View More Articles. Lucy Gellman January 28th, Top: Melton and McAvay at center cut the ribbon on the center. Bottom: Attendees, many of whom spoke, admire the space. Powell, who delivered the keynote, is pictured in the plaid coat. Lucy Gellman Photos. Champion immigrants and refugees , from access to education to chances for professional development.
Bridge the gender gap from classrooms to board rooms, where women may still be missing their 33 cents on every dollar. Name the oppression. Believe women. Throw out the master's tools. Build a better way forward—together. That includes scholarships for students who might not otherwise have access to a college education. In a two-hour unveiling ceremony last Thursday, speakers championed it as more vital and necessary than ever, particularly as Donald Trump begins a second presidential term with sweeping rollbacks on basic human rights.
We are together in this struggle. Thursday evening, that heart-forward mission could not have seemed more at odds with the news coming out of Washington, where Trump had already signed a flurry of executive orders attacking trans rights, protections for immigrants, birthright citizenship, and federal diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI initiatives more orders, including those halting refugee arrivals , freezing foreign and federal aid , and reinstituting the global gag rule , came over the weekend and on Monday.
As speaker after speaker took the mic, each stressed the need for solidarity and cross-cultural bridge building at a time when the president seeks to take away both. While she dreamed of completing an education, the average cost of a college tuition was prohibitive. Then she discovered Gateway. While also raising two sons, Ibrahim declared a major in social and criminal justice, and set her sights on eventually transferring to Southern Connecticut State University.
As she excelled in her studies, she found a network of academic and financial support that helped her power through. Born and raised in rural Connecticut, Nicolari remembered being just 12 years old the first time she was aware of discrimination in her backyard, and the need to name and quash it wherever possible. In her neighborhood, a house was on sale, and she watched curiously as white neighbors came out onto their porches to surveil a Black family that was looking at the property.
