Jasmine Landry

I presented honor coins to several veterans while at Arlington National Cemetery. Rick Smith from the UMD American Indian Learning Resource Center encouraged us to give the commorative coins to veterans to recognize the people who keep the peace, guard the nation from danger, and risk their lives. I was nervous at first, but then I felt happiness and pride. When I presented challenge coins to three veterans, one of them told me it meant a lot to him to be honored. Being able to thank veterans for their sacrifices was important and I'll be forever grateful to Rick for encouraging me.”

Meaghan O’Connor

I stood on the same ground where my great-great grandmother, Catherine Lemieux, stood in 1914 at the Carlisle Industrial Indian Boarding School in Pennsylvania. I think of her as a teenager, sent away from her home and family at Fond du Lac, Minn., "traveling on a train for days.” It was the nation’s first Indian Boarding School and it would be the model for 45 more in the country. The whole idea of boarding schools is terribly sad because its purpose was assimilation. Here lived almost 10,000 Native American children from more than 140 tribes between 1879 and 1918. Overall, far less than 200 children graduated.

Emily Ley

One of the most memorable experiences that I had the privilege to be a part of was meeting with Congresswomen Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids. Last fall, we all had no idea that the first two Native American women in history would be elected to the United States Congress. In our classes, we learned how important representation is and about the need for people of all races, creeds and backgrounds to be visible so their voices are louder and more powerful. As someone who is not Native American, it is one thing to be an ally; but to see Native American women representing their people and their states for the first time in history in Congress, for Indigenous people see people who look like THEM in a position of power and influence, brought tears to many of the eyes in the room.

Grace Thurnau

Wow! We had a special opportunity to meet the very first Native congresswomen, Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland! Being in their offices, we couldn’t help but share smiles and tears. The oppression that is faced by many in the Native community has also been experienced by these two women. Seeing them rise and fight for their tribes and all those in Native country is so powerful. I can’t wait to see how they are able to make change and be a voice that has needed to be heard for so long. Although I am not Native, I couldn’t have felt more proud and empowered to continue to be an ally to Native communities, especially as a social worker.

Morgan McCollow

Before entering the Holocaust Museum, I saw a sign that said, “Think about what you saw” and it started to get me anxious about what I would see. I knew it was going to emotional but I didn’t know how real it would feel. We received identification cards that stated our names, stories, and if we survived. I was a 23-year-old girl that did survive. She was the only person in her family that she knows survived. I kept her in the back of my mind, trying to picture what it would of been like to live through the period of time. I do not think I will ever forget the room full of shoes. The smell of that room had an instant impact on me. In that room laid thousands on thousands of shoes, all belonging to people trying to survive.

Lindsay Loehlein

Walking through the U.S Holocaust Memorial Museum was overwhelming. I saw pictures, quotes and read stories that will forever be ingrained in my mind. I stood and looked at a wall with numerous pictures of Holocaust survivors with their arms reaching out displaying the identification number tattooed on their arms. Above these pictures was a quote by Primo Levi, a Holocaust survivor, that read “My number is 174517, we have been baptized, we will carry the tattoo on our left arm until we die.” Survivors of the Holocaust and their families will never forget, and neither will I.