BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — "We stared at this wall and we were like… maybe we should add art on it," said Alondra Montalvo.
Alondra, Sierra Albiar and Khloe Verdugo just finished fifth grade. In October 2019, they were reading outside the Shafter Learning Center with some friends. They agreed the wall across the street was, well, boring
“Because the theme of the Shafter Learning Center is 'Have Dreams,' they really wanted to continue that theme on this wall because this wall is viewed from the windows of the Shafter Learning Center and they wanted something that would inspire children," said learning instructor Katie Wiebe.
The wall is now covered with dream catchers, science, books and reaching for the stars - something these girls are familiar with.
“They just did everything from start to finish and I’m so proud that they get to walk by and see their hard work on display for everyone in Shafter to enjoy," said Katie.
Katie is also the director of education initiatives for Listen to Shafter. It's one of the organizations that helped the girls raise money and propose their plan to the city council
"And then we finally got to this part where the mural was done. The girls participated in helping the muralist and it was a really, really fun project," she said.
Local muralist Lorena Castillo helped turn the girls’ vision into a reality.
“I would also like to thank her for letting kids also join in and not taking over by herself, and letting the kids enjoy what they were planning to do," said Alondra.
The students already becoming leaders at a young age.
"I hope that it’ll make them think that anything can happen and you can have any dream," said Khloe.
“We feel proud and feel like more dreams can be inspired by this mural," said Sierra.
Inspiring others for years to come.
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