A new generation of leaders in Wilmington

In Wilmington, community is forming and leaders are growing. There’s a sense of pride being passed from one generation to the next. Fries Avenue Elementary School was proof of that on May 1.

During ShareFest’s Seventh Annual Workday, hundreds of volunteers touched up playgrounds, painted new murals and replanted garden areas to give the entire campus a facelift. The core of the workforce was high school and middle school students from Wilmington—including Youth Development Academy students from Avalon Continuation High School.

“This is fabulous,” said Blanca Cantu, principal of Fries Ave. “It’s even more fabulous because it’s high school students coming back and giving back to their elementary school.”

Cantu has run Fries for five years all the while trying to form a coherent community. Her goal is a body of students who want to take the initiative to serve their community. On Saturday, she saw it.

There were dozens of high school students painting. Parents and youngsters were hard at work planting flowers, and teachers were about to finish class and flood the school with another workforce.

“Everybody is pitching in to help, and that’s the main thing,” Cantu said. “That’s what it’s about, especially in a community like this that needs the assistance. They need the guidance, and they need the empowering so they then can continue the work the day I leave Fries Avenue.”

Paintbrush in hand, Manuel Carranza, a senior at Avalon Continuation High School, was focused. When the lifelong Wilmington resident stood back to look at the mural he and 30 other students were hard at work on, he felt the impact Cantu had spent years trying to harness.

“When I was in elementary school, we didn’t have any of this.  We didn’t even have a kickball court. I’m just trying to help out to give the kids a better life, better motivation,” he said. “If I would have had this, I would have had more pride in my school.”

Carranza, a senior, is close to graduating at Avalon. When he talked about the mural, it was clearly a different experience for him. His chest puffed out slightly, and he was eager to talk. He knew he was making a difference for the students following him, and he was proud of it.

“Here you see young people that are creating art rather than doing things like vandalism. I think it boosts their self-esteem. Their talent is used in a positive way, and they can take some pride and ownership in that,” Regina Awtry, Avalon’s principal, said. “I have tremendous pride in the students for doing this. Any time they can set an example for these younger kids here, that is a wonderful, wonderful thing.”