Jun. 17—When the bell schedule for Albuquerque Public Schools changed last year, it meant many families had to adjust to the later start times for middle and high school students.

In order to fill the two-hour gap in the mornings between the old start time and new one, the Boys and Girls Club of Central New Mexico introduced the Fun United Educational Learning Program, or FUEL program, to 24 middle schools across APS.

A free program, FUEL provided students with a safe space before school from 7 a.m. to 9:15 .a.m. to gather, eat a free breakfast and receive academic support from big brothers and sisters . In addition , five schools were selected to participate in a special project in which they were able to express their artistic imagination and love of New Mexico.

Known as the New Mexico PRIDE Murals program, students at Truman, Harrison, Ernie Pyle, Polk and Taylor middle schools were each tasked with brainstorming and designing a painted mural they felt represented what it meant to be New Mexican.

In partnership with APS and Warehouse 505, a nonprofit that provides creative arts and individual sports mentorship for children, the Boys and Girls Club assigned an artist to each middle school to help the students bring their dreams to life.

Utilizing the FUEL block before school, the artists met with students to discuss their mural ideas and formulate what the final product would look like. When the final design was decided , the students and artists began painting their pride to life.

From hot air balloons, to aliens and more roadrunners than anyone can count, each design and figure was instantly recognizable to anyone who has grown up or lived in New Mexico for the majority of their life.

Over the course of several weeks, each mural was carefully crafted. Each has its unique twist on what it means to be proud to call yourself a New Mexican. At the start of May, the murals were ready to be unveiled .

Over the course of two weeks, the Boys and Girls Club of Central New Mexico hosted five events to celebrate the efforts of the students and the artists and unveil their murals to the public. Each event featured food, music and a video documenting the creative process of that particular mural. All of the videos are available for the public to watch on the One Albuquerque Media YouTube channel.

In honor of the murals , a poem or spoken word piece was delivered at each event to share what the imagery means to the student creators, their school and their community.

Staring at each design, it was easy to see how the students, their families and the artists saw themselves reflected in what they had designed. And now, that reflection will have a permanent place on all five campuses.