Student Comments:
Some selected quotes from students of the Summer Symposium
​ (Formerly "Summer Institute"):

​​"​​The Summer Symposium was the last push I needed to know that I can’t just stand and watch anymore."

"I came into this honestly knowing very little…but the knowledge I received changed me. I am different due to this experience. I may not have been loud and voiced my emotions, but honestly I could not have spent my week in a better way. I am so thankful for this institute."

"Before this I didn’t have the confidence to do anything. Now I feel motivated to continue my studies and start things in my community."

"My entire outlook on life has changed. I had read things in books and learned things in class, but now I have 'experienced it'."
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"My priorities have dramatically changed and all I want to do is get the word out about the horrible things that have happened in history and are happening today."

"This was a wonderful opportunity for me. I have learned so much. It is good to feel confident enough to explain to other people the actual horror of genocide."

"I look forward to using the information that I have learned to make a difference in the world and in Africa."

"Because  of the Symposium, my outlook on life has changed." 

- Katelyn, 2015

​"Halfway through the week I decided that I want to spend my life preventing genocide and helping victims. I want to spread awareness and make the world a better place for everyone."

"I am so honored to have been a part of students and teachers who will hopefully one day change the world and the way people look at it."

"The speakers have definitely left an impression on me that will last a lifetime. Although their stories are devastating, they gave me an urge to help and know more."

​"I plan to make a club in my new school, Tapestry, about human rights and to keep updated on all issues concerning Darfur."

"Putting a face and voice to the crimes against humanity and to have them stand in front of you, let alone in a small group, truly made me more interested in studying human rights and helping others. This has changed me as a person and makes me want to make a change in the world one step at a time."

"I want to say ‘thank you’. [The instructors] put together a program that sparked something inside of me. [They] ignited a will to generate change."