Whenever you(th) apply to research with OAG, the advisory board sits down and ponders the merits and drawbacks of each research application. Heads are scratched, beards are fondled, bangs are twirled, etc.. The board is setup to embody the diverse interests and perspectives of young folks, and make sure we are facilitating compelling social justice research projects, not pet projects.

I have had a rather eccletic growth experience. I was born in the year 1989, in the country of Sudan to two Ethiopian parents fleeing their home country because of war. Fast-forward 10 months later and I would be spending the next 10 years of my life living in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. There I grew up in a small community outside the city where there was very little diversity but great shades of community.
When I was 10 my mom and I moved to Seattle, WA to start a fresh new chapter in our lives. Here I grew up in a low-income neighborhood, with lots of diversity and richness in culture. Now I attend the UW with a passion and drive to make the most out of these years academically and personally. Growing up and experiencing things from many different perspectives and minds has allowed me to have my mind forever open. I am interested in the ways of people from America and all over the world perceive each other and express themselves. I have found this to be done effectively through different mediums in the media we have and live in today.

I consider myself privileged to have lived twenty-one healthy years in the United States. The son of a Haitian mother and great-grandson of eastern-European union factory workers, I know I have access to an education and life that my forefathers were denied. Through my involvement at the University of Washington and my local community I act on behalf of those who came before me and those who will follow after me. As an established member of the Seattle hip-hop community I compose and perform music with a social conscious and political message. Our American Generation is not just a community organization, OAG is community organized! Check out Sol's music at www.solsays.com.

I was born in New York City and was raised in Seoul, Korea until I was seven. Then I moved back to the U.S. to attain my primary and secondary education in Kirkland, WA (home to Costco/Kirkland Signature). Throughout my life I've immersed myself in the languages and cultures of other societies, and in this way I have gained a comparative perspective on life and politics in the United States.
I believe that while it is difficult to go and promote change in other countries through mission trips, aid organizations, and non-profits, the most formidable task is creating concrete change in our own communities. These are the tasks that require sustained changes in our daily lives, the tasks that affect the questions we ask ourselves and the interactions we have with others.
Through the OAG I hope to encourage our generation to be creative and open-minded in the solutions we seek for our future.

I was born in San Antonio, TX, moving away when I was two. In my childhood I lived in a mix of locations, these include Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Caracas, Venezuela, Fairfax, Virginia, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Growing up I was exposed to a variety of cultures and perspectives, with the guidance of my parents, both migrants from Puerto Rico to the US in their young adulthood. I came to Seattle in 2008 for my college education, and know that it has greatly expanded my idea of what our realities mean, how they are influenced by society and power, and how we have the capability of affecting the world, in both positive and negative ways. My hope is that in the future we will learn how we can all, united, transform the ill-functioning systems that threaten the prosperity of global populations. OAG is making progress happen by encouraging youth to think critically of our roles in our community, and encouraging engagement with it.

I grew up in P.G. County, Maryland and attended high school in Washington D.C. In 2007, I moved to Seattle and began taking classes at the University of Washington. I’m interested in civil rights and criminal justice reform. I’m also a big fan of old school sociologists, including Durkheim, Weber, and Simmel.
During my childhood and young adult life, many of my friends were very critical of the direction of American politics. They were upset and rightly so. However, this dissatisfaction often led to disassociation. Patriotism was shunned and it made me sad. I want to work with the rest of my cohort to turn this country into a just and humane society; one in which we all can take pride.
A few more things about myself: I enjoy film (especially noir and french new wave), fall is my favorite season, and I really like living in Seattle.

In my life I have lived in Menlo Park, California, Oakley, Utah, and Seattle, Washington in that order. My adventure to Utah was a sort of revival for myself near the end of high school, where I backpacked for two months and attended a rural boarding school for about a year and a half. There I learned to do all my favorite things today like mountain bike, ski, drink coffee, think critically, and create community. I am an optimist and positivist, and I like to imagine a world very different from our own. This is life's great challenge to me, to remove myself from the individual perspective, and understand the scope of human life and our relation to everything around us. My great optimism comes from the hope that communication/information technology we create shall lead us to a more connected and knowledgeable world, where we don't simplify our economics or our ecosystems for short term gain, but instead guide ourselves to appreciation of the immensity of time and space. This appreciation in my own life has allowed me to slow down, appreciate each moment, and not drive myself to death in the name of industry. My favorite things include culture, complexity, and cooperation.