Elayna Yussen

Speaking Out: From Poetry to Politics

Don’t let 17-year-old Belise Nishimwe’s petite stature fool you. Measuring in at just 4 feet 9.5 inches tall, she is bursting with confidence, charisma and big ideas

Sankar Raman

Finding His Footing on the Pitch

Wilondja Mashimango spent his childhood on the soccer field. One day on the pitch, he heard someone greet him and turned around to reply. However, what he

Sankar Raman

Learning How to Change the World

At four years old, already aiming  to “fix things,” Milen Gebreamlak decided she would become president of Eritrea to make things better.

Sankar Raman

Doing Everything With Her Own Hands

Ayan Salat can teach you all about scorpions. She can make fluffy injera bread and cook meals for an entire household. Ayan could ghost-write your next

Sankar Raman

The Hard Way Can Be What Saves You

Yamini Rajan was 12 the first time she heard her father cry. With tears rolling down his cheeks, he saw the scars covering Yamini’s thighs and arms.

Sankar Raman

Shea Seery

Shea is a junior at Reed College in Portland Oregon, where she studies comparative literature, politics, photography, and French. She writes for the  

Sankar Raman

Be Whoever You Want to Be

Like her journey as a refugee, becoming who she is today has not been easy for Irakoze Diane. That is why “Irakoze” is not just a name — it is a […]

Sankar Raman

Monica Salazar

Monica is a senior English major at the University of Portland and hopes to pursue a writing career following graduation. Born in a small agrarian village in Mexico,  

Sankar Raman

Jessica Pollard

Jessica is a senior majoring in geography at the University Honors College of Portland State University in Oregon. Her work has been published in Willamette Week 

Sankar Raman

Live, Love, and Juggle

Every summer morning as a child, Ramazan Yiğit — Rama —  would rise before the sun in order to shepherd his family’s livestock until sundown

Marcelo Carocci-Ormsbee

Marcelo Carocci-Ormsbee

Marcelo is a cultural anthropologist with a master’s degree in applied anthropology and a certificate in archaeology. He is currently a Ph.D. student in the  

Sankar Raman

Something To Be Proud Of

Felix Songolo does not remember much of what he left behind in Africa.  His family left the Democratic Republic of Congo before he was born

Sankar Raman

The Strength within Yourself

Instead of a novel, Brianda Alcazar would sneak her geometry book into her room at night and wait till her parents were in bed so she could turn on the […]

Sankar Raman

Counting on Math and Soccer

Mussa doesn’t remember much from the night his father was killed. From where he stood in his crib he could hear men’s voices in the room next door,

Sankar Raman

A Heart in the Right Place

Ever since grade school, Abel Getachew has known what he wanted to do with his life—heart surgery for those in need. “When I was in elementary school,