Seeds of Peace

• Job: Undergraduate Student | Middlebury College
• Regional Programming: South Asian home stay program, The New York City Media Conference
• Years at Camp: 2001
• Indian Delegation
• Age: 22

In what ways has your experience at Seeds of Peace impacted you as a person?
There is no way in which Seeds of Peace has not impacted me as a person. At Seeds I learned that each person I meet has a story that makes them who they are; these are the stories that make us all the same, and at the same time they are the experiences that distinguish us from one another. I live my life based on these stories—making it impossible to judge and hate people. I am now a firm believer in the idea that disagreement does not validate hatred or violence in any circumstance. Thanks to Seeds of Peace I am also now much more capable of dealing with the realities of our world today in a responsible manner; from terror attacks to the deaths of family members of those in my community due to war, because of Seeds I now know that it is okay to be angry and sad, but not okay to blame.

How does your work or education relate to building a more peaceful world? 
Post-camp I was awarded a scholarship to attend the Mahindra United World College of India. The United World College is a movement that incorporates a two year high school International Baccalaureate education with the principles of co-existence. The 200 person student body boasts 70 different nationalities. With an emphasis on the idea that diversity is strength, the United World College provides teenagers a safe haven in which to understand the enemy. Educational models such as the United World College allow for teenagers to experience a working model of one world—something that we as leaders of tomorrow need to believe is possible.