More About Our History
Robbie Shackelford Director of Harding University in Florence (HUF) read my book and immediately included it as part
of Harding's Study Abroad program.
Robbie takes the students to Campagna, a small village hidden in a valley an hour outside of Naples, Italy. They learn about the little-known history of how 80% of the Jews in Italy survived the Holocaust. They visit the Holocaust Museum, Museo della Memoria e della Pace, located in the former San Bartolomeo Concentration Camp, a former convent.
The impact on the students is profound-they learn a positive lesson from an otherwise dark period of time. They see examples of the choices people made to be the difference, how individual actions can change history, even save lives.
Robbie invited me to speak to his students in Florence and Arkansas and a wonderful friendship was born. My desire and vision, coupled with Robbie’s experience, created a unique project for students using the period of World War II as a time frame.
Robbie and I traveled to Poland to attend the 70th Anniversary Commemoration of the Liberation of Auschwitz, the notorious Nazi death camp. (January 27, 2015). Over 300 people who survived the atrocities in Auschwitz, all over 85 years old, returned on that bitter cold day. Their goal-to ensure people never forget what happened to them, their families, their friends, their neighbors. Their hope- never again should such horrors occur.
Mr. Roman Kent, a survivor, was a keynote speaker. He knows the consequences of others being bystanders. Mr. Kent said, If I had the power, I would add an 11th Commandment to the universally accepted 10 Commandments - you should never, ever be a bystander...He asked people to take action, because when we do not, evil wins.
That evening, Zdenko Bergl, a Holocaust survivor saved in Italy, sent me an email of all of the
American Military Cemeteries located in Europe. At the end of his message it states, 103,980 BRAVE AMERICANS are buried in Europe. 20,308 are listed as Missing in Action. How many French, Dutch, Italians, Belgians and Brits are buried on our soil...after defending us against our enemies?
When I showed the email to Robbie- we knew we found our project! We gave students an assignment to research an individual American soldier buried in the American Cemetery in Florence, find out who they were before they were a soldier, and remember his or her sacrifice.
Robbie introduced me to Michael Wright, Director of European Programs for Duquesne University. The Duquesne in Rome program is involved in a cultural exchange program with a local Italian high school, I.I.C. Einstein-Bachelet.
Subsequently, Michael thought that Be the Difference- Never Again would be a perfect addition to the Duquesne Intercultural Awareness course, a requirement of all study abroad students.
To learn about a soldier buried at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, outside of Rome, two American students are paired with two Italian high school students and assigned a soldier to research and learn about their individual story.
The two schools visit the cemetery together and each set of students create a memorial service to honor the soldier they researched. Additionally, through this unique intercultural experience, many friendships are formed.
The Harding and Duquesne University students also visit Campagna and the Jewish Ghetto in Rome. The Be the Difference- Never Again program is rich with possibilities. Not only does it impact students deeply while abroad, but it helps each student to be a better American upon their return.
Students find a new respect for Memorial Day and Veterans Day. They realize that these are not simply moments for a day off from school, a barbeque, or discounts at department stores/online shopping, but these days are connected to the sacrifice of people who made a difference.
Our mission statement: To teach about individuals who risked their lives to save others and inspire people to take action. Each person, every action, large or small can make a difference is an essential message for all to remember.
You too can Be the Difference by making a choice to be an upstander in life. Remember people who made a difference and let their actions inspire you.