This past Saturday, I popped into our school in Englewood, NJ to participate in a first-time event for us: we participated in a virtual presentation from an artist based in California to over 40 students and it was amazing. Liv Aanrud, whose work is on display right now in the Englewood location, walked our students through her art making process and took questions from our Director and our students.

Towards the end of the presentation, two of our students got up to present an artwork that they made that was inspired by Liv and I was blown away by the moment. Nataly Cutz, a 15-year-old Art Shuffle Student, proceeded to talk about the art making experience and the personal connection she had to the subject matter. Nataly is a Latin American girl who is struggling with all the noise and challenges that seem to be facing people of her community today considering the mass deportations. To be clear, this wasn’t a political conversation. This was an honest perspective from a young girl who is trying to be both proud of her heritage and her American citizenship. But the overarching messaging in the news is causing significant stress for young folks like her across the country.

Look at her artwork and look at the smile on her face. It makes me feel so proud that, no matter what your beliefs, no matter where you come from, and who you are, at One River School you are accepted and given an opportunity to grow, challenge your senses and utilize art as both a creative outlet and a method of personal expression.

And Nataly and her peers inspire us every day to be great at what we do as well.