"My new life in America is becoming greater over the passage of the days. I learned how to stand up for myself."

"I believe that my name and its meaning have implicitly defined my identity since my childhood. This search for knowledge has been a life long identity journey for me and is how I define myself."

"I used all available connecting resources to find stable housing, enroll in school, find employment, and become a peer mentor for others like me."

"I had struggled with gender roles nearly all my life. I was a free, unrestrained American girl, but I seemed to be restrained by a culture grounded thousands of miles away – an orthodox Muslim culture that traditionally required me to cover myself, be obedient, and sit down and stay quiet."

"Since arriving in northern Virginia, my understanding of my own identity has been clarified, as has my understanding of identity itself. I have thought about the many identities I use to describe myself: Egyptian, American, Muslim, twin brother, college student, aspiring architect, bilingual."

"My experiences up until now have taught me that my identities and experiences may seem like paradoxes, but they allow me to seamlessly maneuver between multiple worlds."

“I became a better person through my struggles and through my happiness. Life allows us to grow up, and experiences shape us to be who we are.”

"My parents immigrated to the U.S. 32 years ago. They appreciate and cherish living in this country. The opportunities it has to offer are endless. What they left behind is no match for what this country has to offer."

"America has given me the most important gift of all, the opportunity to become a physician. It will take hard work, but the only person who is able to help me to achieve this goal is myself."

"Today, I no longer consider myself as solely American, or only Muslim, or only a scientist or only an artist, but rather I see myself as a beautiful canvas, brushing strokes of my passions and religious identity every day."

“Yes, there were bullies, but there were also those who stood up to those bullies with me. Yes, there was unconstitutional spying, but there were also organizations like MALA that stood with American Muslims.”

"I saw that many people in my country did not have access to basic needs like food and medical care. When we moved back to America, these experiences drove me to take advantage of every opportunity because I was conscious of how thankful many people would be to be in my situation."

"In those two years, I witnessed hunger, homelessness and despair. I promised myself back then that I will not waste any chance to achieve my dream. I believed that this chance was given to me to correct my life path, and I’ve been working on enriching that path since I arrived."

“When I introduce myself to people, I say my name with confidence because I want my peers and professors to know who I am and what I am capable of.”

"Watching my parents work and my 16-year-old brother sacrifice his education to help our family has inspired me to focus on my own education."

"My story begins way back in Greece. My parents are from Albania, actually: my mom is Bosnian-Albanian and my dad strictly Albanian. They actually ran away because my mother's family and my dad's family did not agree with them being together, considering they came from different religious backgrounds."