Lena Contor grew up in Ukraine and moved to Pocatello, Idaho, after getting married. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lena was presented with an opportunity to go back on a humanitarian relief trip. Her first thought was, “Who am I to do anything? I’m not rich. I’m not powerful.” But she couldn’t push the thought out of her mind, and she took the leap.
She is now getting ready to go on her 10th trip back to Ukraine, and she has rallied the Pocatello community to fund solar panels that will power running water for devasted communities. Lena shows how overcoming self-doubt and thoughts of insignificance – and stepping up to do what we can in the moment – can have powerful ripple effects.
Maya and her family came from Bosnia to Boise as refugees in 1997 when she was 11 years old. As she has seen and...
Eliza Shabire was a young girl when she and her sisters were separated from their father when he had to flee the Democratic Republic...
Lisa Meierotto is the Program Lead of Boise State University’s Global Studies program, which she helped create. Along with teaching, Lisa researches intersections between...