Grasso Tech students design inspirational posters for York, juvenile detention centers
Groton ― Ella T. Grasso Technical High School junior Bianca Bracamonte said Wednesday her latest class project is not just another school assignment, but one that will affect people and change people’s minds.
Seniors and juniors in the high school’s digital media department are designing posters for Road Signs for Life, a nonprofit that sends inspirational, career-oriented and interactive posters to display at the York Correctional Institution in Niantic and juvenile detention centers in Hartford and Bridgeport.
Bracamonte designed a career-oriented poster with a photo of a web designer, average salary, and a George Eliot quote: “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
“I’m very proud,” Bracamonte said. “I’m very excited about it.”
Road Signs for Life Founder Carol Belli and Ilona House, president of the group’s board of directors, on Wednesday spoke to 10 juniors in the school’s digital media program about Belli’s time in prison and the project.
Belli spent 60 days at the women’s prison in Niantic for two counts of negligent homicide with a motor vehicle as a result of a 2019 fatal motor vehicle accident in Mystic that killed an elderly couple.
Belli, a Groton resident and former educator in Norwich and Windham who previously told her story to The Day, told students that she was put in a substance abuse program in prison. She said she does not have a substance abuse problem, but it was the best place to be in the facility.
In her first substance abuse class, she said the instructor talked about the importance of thought. During required meetings, Belli said she started to reinforce what the instructor had said and began talking about the power of positive thinking, getting rid of negative thinking, and affirmations. After the meetings, the women thanked Belli for her ideas and told her it was helping them face the future.
Grandmother to younger inmates
Belli said she was “like a grandmother” to the younger women she met. She said they would insist that she take their seat, carried things for her, opened doors for her, and left her fresh fruit.
“So how could I not love them?” Belli, 78, said. “How could I not want to do something for them when I left? So I did.”
She said she sent inspirational posters to York, and they were well received. She then formed the nonprofit, Road Signs for Life, whose mission is to foster encouragement, hope and direction in people who are in correctional institutions.
She said the posters are sent to people who likely may not have much in the way of encouragement, with the idea that if they see the posters on a regular basis, they will internalize the inspirational thoughts and that will help them going forward in life.
On Wednesday, Belli and House showed students inspirational posters with quotes and images; interactive posters which the incarcerated women and youth can color; and career-oriented posters highlighting professions, quotes and salary averages. They explained to the students the criteria for the posters.
House said the nonprofit wants people coming out of prison to be independent if they can be. She pointed out that there are programs available, such as apprenticeships, for people who didn’t go to college or didn’t go to high school, to learn skills.
Sparking curiosity about jobs
She encouraged the students, when creating posters, to try to spark curiosity about alternative jobs and challenge gender stereotypes, such as by showing women being electricians or plumbers and men being certified nursing aides.
The nonprofit will select posters created by the students with the greatest appeal to be sent to the facilities. Those students will receive a Certificate of Achievement.
Belli and House went around the room Wednesday to look at the posters the students created, offering compliments and suggestions. The students designed posters with inspirational quotes and photos of people in professions, including firefighting, welding, hair-styling, and real estate. Next, the students plan to create inspirational posters.
Junior Yineliz Santiago created a career-oriented poster about hairstylists.
“It makes me feel good because I like helping others,” Santiago said about creating the poster.
She said she grew up doing her cousins’ hair and liked seeing them smile afterwards. She said doing people’s hair can make them feel more loved and have self-love.
Junior Jheybel Pena made a career-oriented poster about a female real estate agent. He hopes people looking at the poster see women’s empowerment and that it inspires women to pursue that future after they leave prison.
Scott Hill, digital media department head, said the project is a great opportunity for the students to enhance their skills in Photoshop and address design principles.
He also tells the students that the posters will liven up the walls of the correctional centers. He said that through their artwork, they will be able to inspire someone and help someone get through their day.
More information on Road Signs for Life is available at: https://roadsignsforlife.org
k.drelich@theday.com
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