'When things get hard, put more effort,' 5th grader tells Pueblo mayor at school workshop
When Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar expressed anxiety Tuesday at a workshop supporting the I-25 Gateway to the Southwest Art Project, Minnequa Elementary School fifth grader Gio Lopez Trevizo offered some words of encouragement.
"Don't worry if you're nervous," Lopez Trevizo told the mayor. "When things get hard, you just pay attention, put more effort and you'll be fine."
Students like Lopez Trevizo helped lead Tuesday’s workshop, which was part of an educational component of the Gateway to the Southwest Art Project, which encourages students to create art that expresses their appreciation for Pueblo.
At the workshop, Lopez Trevizo and fellow Minnequa Elementary students Nazarett Trevizo Gonzalez, Jericho Valdez, AJ Greigo, Allie Montel and Mauricio Espinoza mentored the mayor and other community leaders as they shared what they love about Pueblo.
They also performed a skit about living in Pueblo and sang a jingle, titled "Pueblo is Our Home Sweet Home," which was created by students at Minnequa Elementary School under the leadership of project fundraiser Glenn Ballantyne.
"We took the things that they felt and then put it into a jingle together... I bring in the banjo and they right away start making up music," Ballantyne said.
Input from Minnequa Elementary students also helped create artist Joe Cawfield's Gateway to the Southwest mural, which features children playing outside of the school as well as Pueblo landmarks like the Gateway to the Southwest sculptures — which are expected to be completed in north Pueblo this summer — Union Depot and the County Courthouse.
Cawfield's mural inside Minnequa Elementary is framed with EVRAZ steel. A copy of the painting hangs in the Pueblo D60 administration building.
"When we are able to not only make it about reading, writing and math but build those community partnerships... we are giving them opportunities to see different areas of interest that they may have to develop their purpose," Minnequa Principal Katie Harshman said.
Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Students mentor, advise adults at Pueblo elementary school workshop
