Sophomore Stephanie Klettlinger had the opportunity to learn about different cultures when she participated in the Youth Employment for Success (YES) Mural Project last summer.

Klettlinger and her sister Deanna, an eighth-grader at St. Matthew School in Ellet, first became aware of the mural project through another area program, Coming Together Akron.

"I found out about the mural from my sister, who's in Coming Together Akron, and it sounded really interesting," Klettlinger said.

Coming Together Akron and the Akron Arts Alliance copartnered with Summit County Executive James B. McCarthy's YES initiative in July 2006. Approximately 30 students in middle and high school participated in the summer project.

"There were students from all over, from different area public schools and even foreign countries," Klettlinger said. "Meeting so many new and diverse people was great, and I made many friends."

The students involved in the program painted a 9x200 foot mural on the Art Space on Akron's East Market Street to celebrate multiculturalism. Teens from Akron, as well as Mexico, Laos and Korea took an active rôle in painting the mural, under the guidance of Kirk Mangus, a Kent State University art and ceramics professor.

"[Mangus] sketched the mural on the wall, and we were told what color to paint it," Klettlinger said.

The program, created through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, encouraged area youth to explore and embrace different cultures. YES was one of 135 small programs throughout the nation that received $10,000 grants to extend the arts to the community. Area businesses, like Home Depot and Sherwin-Williams, donated art supplies to the three-week project.

The opportunity for self-discovery was also presented to the participating students through a $679 grant from the Vernon Odom Fund of the Akron Community Foundation. The grant gave participants a chance to research their own cultural heritage and paint self-portraits. Art instructor Marcie Bircher helped the students with this extension of the project, and the portraits went on display in the fall.

Klettlinger was glad to participate in the learning experience.

"I loved seeing how people, even if they are from totally different backgrounds, can get together and do something as fun as painting a mural."