Recent Alumnus Uses Creativity for Social Justice

May 13, 2021
a man posing outside
Conor Mullen. (Photo by Carlyn Cook)

By Micaela Myers 

In this issue of UWyo Magazine, we asked students about the changes they hope to help create in our world. Recent alumnus Conor Mullen (social work and environment and natural resources M.S.W., ’21, B.F.A., ’11) of Casper, Wyo., exemplifies this question and its answer with numerous involvements across campus and the community to create lasting positive change.

Mullen has worked as a coordinator for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Social Justice Research Center. This spring, he accepted a position with the Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter. His role as one of two chapter associate organizing representatives builds on his experiences as a student and staff member at UW and allows him to contribute to the future he envisions and hopes for.

“I see social justice as a web of support that works to identify and eliminate injustices at their social, cultural, historical and political roots while simultaneously advocating for and equitably uplifting the well-being, potential and participation of all people in the betterment of society,” he says. “There is no social justice without environmental justice, and there is no environmental justice without social justice.”

While pursuing his master’s degree, Mullen completed internships at Feeding Laramie Valley and Albany County Clean Water Advocates.

“Both those experiences taught me a lot about the community and some of the challenges we face but also the opportunities that we have here,” he says.

person painting a mural
Photo by Sydney Edwards

A gifted artist, Mullen last year received the Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship from the Department of Communication and Journalism for his project documenting the impacts of COVID-19 on the greater Yellowstone area, including the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

“Things were already tough there, especially around health care, jobs and food,” he says. “Those impacts have been made even harder by the pandemic.”

An avid skateboarder for more than 20 years, Mullen also combines his art and social justice work with Friends of the Laramie Skatepark, where he works alongside other members of the group to fulfill the organization’s mission of expanding terrain and building community at the skatepark. This summer, Mullen completed a 900-square-foot community-inspired mural on a full-pipe feature there. He worked with the Laramie Public Art Coalition and a number of social service organizations surrounding LaBonte Park to come up with a design that celebrates the park as a fixture of Laramie.

In the future, Mullen hopes to continue to use his creative background in a way that helps advocate for social, environmental and climate justice.

“The future that I want to contribute to is the one where design and decision-making meet equity,” he says. “It’s an unlikely future in many of our minds, but it’s worth fighting for, I think. I will make good on my education and my privileges if I can help to advance things so that all people can reach their rights and participate freely in the creation of society.”

 

 

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