Growing More Grass...

Another great week in the life of this Grassy Advocate!  I was able to meet other International Educators from the great state of Alabama at the Alabama Association of International Educators conference in Auburn, AL.  Visiting other states who share the same problems or victories remind me how important the community of International Education is to our everyday work.

More importantly, I had a chance to encourage them to engage in the debate focused around a common-sense immigration process.  I lived in Alabama for 6 years and know first hand that if faces unique challenges in this debate.  The home of Civil Rights movement still has a long way to go to reach the goal of all being created equal in the eyes of the public...as we all do.  This idea reaches much further than black and white.....but a whole spectrum of folks.

A federal representative was able to call-in from DC to discuss the issue in detail.  It's always an honor to have such engagement from officials interested in the debate.  It seems there is a new development everyday toward a new process--it can be hard to keep up.  After the call, I was able to share the story of a student faced with challenge after challenge on his journey to and in the U.S. You can read more about it here.  It seems every time I tell his story, others know someone just like him.  Someone whose life was impacted greatly by the lack of a clear process.  Someone who only wanted to come and contribute to the U.S.--in the right way.

I asked the group what the best way to engage in this date would be.  Several commented and I offered a direct solution!  SJC! Senate Judiciary Committee.  Senator Jeff Sessions (R)-Alabama sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee focused on Immigration!  A direct path to someone who has great influence in this debate. I asked all attendees to visit Connecting Our World and contact Senator Sessions, and others, expressing their appreciation and support for a broader approach that addresses the many interrelated issues of our broken immigration system.  I asked them to address why reform or creation of a straightforward process is important to Alabama and to them personally.

You can do this too!  Visit Connecting Our World, click on the Action Alerts and viola!  Maybe you have a story to tell--maybe it's your own or someone else's.  Be a voice. Support the students, scholars, and community members who sit across from you everyday.  The more voices....the more movement in creating a commonsense process that works for us all!

Until next time....