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A huge THANK YOU to the young people & educators who — through your tenacity, creativity, & leadership — meaningfully impacted our communities even in the face of so many difficulties.

See highlights from our past school year: bit.ly/3gyb9FM

#mikvachallenge #youthvoicematters #democracyisaverb

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Our heart breaks for the loss of Warkaa - a beloved Mikva alum, educator and activist. We are honored to share this memorial scholarship, and ask that you consider donating to honor Warkaa’s memory and support young people in achieving their educational goals: https://www.classy.org/give/340031

Jackie Rosa, former Mikva staff and close mentor to Warkaa, speaks to why this scholarship is such a fitting tribute to her legacy:

Warkaa was just one of the most amazing students you could ask for. She was so very eager to learn, and eager to share. She was one of the students who would volunteer for anything and everything. She wanted to experience it all. And she was, from day one, such a critical thinker. She came in recognizing how so many of the issue impacting her life as an Iraqi woman, as an immigrant, as a refugee, intersected with so many of the issues that young people were facing who were born and raised here in Chicago - and how her own experience really shaped her world view and helped her connect to so many Black and brown youth who were facing very similar challenges. Warkaa was so proud to be Iraqi. She let everyone know. It is important that when we talk about Warkaa and when we share her legacy we remember that her identity as an Iraqi woman was central to her being.

Warkaa had a deep commitment to social justice. It was core to everything she talked about and did. She went to school to become a teacher - her goal was to go back and teach students like her. She wanted to work with immigrant and refugee populations because she wanted other children who came from other countries to see her success for her to be able to help them in that way.

She had a big impact on my life - I think about her all the time. I’m so glad that they’re doing this memorial for her, and I’m so happy that it’s a scholarship fund. And I love that it’s going to be in honor of students who are looking to go to college and focus on social justice careers and learning. I think that is what Warkaa would have wanted. I think that by being able to honor her legacy in that way, her life was not in vain and I know that it’s going to impact many students in the years to come.

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