On September 16th I had the honor to represent Stockton University at the United Nations. I was one of 18 Stockton students to attend the Youth Summit on International Peace Day; it was a truly life-altering experience. I met students from around the world and listened to presenters from nearly every continent. They made me feel like my everyday actions could make a difference in the world. All the speakers and presenters were instrumental in instilling the belief that I am a global citizen, and not just citizen of the United States. My favorite speaker by far was Dominique Rankin, an Algonquin Chief. He began speaking in a Native tongue, but switched over to French about halfway through his presentation. It was such a surreal feeling to be able understand his message in its original language, rather than having to rely upon his translator.

After the Summit concluded, we headed to a different conference room for dinner and a social mixer with students from other universities. There, we had the opportunity to use Virtual Reality headsets to view a Syrian Refugee camp from a 14-year old girl’s perspective. It took me a few moments to realize that I could spin myself and get a 360 degree view of the camp. In some scenes, there were small children at my feet. In others, there were boys younger than me lifting weights to prepare for their journeys. It was such a unique experience being able to see the environment. It was if I was actually there, seeing the camp from the eyes of a 12 year old girl. As we left the United Nations, the security guards reminded us “welcome back to the United States!”. At that moment, I knew it would be a different country I was walking back to.