STEP-UP Interns Experience Intensity, Accomplishment

Early on a humid Monday morning, a group of yellow-clad workers waited with anticipation at the University of Minnesota’s Urban Research and Outreach Center in North Minneapolis. It was the culmination of months of preparation for everyone at Mentoring Peace Though Art. A new group of 15 interns from the STEP-UP summer program were to join the team. STEP-UP, a program established by the City of Minneapolis, is designed to give young adults paid work experience during the summer. Mentoring Peace Through Art is partnered with this organization, and is giving 15 interns between the ages of 14 and 17 the unique opportunity to spend the summer painting murals, working in a team, and developing their talents. We had no idea what their attitudes would be, what interests they would have, or if they would even be excited about painting murals all summer.           

As the kids began to trickle in, I could feel an overwhelming sense of apprehension among them. Obviously, they signed up to earn money during the summer, but did not realize the high level of intensity they would experience right from the get-go.

In any team, it’s essential to identify the strengths within the players and capitalize on them. Jimmy Longoria, co-founder of Mentoring Peace Through Art, had a very unorthodox way to figure out who had what abilities to begin with.

It was determined simply by drawing a line. Jimmy gave participants a blank sheet of paper and instructed them to draw a line from one corner to the other. The interns that chose to draw a diagonal line straight from one corner to the other are more suited to be what Jimmy calls a “quick.” Quicks follow instructions immediately, and are good at painting large expanses of walls for murals. On the other hand, if the participant drew a line a swirly, unconventional fashion their talents laid more on the creative side of mural painting. By this simple test, Jimmy was able to divide the interns into teams suited to their specific talents, either quick workers or detail workers.

From then on, the team was tailored to work in the most efficient way possible. Stations were set up in which participants would learn to set up scaffolding with ease, practice their technique on a canvas “tower,” and learn what was expected of them in the program.

Then came the moment of truth: lunch. Each participant was told to pack his or her own lunch. Little did the interns know how naïve their lunch-packing skills were.  As artistic director Kate told the group, “sandwiches will give you enough energy for only a few hours at a time.” The ideal lunch, according to Kate, would be composed of carbohydrates, like pasta or rice, and protein, like beans or meat. There would be no dessert, but the essential sugars would come from fruits or a salad. As I looked around, a few kids had packed what was needed, and earned an approving smile. But others, who had unknowingly packed soft drinks or potato chips were reprimanded, and soon found that their choice of meal only exhausted them towards the end of the day.

The remainder of the day consisted of each intern painting their own canvas any way they chose. It was exciting to see each participant’s unique style reveal itself. While one participant, Tereza, chose to splatter paint her canvas, Rheanna painted a vibrant wave, while Deonte humorously adorned a large heart with a face. The hour or so that remained was spent developing painting techniques, and learning how to operate as a unit. Both the staff and the participants left tired, but felt a great sense of accomplishment.  

Check out the Mentoring Peace Through Art Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mentoringpeacethroughart/