A new mural at Fayetteville Technical Community College celebrates the spirit of the school through its dedication to a diverse student body and its commitment to the employment needs of the community.
The design team made each decision about artistic elements and colors with purpose. FTCC art instructor Katharine (Katey) Morrill began sending emails out on the idea in January. Sandy Ammons, executive director of the FTCC Foundation, applied for the initial grant and maneuvered expertly when additional funds became necessary.
FTCC alumna and artist Britney Deveault, who painted two other murals on campus, returned to lead the design collaboration. Three art students volunteered over 45 hours to complete the project. They contributed their time with no financial or grade compensation, outside of school hours and away from family. The result: A big, colorful, cheerful mural that, through art, shows FTCC’s contributions to its students and our community.
Prominent citizens came together in 1985 to establish the foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, established to raise money to cover any unmet needs on campus and to fund scholarships. Ammons initially secured a small grant from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County.
First, a suitable wall needed to be determined, and then the design needed to be approved. The team—which Morrill emphasizes enjoyed a high level of give and take, everyone listening to input and contributing ideas—discovered that a section of the wall would be unsuitable for painting.
A different wall needed to be selected for the project, and then additional funding needed to be secured for a reworking of the design and additional paint. The work went from 80 feet long to 104 feet and the design expanded in proportion. Now, looking at the mural, one cannot imagine it without the returning troops and the American flag at the right-hand side of the work.
Ammons successfully moved the grant proposal from one funding option under the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County to another better suited to the expanding project.
In addition, the North Carolina Arts Council helped support the effort. Furthermore, the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and other community partners made contributions to see the project come to fruition. Finally, the FTCC Foundation itself awarded a mini grant for the artwork’s completion.
The design team made each decision about artistic elements and color with purpose. Of course, the high number of active-duty soldiers and veterans who go through the doors of FTCC are represented at both ends of the mural, starting on the left with paratroopers jumping over a rose, representative of one of many of the college’s specialties: horticulture and its must-see Fayetteville Rose Garden at 2201 Hull Road.
The welder reflects the numerous career paths involving welding, from steel fabrication to automotive pursuits. The geese/ducks represent our area’s rich flora and fauna. They share space with a computer operator, revealing how sustainable use of resources is not incompatible with conservation efforts and how technology can be harnessed for good in the constructive management of our natural environment.
Nursing and culinary arts represent two additional academic programs for which FTCC is renowned. And finally, we see the American flag and returning soldiers who may need a new career path after transitioning out, or new skills they can apply to their current active-duty positions.
Even the colors were chosen with care. Of the students who attend the college as a stepping stone to furthering their education at a four-year school, the majority end up at Fayetteville State University, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, East Carolina University or North Carolina State University. The school colors of those universities are incorporated in the color pallet used in the mural.
Students choose FTCC for a variety of reasons. First, the college focuses on offering career paths that are marketable. For instance, Merrill stresses that the art department avoids the negative starving-artist mental image and instead teaches artists how they can build relationships within the community and treat their art as a business that can provide an abundant livelihood.
Students also come for the flexibility of after-hour class offerings. They could be holding down full-time jobs and raising families. Older returning students lend their wisdom to the collective student body, and people who take single classes are often in search of personal enrichment.
Plus, as Ammons adds, you cannot beat the affordability of a community college. FTCC offers over 280 course concentrations, culminating in associate degrees, diplomas and certificates. Financial aid is available, so whether you want to work in auto body repair or teach preschoolers, be a civil engineer or an electrician, a graphic designer or a dental hygienist, you can’t go wrong with the hometown technical college.

(Photo: The mural team shows off their work: from left, FTCC instructor Josh Deveault; FTCC art instructor Katharine Morrill; FTCC graphic design alumna Britney Deveault; and art students Sarah Johnson, Ryan Hauth and Kevin Elmore.)