Rutgers Scarlet Service Program Connects Student to Arts in New Brunswick

NEW BRUNSWICK – Bryan Mora spent part of his summer helping school children color panels that, when assembled into a mural, revealed full-bloom red, orange and yellow roses.

The students were invited to add personal touches, so, words like “community” and “people” can be spotted in and around the flowers.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TAPINTO.NET NEWSLETTER

If Mora was hoping to work with kids, make a difference in his community and explore how art can be used as a healing tool by mental health professionals, he couldn’t have chosen a better place to intern than coLAB Arts.

Some day, the Rutgers junior who is studying psychology may draw upon his experiences this summer with the New Brunswick-based nonprofit arts organization as he is serving people dealing with anxiety, depression and other issues.

“I feel like, in general, art can help express feelings that can otherwise be hard to express,” said Mora. “And then I definitely also feel kind of like the group environment, especially during the summer for kids, when they’re away from school and that kind of stuff. It can be hard for them to kind of interact with others. So, kind of seeing the kids not only bond with art, but with each other, was really good.”

Mora was connected with coLAB Arts through the Rutgers Scarlet Service program that provides sophomores and juniors such as Mora from all campuses paid internships at government offices and public service-orientated nonprofits.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE TAPINTO APP FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS. AVAILABLE IN THE APPLE STORE AND THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE .

The Rutgers Scarlet Service program was unveiled at President Jonathan Holloway’s inauguration ceremony in November 2021 and was launched in 2022 as the Rutgers Summer Service Initiative.

The Rutgers Scarlet Service program aims to help students gain hands-on experience addressing national issues including public health, infrastructure, education and the environment while developing a better understanding of themselves and building relationships with others.

The initial cohort of 150 students took public service positions across the state, mostly in urban settings. Many spent their summers helping out at health clinics and community kitchens in New Brunswick.

For Mora, a junior in the Honors College program, it’s been an eye-opening experience.

He doesn’t fancy himself as much of an artist, aside from doodling in the margins of his notebooks. But he said he couldn’t help but to feel his artistic side awaken while working with the kids through one of coLAB Arts on the mural that’s a conceptual “gateway” to the French Street corridor.

For the Franklin resident, it also increased his appreciation for New Brunswick. He’s hoping the mural will someday adorn a building or a roadway.

The idea of making art to make a difference in a community was also a topic that was discussed when he and other coLAB Arts members attended the Thrive Arts Conference in June.

“For a lot of people, New Brunswick is kind of just a pass-through area,” Mora said. “They’ll drive through. They won’t take the time to kind of sit and look around. And so these murals definitely helped with that. This kind of stuff we talked about at the conference. We talked about the purposefulness of these murals to get people to kind of slow down, not kind of speed through New Brunswick on the way to wherever they’re going and to kind of feel like they have a home.”

Whether Mora has been logging residents’ responses during a meeting to gather public feedback on the next mural project or helping coLAB Arts ramp up for its Mission Day event at its space at 9 Bayard St., it has been a busy summer.

“Bryan has been an amazing addition to our summer team,” said John Keller, coLAB Arts’ director of education and outreach. “He is thoughtful and very capable of managing a wide range of tasks. He has helped with community events, preparing materials for community programs, and has participated in supporting our summer education work. He asks questions, makes suggestions, and approaches his work with great rigor and a sense of humor.”

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net