Diversity and creativity celebrated through mural

The creative endeavors of several MVNU students have finally come to fruition with the Shine Forth mural unveiled Nov 10, celebrating the diversity and creativity present on campus.

The project took two and one-half years to complete, with most of that time dedicated to careful planning in both brainstorming and sketching. Jim Singletary, director of Intercultural Life at MVNU, describes the process as, “Imagine trying to capture the MVNU experience. Everybody’s weighing in, every perspective you’re trying to think about, not leaving anybody out

“The key is trying to be inclusive; it’s challenging,” he said, “[A junior’s] experience would be different from that of a graduate, a sophomore.”

The project was first conceived in Sep. 2016 by now Senior Michaela Hughes. “It took us about a year of failure and playing around with ideas from different students,” said Hughes, “We thought we could get it done in one school year. We were biting off more than we could chew.”

Hughes detailed the painting proces, stating, “As an artist, you have to think about cohesiveness. When you have 10 plus hands on a piece, you’re gonna start seeing different things.” She mentioned how different brush strokes from different team members looked different. “You would have to go over and paint over spots so that they would look like the rest of the painting.”

“I’m so grateful that people were able to take it on and were dedicated and used their creative ability,” said Hughes. “This has everything to do with the core things I believe in, which is unity, finding ways to incorporate creativity to teach about diversity, inclusion, and just hope and faith in having a bright future.”