As the midterm elections draw closer, the divisions that exist within America are often on full display.
Social media pages, radio and TV airwaves are frequently dominated by bitter discourse and withering political attacks.
The concept of a unified America — a neighbor working alongside another neighbor for a common goal — can seem elusive.
But all across the country, many young people are working to change that.
They actively engage in civic initiatives to bring together their communities and solve problems. These young people are demonstrating a sense of unity and a cooperative spirit that should serve as a much-needed inspiration for our entire country.
One of those students is Hamid Torabzadeh, who joined his school’s American Red Cross Club as a freshman and became the nonprofit’s ambassador to the entire Los Angeles region as a senior.
Torabzadeh, a recent graduate of Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, Calif., has trained more than 300 of his peers in disaster preparedness through the Red Cross READYteens Program. Students have learned how to prepare for and help respond to crises such as pandemics, active shootings and wildfires.
“The more we work to unite our communities to face inevitable disasters, the healthier, more resilient, and more sustainable our livelihoods will be as Americans,” he said.
Torabzadeh’s vital service to his community won him the grand prize in the 2022 MyImpact Challenge, a civic engagement contest that helps students develop a robust understanding of citizenship and become civically engaged in their communities.
MyImpact Challenge is sponsored by the Bill of Rights Institute, a Virginia nonprofit that promotes civics and history through curricula and educational experiences for teachers and students.
Torabzadeh dreams of becoming a physician one day, and we hope the $10,000 prize he earned will help him realize this goal.
The theme for the 2022 competition was E pluribus unum — out of many, one — and Torabzadeh perfectly embodies the spirit of resolve and community-mindedness that America’s founders envisioned when they adopted the slogan.
During these politically divisive times, it can be easy to wonder whether the aspirations behind E pluribus unum are still plausible.
But students like Isabella Hanson, class of 2023 at Kennett High School in Kennett Square, Pa., are working to bring people together and build communities based on free expression, understanding and respect.
Hanson understood that many young people felt isolated because of school closures triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
“In my time of need, I have turned to poetry, and I knew that the arts could help other students as well,” she said.
Hanson founded the I Matter poetry contest in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 murder to provide “a forum for the youth to express their feelings about equality.” More than 1,000 students have participated in the program since 2020. Assisted by judges, including academics and athletes, winners have seen their work collected into books.
Hanson found her solution to isolation through poetry, and she brought together students from across the country. Other students have worked in their backyards to help people who may be feeling isolated or marginalized.
Camden Kiefer and Hailey Bishop of Hinsdale South High School in Darien, Ill., spearheaded an effort to create a farmers’ market as a community gathering place as America emerged from lockdown.
Milller Manguno founded Operation Orange Haven to provide meals and laundry supplies to one of Memphis’ most underprivileged neighborhoods. He was not some veteran community organizer but a student at Briarcrest Christian High School in Eads, Tenn.
Manguno learned from his project to ask people what they need. Not what he or others thought they needed.
Ultimately, MyImpact Challenge shows young people what it means to meet the needs of others and to strive for the common good.
We owe these students a debt of gratitude for showing us all what good citizenship and unity can look like.
