“During this past year, I had a personal experience with gun violence…I was in bed, half asleep. Suddenly out of nowhere gun shots were fired – BANG! BANG! Scared, I looked outside the window and saw the street light beaming down on a pool of blood…I feel that violence is not necessary, and it should stop. I want to tell people to stop because if I have kids in the future, I don’t want them to have this experience or get killed.”

by Alec Vinson
5th grader at Thomson Elementary in 2013

“Sometimes one of the most important aspects of resilience is to have someone who can support you. Sometimes persevering can be a pain. That’s why resilience shows strength. Almost all the time, your failures will lead to success. But you just have to keep on trying.”

by Nathaniel Remez
8th grader student at Alice Deal in 2010