 (Stuart
is seen in this photo receiving his degree from Roger Porter, Master of
Dunster House at Harvard University)Perhaps the most exciting news I have to report is that
I successfully completed my studies at Harvard College this spring. I
recently graduated magna cum laude in Philosophy, having written my
honors thesis on the ethics of forgiveness (a topic which Mr. Wiesel has
approached in some of his own works and lectures). My experience in
Cambridge is one for which I am extremely grateful, though I cannot say
I am disappointed that I will not have to endure another winter in New
England. As for the future, I am very excited to be enrolling this fall
in UC Berkeley’s School of Law (Boalt Hall).
Of the experiences that have helped me decide to pursue a career in law,
none was as strong a catalyst as the week I spent in Washington, D.C.,
as a part of Holland & Knight’s Holocaust Remembrance Project.
Additionally, during that short time I formed friendships with people
from all over the country, many of whom strongly influenced the way I
thought about history and the future. From the impromptu conversations
with the survivors, to the candid discussions with the curators at the
USHMM, to the challenging debates with the instructors at Street Law, I
realized more fully that the Holocaust cannot be studied or analyzed
through a purely historical lens. Rather, our hosts brought to the
foreground the idea that the elements that spawned the Holocaust
continue to exist today, and it is the responsibility of each of us to
confront those injustices and ensure that the past does not recycle
itself.
I remain thankful to the Holocaust Remembrance Project not just for the
generous scholarship they awarded me, but also for the moving
experiences and close friendships I gained through my contact with the
organization. I am proud to be an alumnus of the Holocaust Remembrance
Project and I look forward to reading this year’s winning essays. |
