Tell us about something that has fundamentally transformed the way you think

I was five. I climbed into bed for story time when my father came in to tell me we wouldn’t be reading a fairytale or ancient myth but rather a story based on reality, his reality. The book, which was written for children, explained the Nazi’s rise to power, their plot to expel the Jews, and the subsequent horrors that followed. As we turned the pages, tears rolled down my father’s eyes. I didn’t know why, but his sadness made me cry too. At the end of the book, my father explained to me that he was one of those children—forced into a concentration camp, hungry and terrified for years. Even at five I recognized that my life was changed. I was no longer content—I wanted to help the children in the book, the child my father was. I have been on that pursuit ever since. I was involved with social justice—soup kitchens, political rallies, elderly aid—since I can remember. At Dartmouth, I was an outspoken proponent of gender equality where I focused on physical abuse on campus and majored in women and gender studies. And today, my interest in social justice fuses with my desire to support small businesses in conflict-affected countries.