On a humid day in June, I landed in Boston, feeling tense. I was away from home, away from my family. I was scared. I… Read More
College Essay: Raising my voice and gaining confidence
September 2017 Magazine Articles
College Essay: ‘Wherever you come from does not define you’
When I tell people I live in north Minneapolis, their eyes often get wide. I get it. Drive-by shootings, poverty and drugs surround my block,… Read More
College Essay: Honoring a father and his legacy
I hate the smell of hospitals. The pungent, sterile odor of the place where some people go to die takes me back to the year… Read More
College Essay: Choosing the right path
If I hadn’t moved away from Gary, Indiana, I would be in a juvenile facility or possibly pregnant. Growing up with my mom and older… Read More
College Essay: On a mission to help others
I am lying on the playground, looking up at the other kids like they are giants. One kid keeps kicking me in the stomach. Fifth… Read More
College Essay: A stand-in parent
My arms screamed in protest, crying mutiny against my mind even as screams, loud and physical, erupted from my youngest sister. At 2 years old,… Read More
College Essay: Telling my story, without a costume
The dress was knee-length, frilled, and made of a blue material that resembled a shaggy carpet. In retrospect, it was hideous. But in that very… Read More
A source of food and unity: South Minneapolis garden tackles issues of diversity, food security and sustainability
At the Gandhi Mahal Interfaith Garden in south Minneapolis, food brings people of diverse faiths and circumstances together. The garden is a collaboration between three… Read More
Hot dogs at the ballpark? Think again: Youth in Roots for the Home team create, sell salads at sports venues
Janet Valdez contributed to this story. It’s the seventh-inning stretch at Target Field, and you start to get hungry. Everywhere at the Minnesota Twins ballpark,… Read More
A new meaning for ‘ride sharing’: St. Paul teens teach community about sustainable transportation
Even though Munira Hersi lives only a few blocks away from the Metro Transit bus and light rail stops in St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood, her… Read More
