"Air of Truth" Exhibition Opens at NRHS
By Lea Cohen
Embedded Files
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Air of Truth Opening Reception
Photos by Lea Cohen
"Air of Truth, New Rochelle High School's most recent exhibition in the Museum of Arts and Culture, recently opened to the public. The exhibition held its opening reception on January 8, 2025. However, this show didn't happen to involve art; instead, environmental issues were on the table. Carmen Glenn, the Advanced Placement Environmental Science teacher at the high school, along with five of her past or current APES (AP Environmental Science) students–specifically chosen by her–worked together to bring this project to fruition. Ms Glenn and her students encouraged students and parents from all over to take a walk through the exhibit to learn the surprising reality of air pollution in New Rochelle.
The student environmentalists’ interactive exhibit delved deeply into air pollution and its significant, long-lasting impacts. Students spent months studying quality data on air pollution holistically, as well as the unequal air pollution impact towards communities of people of color. The exhibition displayed concise educational writing about general data conclusions, pollution disparities, connections to redlining, modes of taking action, and more. The exhibit perfectly executed its multi-media approach: combining photography, painting, sculpture, writing, and data charts. Guided by Ms. Glenn, these students utilized their hard work and meticulous environmental research to culminate their discoveries into an exhibit with a profound impact on those who choose to come see it. Glenn said, “The most meaningful thing I can do, in terms of my teaching career, is work with small groups of students on projects that they have some level of control over.”
The opening reception began at 5pm and was accompanied by food and refreshments. After giving families time to view the exhibition–many were guided through the work by one of the Air of Truth students–Ms Glenn and her students came together to share some words about their experience putting the project together. Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert was in attendance, along with other significant New Rochelle figures.
When asked what exactly drew her to the topic of air pollution in specific, Glenn explained its direct foreseeable impacts on people’s health here in New Rochelle, and on the students she worked with to create this project. As highlighted in the exhibit, the majority of air pollution in New Rochelle comes from traffic–highway areas, diesel trucks, etc. Historically, highways–huge pollutant producers–have been predominantly built in black communities that lack the political empowerment to combat this construction. Even she was surprised by the sheer amount of air pollution caused solely by traffic.
Ms Glenn has been teaching Environmental Science at New Rochelle High School for over 20 years, and grew up as an environmental activist from a young age. Projects like these have lots of meaning to her life. Upon being asked if she ever finds herself learning from her own students, she immediately replied “Always. The world that I grew up in is completely different from the world my students are growing up in today. I’m always learning from them.” Although some facts of the exhibit are concerning, Ms Glenn retains an optimistic outlook on the future, stating, “Young people are so open-minded and so environmentally conscious and care about the world they want to live in. I think there are a lot of stereotypes about young people being apathetic, and I don't find that to be true.” In regards to creating change, she believes that “The first step is education. That happens one person at a time, one mind at a time. And I think you need policy changes that make it easy for people to do the right thing. It shouldn’t be an uphill battle to do something the right way.” Ms Glenn hasn’t yet come up with her next project–but she’s sure there will be one.
Daniela Maldonado, a senior at NRHS, was one of the five students selected to work on the exhibit. She was a former student of Ms. Glenn, taking APES in her junior year. She says she has always been interested in environmental issues, but that Ms. Glenn’s teaching “really left an impact on me which inspired me to take on the internship. Working personally with environmental issues reinforced to me their importance in the world.” Maldonado had some brief prior knowledge on the subject of air pollution, but was excited to delve further into it, saying “I was really intrigued because even with any part that seemed ‘small’ or ‘insignificant’, I just wanted to see how people were affected. Learning about redlining in New Rochelle gave me a new perspective. I got to really see the history of the town, how it has developed, and its impacts on people today.” Maldonado looks back on her experience with the project fondly. She said, “It's been really fun. I got to know her [Ms. Glenn] more and it was exciting for us all to work on something we were interested in and passionate about. Ms. Glenn made every step of the process exciting.” When asked what she's taken from this experience and how its impacted her life, Maldonado said, “Working on this exhibition and in this internship has made me very conscious of the choices im making–its taught me to be aware of how im contributing to the world and how I can constantly shift and improve the way I do things.”
This exhibit was on display in the Museum of Arts and Culture from January 5 to 24.
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