington Community Scholars\u2019 Center (WCSC) during the Spring 2025 semester stand by a new vibrant, student-created mural on the side of the Nelson Good House.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The mural features several student-designed elements, including a striking image of a woman originally doodled on a whiteboard by WCSC student Genesis Figueroa.<\/strong> When staff saw the sketch the next morning, it immediately inspired the final composition and became one of its central figures. The mural also bears a powerful message\u2014\u201cMay you never forget how desperately the world needs you\u201d<\/em>\u2014a quote contributed by WCSC student Meredith Lehman ’25 <\/strong>and selected from several options she proposed.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThe mural was an opportunity to showcase the diversity and different parts of the city everyone captured during the semester,\u201d said one student participant. Another shared, \u201cWorking on the mural made me feel like a part of me will always be in D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The piece culminates in a symbolic garden\u2014not filled with painted flowers, but with the handprints of WCSC students and staff, representing their shared labor, presence, and legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By transforming a blank wall into a bold statement of inclusion and solidarity, the WCSC mural stands as a lasting reminder of the center\u2019s mission: to cultivate justice, community, and intercultural understanding through lived experience and creative collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Check out the WCSC Instagram<\/a> account to see what our students are up to!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Washington Community Scholars\u2019 Center (WCSC) unveiled a vibrant, student-created mural on the side of the Nelson Good House, supported and funded by an EMU Inclusive Excellence Grant from the ... read more about WCSC unveils student-created mural celebrating inclusion, identity, and community<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":59139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4515,359,17562,5730,12632],"tags":[7440,14268,14420],"feature":[17427,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-59138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-applied-social-sciences","category-digest","category-undergraduate-programs","category-wcsc","tag-peace-and-justice","tag-washington-community-scholars-center","tag-wcsc","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nWCSC unveils student-created mural celebrating inclusion, identity, and community - 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