Ruth Dike: Memphis Student Leadership Group

When Ruth Dike signed up for the Memphis Facing History Student Leadership Group as a freshman four years ago, she wasn't sure what to expect. Now a senior at White Station High School Ruth says the impact of Facing History on her way of looking at the world was much more than she could have ever expected.

"Facing History makes you opens your eyes to different ways of life and ways of looking at the world and makes you much more open to new ideas," she recently said. "It makes you realize there are other human beings on the planet and we should care about them.

Highlights of her participation in the student leadership group have included several student leadership retreats, organizing a human rights symposium, attending a Holocaust and Human Behavior seminar and going to numerous Community Conversations.

Ruth plans to major in food anthropology in college, combining her passion for food and her interest in studying humanity. She states one regret about leaving high school, "I wish Facing History had a program for college students-maybe I'll start one."

Spoken like a true Facing History student-someone who has developed the insight that one person can accomplish a lot if they set their mind to it. As Ruthie puts it:

"Facing History has helped me realize wherever I go, I can provide a new perspective, and if I really believe in something then I can definitely make something happen."