The “Inspirations” mural located in downtown State College has some new additions, featuring Saquon Barkley, James Franklin, coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, and a tribute to the Jared Box Foundation. 

State College native and artist Michael Pilato is the man behind the mural and several others downtown. His artwork reflects both activism and the stories of influential figures in State College.  

One day, while painting, Pilato was approached by Franklin, who stopped to speak to him about his work on the mural. Pilato notes his appreciation for Franklin’s impact not only on the field but throughout the Penn State community.

“When he left, I was ready to paint for forever. I was telling people he’s gonna be the greatest coach, he’s such a motivator,” said Pilato.

The addition of Saquon Barkley comes as no surprise; he serves as an inspirational figure in Penn State football history and is considered one of the best running backs to come out of the program. Pilato decided to add women’s volleyball coach Schumacher-Cawley, as he feels she inspires both himself and those around him. Coach Katie is seen packing Jared boxes with toys, wearing a pink ribbon to signify her triumphant battle with breast cancer.

“Katie inspires me every day. I mean, it’s amazing, the students that walk by and just the stories I hear of how she makes them feel, of how she inspires them, how she inspires me,” said Pilato.

Pilato’s inspiration for the Jared Box Foundation tribute came after a woman contacted him about Jared McMullen. Jared was a young boy from State College who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1999. During his doctor’s visits, he would bring toys and share them with other sick children. 

In 2001, to honor his legacy, his former classmates started the Jared Box Foundation to bring toys to sick children, and since then, millions of Jared Boxes have been distributed worldwide. Jared’s brother visited the mural while Pilato was painting and added his handprint. Pilato remembers it as one of the greatest moments of his life. 

Pilato hopes that his artwork can inspire students, residents, and visitors.

“It’s always good to look up to people, to see community. The murals are people who bag your groceries and make you smile for 30 years,” he said.

This year, Pilato is working on an app for the mural with image recognition. The app will allow passersby to learn the stories of the people featured in the mural. 

In the future, he plans to have the mural reprinted on outdoor aluminum, half the size of the original, so that he can add new stories from the past 25 years from students and people in the community. Pilato also plans to incorporate a new section of the mural with a spot for graduating students to take photos. 

The mural as a whole tells the many stories of the influential figures who have built the legacy of State College and the Penn State community. Whether it’s THON kids, Pilato’s former teachers, or local musicians in State College, the mural represents both the past and hope for the future. 

Pilato toured the mural, starting with the painting of Osaze Osagie, a young man with mental illness who was killed by the police. His mother’s and father’s handprints are seen on him, with a small heart in the middle. 

He went on to show Kyle Johnson, a former Penn State lion ambassador who passed away from cardiac arrest on May 5, 2013, while running the Pittsburgh Half-Marathon. His family members’ handprints can be seen near him on the mural, alongside a small gold finch pecking at his grandmother’s handprint.  

Each year on September 11, Pilato holds a 48-hour painting vigil. One of the figures he’s painted during those vigils includes Michael Murphy, wearing his Congressional Medal of Honor, standing behind a white rose, similar to those sent to his family by Joe Paterno after his passing. 

Other figures painted during 48-hour vigils are Sean Collier, who was a Penn Stater and police officer shot during the Boston Marathon bombing, and Brandon McCombie, who died on September 10 of the following year after 9/11. Brandon’s father wrote on the mural, “Brandon lived a short but good life; he achieved early what every great man in world history has made his life’s ambition to obtain, to die honored, loved, and successful.”

Local heroes are not the only influential figures painted on the wall. Bob Moore, a native storyteller, is seen telling kids from the West Branch School a story about Chief Bald Eagle. Mona Ship, Michael’s longtime friend, is pictured as Princess Nittany. 

Joe Humphreys, a renowned fly fisherman who influenced Penn State’s Fly Fishing Program, is seen holding a fishing line that leads to his late wife, painted as a child at the end. 

Pilato says that the part of the mural that changed his life the most is the painting of Eugene Lederer and a painting of a young boy, Andrew, who was tragically killed after being hit by a car across the street from Lederer Park. He painted the young boy with a chalkboard in his hands so that his loved ones and teachers could paint the word “Love” on it.

“His mother would sit across the street when that was the deli and say it was like having lunch with her boy,” said Pilato.

The “Inspirations” mural pays a large tribute to 9/11 and the many Penn Staters impacted by the tragedy. At the center is a cross made from the ruins of the twin towers gifted to Pilato by firefighter and 9/11 responder Tony Martin. After grinding the back of the cross, Pilato mixed it with paint and painted several religious symbols towards the center. 

Pilato incorporated the state birds from which the planes took off during 9/11. He also incorporated the former owner of the T-shirt store, the House of Kashmir, which was located in Calder Alley for over 40 years. The incorporation of the owner, Saghir Ahmad, represents activism, as his store was vandalized on 9/11 due to his race. 

The mural also displays flags from several different countries with rips in them; the rips from the flags can be found interwoven in an eagle’s nest, symbolizing the various backgrounds that make America a diverse country. 

Pilato also paid tribute to Dora McQuaid, a sexual violence survivor and poet who helped victims, alongside his daughter, who inspired and continues to inspire his artwork with her strength and resilience.

“My daughter was a survivor, and she spoke out during that time and brought survivors up for a whole year. She would bring them up here and help them, and that’s what all of these handprints are from survivors,” said Pilato 

Pilato spoke about the incorporation of halos in his work, sharing that the halos aren’t put on people from history who have died, but rather people already on the mural who end up passing away, except Andrew, whose mother requested he have a halo.

“There are 20 halos. Eventually, they will all be halos,” said Pilato. 

References to Penn State football are scattered throughout the mural, with Joe Paterno wearing sunglasses reflecting the inside of Beaver Stadium, and John Capelletti, the only Penn Stater to win the Heisman Trophy.

The mural represents much of State College, including bartenders, shop owners, students, local heroes, and many more influential figures. For more information on Pilato and his work, you can visit his website here.