Ten high school juniors from Colorado were selected to be The Gerald M. Quiat Delegates to ADL’s 21st Annual Grosfeld Family National Youth Leadership Mission to Washington, D.C. The students embarked on a journey with ADL to apply lessons learned from the Holocaust to their own lives and lead the fight against bigotry and hate in their respective communities. These ten student delegates joined 65 other diverse students from around the country. The Colorado delegates were selected for their leadership qualities and interest in both learning about diversity and demonstrating a willingness to bring back lessons to their schools.
The Colorado students pictured in the photo are:
Front row L-R: Macy Miller, Boulder High School, Ellery Andersen, Lakewood High School, Zoe Siegel, Highlands Ranch High School; Middle Row L-R: Meron Siyoum, Rangeview High School; Rahwa Desta, Rangeview High School, Sowmya Duggirala, Rampart High School; Jennifer Wixson, Westminster High School; Back Row L-R: Dan Cohen, ADL Staff, Ruvi Cervantes, West Early College-High School; Destinee Perry-Jackson, West Early College-High School; Porscha Maurer-Cordova , Rampart High School and Tara Raju, ADL Staff. ,
“Equipping young people with the ability to not only understand issues of bias, bigotry and racism, especially given the troubling events across the country, but to equip them to be able to directly respond, is more critical now than ever,” said Scott L. Levin, ADL Mountain States Regional Director. “Our region’s Gerald M. Quiat delegates to the National Youth Leadership Mission have, over the years, become inspired to effect change in their own schools and neighborhoods upon returning from the trip. The mission really gets them thinking about combatting hate in a really positive way, and we are so grateful to the Quiat family for enabling these students to have such a formative and impactful experience.”
The centerpiece of the mission was a visit to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Students not only learned about the past, but applied the lessons learned to their own lives by engaging in in-depth discussions about how they can play a part in fighting prejudice.
Delegates heard from several notable speakers, including:
- George Selim, Senior Vice President of Programs, ADL
- Irene Weiss, a Holocaust survivor
- Eugenie Mukeshimana, a Rwandan Genocide survivor
- Maria Praeli, Government Affairs Manager, FWD.us, a bipartisan political organization
- Michael Lieberman, Director, Civil Rights Policy Planning Center, ADL
Colorado delegates connected with speakers and with their peers to share experiences, ideas, and motivated each other to keep examining and challenging bias they see in their communities. In reflecting on the trip, these delegates said:
“With all of my new and strengthened leadership skills, I have been incredibly motivated to make change in my community.”
“This trip has truly allowed me to learn about the consequences of hatred and genocide. It has allowed me to learn about things that I would have otherwise never known, go to monumental places in DC, and truly motivate my missing in helping others to spread love.”
“Not only am I more motivated now but I am more prepared to fight against the hate I see in my community”
ADL is grateful to the generosity of the Quiat family for enabling this powerful program to continue serving as a life-changing experience for so many students in the Mountain States Region.