. As the academic year comes into the home stretch, projects and activities that have been put on hold at Arizona Western College are starting to pick back up again.

One such project is a mural, commissioned last Spring, in honor Arnold Trujillo, a retired coordinator at the AWC San Luis Learning Center.  Assoc. Dean of SYC, Suzanna Zambrano asked the SLLC Art Club, which goes by the name of Arts, Curiosities & Secrets, to design and execute a mural adjacent to the Arnold’s Lounge, a new student gathering area.

“He was an AWC alumni, and he’s also in the AWC Hall of Fame,” said Julie Floss, art professor in South Yuma County, who is in charge of the Art Club.  “He was an advisor for all that time.”

ACAS members Denisse Ibarra, Carol Valencia, Eli Duarte, Jennifer Gonzalez and Jessica Alvarez collaborated on design early in the semester and began its execution during Spring Break.  After approximately 55 hours of dedicated work, the mural was finished on May 7.

The process of gathering materials, planning and scheduling for each member of the team took some time.  Art Club members value their safety, and social distancing has been a priority, so Zoom was the norm for most meetings.

The work that was done to this lounge, which took more than a year to complete, is meant to better solidify unity among the community.  The Art Club members have worked hard, wanting to commemorate a man who always has had an interest in bringing people together.