A Mural is Coming to the County Office of Education!
A mural will be painted in the entrance of SMCOE and will envision the type of inclusive, welcoming community that San Mateo County students strive to create at every school in the county. Artwork that has been submitted by high school students will be transformed into a cohesive painting in collaboration with muralist Pedro Rivas Lopez. Stay tuned to see the results!
Congratulations to the students who will be participating in this project:
- Carlmont High School: Jiyul Park
- El Camino High School: Marian Manahan
- Mercy High School: Mikayla Lindner, Priyana Singh, Zoe Chow, Ariel Alvarez, Cailyn White
- San Mateo High School: Kanna Funabashi, Anabela Laird, Allison Yen, Raissa Rodrigues
- Jefferson High School: Louis Ebora, Brian Delaplaza, Breena Bustos, Aurellia Noverdi-Badarudin, Lee Rafael Abordo, Grace Wang, Oscar Rodriguez, Kevin Zhou, Charlynne Tungol, Samia Hernandez, Marilin Lopez, Rachel Abrego Magana, Ahmed Nasher, Alayham Alghaithi, Hatim Massar, Viviana Picazo, Lian Claire Turla
Meet the Muralist
Pedro Rivas Lopez uses art as a way to speak truth to power and uplift oppressed voices to amplify social change. At the age of five, his journey as an immigrant pursuing his Dreams began. From selling oranges at street corners, to picking watermelon in the fields, Pedro worked his way to find himself writing and directing plays and creating artistic opportunities for communities across the Central Valley and the Bay Area. Today, Pedro paints to visually portray stories to uplift those silenced and creates teatro to build resilient communities.
Follow his journey on TikTok@prl_art Instagram @prl_arte and/or @arteaquaviva to learn more about how art can uplift, heal, and transform communities. To learn more, visit www.arteaquaviva.com
Honor Jackie Speier and Don Horsley
This mural will honor recently retired Congresswoman Jackie Speier and San Mateo County Supervisor Don Horsley, for their unwavering support of the youth of San Mateo County and their leadership on behalf of safe and supportive schools and communities. Congresswoman Speier and Supervisor Horsley both played important roles in the founding of the San Mateo County Coalition for Safe Schools and Communities, which brings together organizations in the county to work to create and sustain safe and positive school and community environments using a variety of tools, resources, and expertise.