'EMBRACING OUR FUTURES WITH COURAGE' UWM Photo: Elora Hennessey The TRIO Student Support Services program works with often first-generation college students to help them achieve their academic goals and be successful. Getting to know this community, its aspirations and and successes, has been an honor. In 2022, through this collaborative mural process I had the chance to meet and work with students who have been through or are part of this program. During our workshops I heard firsthand from some of them about their journeys, where they've been, what challenges they encounter to get to where they are now, and where they are striving to go. ... Through our process of sharing and listening we made some discoveries, that allowed us to acknowledge and recognize different strengths the community has in order to make their journey. These strengths included a willingness to take new risks, reach out and ask for help, and expose oneself to new things. I was inspired ...

'Leading, Learning, and Loving' University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Medicine Building (study lab) 2015 Linden Dr, Madison, WI 53706 24'x4' Acrylic mural on aluminum panels Check out this article about the project featured on the University of Wisconsin-Madison school of veterinary medicine website: https://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/leading-learning-and-loving/ THE ONE THAT STARTED THEM ALL This project started as an invitation to keynote for the 2022 Iverson Bell Midwest Regional Diversity Summit, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Veterinary College. The summit is   named after the first African American veterinarian to hold the position of Vice President in the American Veterinary Medical Association. The main goal of the summit is to promote diversity and inclusion in veterinary medicine, with special attention to academia. The invite came from Richard Barajas, then Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the V...