Back to the drawing board

hile juggling the job as its top administrator, Frances Colon Gibson ’74 recently made her artistic mark on the Magnolia School District.

When school opened in September, the students were presented with a unique gift—Gibson’s 18 by 20-foot mural of the school’s mascot, the Magnolia Blue Mustang.
Beginning in July and working a few hours every few days, Gibson completed the mural the day before school opened. “It is a gift from me to the children,” she said. “I hope they see me as multi-dimensional, not just as their superintendent.” The last time Gibson painted a mural was in college, when she and her fellow art students painted a circus scene in Bozorth Hall as part of a college assignment.

Gibson, a resident of Medford, is New Jersey’s first female Hispanic superintendent. Each year, she gives lectures and participates in panel discussions dealing with the roles of women, empowerment, and the need for a strong education. To get away from the stress of her job, Gibson lives in a log cabin on a lake. There, she hopes to get back to her artistic roots. “It is a part of my life which I feel I have neglected. The Magnolia Mustang has allowed me to see that painting is a valuable part of my life.”
Years after leaving the College with an art degree, Gibson shared her talent with children again.

from fall ’96