Alumni News

by Elizabeth Ahn ’26

Last spring, Potomac alum Ash Samuels ’17 returned to campus to collaborate with Langston Chambliss ’25 and Karrington Hayes ’25 to create a stunning new mural in the Hub for Connected Community (formerly the Center for Community, Equity, and Racial Justice). Located within the Upper School, the Hub serves as “a place for students to gather to share ideas, explore issues, and build coalitions for positive change.” Over the course of several months, the team carefully planned, designed, and painted the mural, transforming the space with a work of art that reflects both creativity and community spirit.

Throughout their time at Potomac, Ash, a passionate member of the Visual and Performing Arts Concentration program, described themselves as “one of those students who was always in the art room.” Within this community, they were able to engage and connect with fellow talented students, forming the bonds that characterized their Upper School experience. They also were involved in the Gender and Sexuality Alliance. After graduating in 2017, they proceeded to earn a BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. 

Their pieces, which highlight themes of generational memory, Black girlhood, neurodivergence, and emotional legacies, have been featured in numerous exhibitions across the Northeast, as well as several publications. They explained, “I aim to merge my variety of experiences with illustration into something that feels like a reflection of me and the communities that I’m a part of.” Thus, when then-seniors Langston and Karrington reached out, Ash was thrilled to help enhance Potomac’s Hub for Connected Community.

The project included two murals. The first, more complex piece involved working directly on various parts of the room, customizing the design to those dimensions. For the second mural, the team worked on panels in the art room and later installed them onto the Hub’s walls.

The monthlong process proved to be a deeply meaningful opportunity for artistic expression, personal growth, and overcoming challenges. The team dedicated the first two weeks to designing the murals. They began with simplified sketches, which Ash described as “almost like little thumbnails,” before refining them through a series of drafts and revisions. During this period, they were also choosing color palettes, ordering paint colors, and deciding how much of the colors were needed. It was important to the team to make sure not to overwhelm the space, as the Hub for Connected Community is a deeply intentional outlet that fosters authentic connections and potential vulnerability. Thus, they wanted the design to facilitate that as much
as possible, creating a comfortable environment for all. Ash, Langston, and Karrington all contributed a multitude of ideas, and with a bit of trial and error, they consolidated the design into one coherent vision. “We all wanted so much for this mural because it meant so much,” Ash said.

With the design solidified, there was much painting and implementation to be done to complete the murals. After many late nights at Potomac, the team members achieved a design that they are proud of and accurately reflects the space. Since the team revealed the finished product to the Upper School, students have stopped by to admire the new addition, many of them inspired by the murals and the interconnectedness they represent.

This project crystallized Ash’s passion for merging art and community, inspiring them to launch NeuroNest, a multidisciplinary creative outlet centered on neurodiverse artists—“anybody who has felt excluded or overwhelmed in traditional artmaking,” they said. NeuroNest includes tutoring, workshops, mural residencies, and other forms of mentorship and community. “A lot of my creative experience led me up to this point,” Ash said, referring to the Potomac murals. As an aspiring clinical psychologist focusing on art therapy, they are eager to do more projects like this in the future.

Elizabeth Ahn, a senior at Potomac, serves as a co-editor-in-chief for The Current, the school’s student newspaper.

Read more stories from The Term.