2021 UNA-Pasadena Humans Rights Day

    Last Thursday, December 9, the Pasadena UNA chapter and the Polytechnic GIP program worked together to put on the 2021 Human Rights Day event. This event centered around the theme of the refugee and immigrant experience in the US, and featured speakers Reyna Grande, Martin Zogg, and a panel discussion comprised of local nonprofits focused in this field.

    The event kicked off with award winning author and renowned speaker Reyna Grande, who opened up about her experience as an immigrant in the US. Grande shared about the difficulties and stress of her experience, but what stood out to me was the shift in perspective Grande experienced, as she was originally ashamed of what she went through as an immigrant, but later and now embraces her story, giving a very unique insight into the immigrant experience.

    After that, we got to hear from the Director of the International Rescue Committee in Los Angeles, Martin Zogg about his work is refugee resettlement. Zogg talked about the economic, and social challenges refugees and immigrants faced, and also shared about the details of his work in helping migrants resettle. Zogg finished by sharing how through volunteer work and even awareness you can make a difference, as well as how important it is to have those dedicated to this cause and that we can make the experience easier by becoming more welcoming and inclusive as a community.

    I really appreciated this event and the perspectives it brought, as I'm focusing my capstone project and work as a Global Scholar on the refugee and immigrant experience, so the opportunity to hear firsthand stories and learn what work people in that field are already doing was greatly appreciated. Overall this was a very enlightening event and getting to hear stories and ideas from people on both sides of the refugee experience was helpful.