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Fallbrook MCJROTC students complete mural

Christal Gaines-Emory

Writer

In 2020, Fallbrook High school MCJROTC students Michael Rios and Joel Perez began designing and painting a large mural on the side of the MCJROTC classroom. After a year of delays due to COVID-19, the mural has been completed.

Rios designed the mural and painted it with help from Perez, as well as a few other artists including Audrey Gillcrist, Alexia Byrnes, and Erin Rios. The goal of the mural was to inspire other students at Fallbrook High School to get involved in MCJROTC.

Rios has been an active MCJROTC student for all four years of high school and he was also involved in the Junior Marines in middle school, and Perez has been involved in MCJROTC for three years.

Rios said that he is extremely grateful for the time he has spent in the program.

"The program has impacted my life in a very big way," said Rios. "If it weren't for the MCJROTC, I wouldn't have grown as a person, met all my friends, I wouldn't have the kind of determination and drive that I have now."

According to Rios, the process of designing, painting, and completing the mural was delayed because of the pandemic. However, this allowed the artists to take enough time to make the mural exactly the way they had imagined.

The artists were able to take inspiration from their family members in the military as well as the many students who have grown through the MCJROTC program at Fallbrook High School.

"The inspiration behind the mural was seeing the people around me change because of the program and I wanted to illustrate that growth through my mural," said Rios. "I even took inspiration from my parents because of how much the Marine Corps has changed their lives."

Both Rios and Perez said they have enjoyed having the opportunity to create the mural for the MCJROTC program, and they're thankful to have had this opportunity to share their love for the program through art.

"Completing this mural has been a very bumpy but very fun ride," said Rios. "I would like to thank everyone else for their support, and I am very happy that I got to have left my mark on Fallbrook High School.

"I can't give enough thanks to those that helped me get the mural completed, and I hope my mural inspires others to join the MCJROTC program to see how it'll change their life, like it changed mine."

 

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