Sankar Raman

Opening Doors for Others

In the vastness of the skies above, where dreams take flight, sits Safia Ferozi, the second woman to ever become an Air Force pilot in Afghanistan. She is leading

Sankar Raman

Fighting for His Survival

When Nasirullah Safi walked to school every day, he was never sure if he would be able to walk back home. He would pass walls strewn with bullets and hear

Sankar Raman

Songs that Help us Cope with War

Inna Kovtun was lying in her bed in Kyiv at 11 p.m. on Feb. 23, 2022, talking on the phone with the general director of her orchestra. She told him […]

Sankar Raman

Reinventing Her Success

Demet Tuncer Tanriover fondly remembers growing up in Istanbul. Her family’s apartment nestled in the quiet suburb of Levent, she walked to an  

Nino Paoli

Self-Expression through Journalism

Growing up in a small town in Montana, Angelo Nino Paoli did not foresee that he would want to pursue journalism. He loved writing, but was also an athlete

Sankar Raman

Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling

The Honorable Chanpone Sinlapasai does not know when she was born. Her Lao tribe did not document any life cycle events. For her American immigration paperwork, 

Sankar Raman

The Bitter Passage of Time

2004 was a special year for Ghassan bin Hammam. He had just been accepted into a Ph.D. program in robotics at The Ohio State University, paving the way for his […]

Valli

A Treasure House of Cultural Pride

Every day was a playdate for Valli as a little girl. Growing up in a large Tamil enclave in New Delhi, India’s capital, Valli and her cousins would spend each […]

Sankar Raman

Standing Against Injustice

As a young boy growing up in the unrecognized African state of Rhodesia, Tapiwa Kapurura was faced with injustice. He was born in the town of Mount Darwin

Sankar Raman

A Focus on the Possible

For Emiliano Ruelas Sosa, the doors to the American dream began to close when he was 15. Due to his legal status he was not allowed to get his driver’s […]

Karen Weliky

Life Through Her Eyes

For 98-year-old Bertha Lee Saiget, Portland’s Chinatown is more than a mark on a map or a tourist destination. Its history is her life, and she has borne witness to […]

Sankar Raman

A Return to Her Roots

For as long as she could remember, Shirley Yee was enchanted with Cantonese opera. The emotion of its music, the grace of its performers, and the complexity of their  

Sankar Raman

Creating Peace Amid Conflict

Djimet Dogo will never forget seeing the boy, no more than 8 years old, who had been whipped by a soldier until he was bleeding from the chest.

Makka Djibrine

Competition From Within

Education is a prized commodity for Makka Djibrine Khatir. But it hasn’t always been this way. Indeed, for most of her early life, education was the same as suffering.

Sankar Raman

A Rebellion Against Silence

Sindy Avila-Gutierrez looks back undaunted on her life as an undocumented immigrant.  “I’ve always been a rebel in that way,” she says. “You tell me