Thanks to a Cultural After School Adventures (CASA) grant from NYC Council Member Andrew Cohen, students at the Riverdale / Kingsbridge Academy (MS/HS 141) in the Bronx visualized what it means to be an RKA Tiger. Their depiction emphasizes the values and aspirations that unite the students in all of their diversity.
“I was there since the beginning. First we all drew out concepts on paper and we all brought together the aspects of each paper we liked. So, the buildings were in one, the tiger was in one, the ribbons were in mine, so everything was basically taken from everybody. … Companionship, culture, and integration were the main focus of what we want to see in the school and what’s already in the school. We have a lot of great sportsmanship and all that but we really wanted to emphasize culture. … I knew going into it that this was going to be difficult, this was going to be hard because it’s a giant mural. I’ve tried doing stuff like this before but I never really perfected it. Now it’s like, ok I know what I’m doing. I’m actually going to be doing another mural at some small pizza shop upstate. … I’m glad I took this chance, I’m really happy I got a chance to do this. … I really hope Thrive comes back.” – Rosabella, 10th Grade, Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy (MS/ HS 141)
MS/HS 141: One Tiger, Many Stripes (2018)
School Principal Lori O’Mara’s reaction to the completed project:
“I am elated about the way the painting turned out. I really hope we can get this grant again and do this project again next year for other locations in the building. It is absolutely beautiful!”
MS/HS 141: Production and Ribbon Cutting
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