By Armanni Varela and Kennedy Carter Roberto Clemente Community Academy
On April 30th, 2015, a group of students from different grade levels of Roberto Clemente met up with students from Albizu Campos and planted beautiful plants and flowers along the store fronts of Division Street. Bringing beauty to our neighborhood shows we are proud of what we have and willing to defend our neighborhood from gentrification. This project was not only to bring beauty to our infamous Division Street, but to also form a connection between Roberto Clemente and Pedro Albizu Campos. Bringing together different schools will help us build a better community with stronger and healthier relationships. Today we have achieved two goals; we have brought color to our community and formed new friendships with students from Campos. No time will ever be regretted.
“This experience planting flowers in the planters down Division shows that hard work pays off because you’re helping the community look better”
-Noel Acevedo
“This experience planting flowers on Division was good because I was helping to better the environment.”
-Brandon Garcia
“The trip overall was a great experience, and also a time for me to learn, to show people that we care about our community and to walk down Division with my peers and make it beautiful.”
-Dioni Cedeno
“During this experience I realized all the little things count toward the community.” -Alexander Ramirez
“Today allowed me to bring beauty to our community and build friendships with people outside of Clemente. This experience was great.”
-Kayla Triche
“Our trip today overall was a great experience, and a really great time. It allowed us to bring beauty to our community and I was able to actually spend time in our community. It also allowed us to meet new people and get along with them.”
-Jocelyn Llamas
“This experience was exciting. Being able to plant flowers for our community was a great feeling, and being able to make our community beautiful also was a great feeling. Getting to meet new people, interact with them and work with them is an unforgettable experience.
-Destiny Andino
“This trip was a really fun experience and it was nice to see two schools come together to make our community a better place to live in”
-Edgar Feliciano
“I felt like I was helping the community. I can’t wait until the summer because I am very curious to see how our plants grow!”
-Nakylla Lowe
“Planting the plants, helping organize the flowers, and socializing with students from another school allowed me to really feel like I was truly benefiting the community and changing if for the better.”
-Rosaly Gonzalez
“It is great to see our schools (Roberto Clemente and Pedro Albizu Campos) working together to beautify our neighborhood. I cannot wait to see these flowers in the summer.”
-Armanni Manuel Varela
