Omar: "I am much more interested in defending my ideas than defending my identities."

Omar: "We must see others' struggles as our own, and their success as our success, so we can speak to our common humanity."

Omar: "Learning is not limited to the classroom, and Minnesota shouldn't limit its education resources there, either."

Omar: "I grew up under a dictatorship. I knew what it meant for people to not have the ability to freely express themselves."

Omar: "I find hope in knowing that I belong to a state that has a lot of people who are champions of change and progress; that we will rise up and fight for justice and equality; that, ultimately, love will trump hate."

Omar: "I was always made aware of inequality in society, that there was a class system. In Somalia, we have clan structures. My mother's family is ethnically not Somali, and so we spoke often about what it meant to be 'other' in that way."

Omar: "Every student has something to offer, and every student deserves a nurturing learning environment."

Omar: "Hope will be found by understanding that diversity is the essence of the American Dream and why we need each other to fulfill it."

Omar: "I believe women and minorities often wait for permission to be invited to something; we need to stop doing that."

Omar: "Our immigration policy should be based in compassion and a desire to help the other."

Omar: "I've always said you get what you organize for."

Omar: "I want my children to attend inclusive schools where diversity is respected and acknowledged as a sign of strength."

Omar: "In just my own neighborhood, you can't go one block without seeing a sign that says, you know, 'Everyone's welcome here,' 'Refugees are welcome here.' I love my Muslim neighbors, and so there is truly this spirit of generosity and compassion and openness that still exists."

Omar: "My kids are the reason I continue to strive for something better. They know - as kids who are Muslim, Somali, black Americans - that they've always been part of a struggle and that change isn't easy."