“I had a student ask me about democracy. She said: ‘I’m a high school student. What can I do?’ And my answer to her is my answer to you: You have the most important power in the world. You have the power of ideas.”
Alan Leventhal
Former U.S. ambassador to Denmark
“If we found life elsewhere in the universe, it would be a monumental event in the history of the world. Not only because it shows us that there’s life elsewhere in the universe, but also because of what it takes to get there: the rigor and self-discipline and goodness and knowledge to actually be able to answer this question.”
Thomas Beatty ’01
Professor of astronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
“It’s more than just physical self-defense. We have to learn how to protect ourselves spiritually, protect our mana, protect our minds, our emotions. … If I could give one piece of advice to any of the girls and women here, [it would be] get into a combat sport — Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, Muay Thai, MMA — anything at all, just start doing it.”
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane
Mixed martial artist
“After virtually centuries of Ukrainians fighting for their identity, trying to reclaim their history, fighting for their country from under attack time after time from Russia and the Soviet Union, isn’t it a shame that it took a war in the 21st century for the world to begin to be aware of the rich and vast cultural heritage of Ukraine — their books, their literature, their drama, their music, their art?”
Deborah Ziska
Writer, filmmaker, museum communication consultant
“We’re seeing lots of science that is disrupting the habits and systems that we take for granted and calling for almost a total reunderstanding of what can be done and what we have to do. We can understand how we can go to the beach and we can pick up litter … but it’s much more difficult to understand ocean acidification. We can’t go to the beach and move the currents.”
Andri Magnason
Writer, documentary filmmaker
“Cheetahs maintain the health of the ecosystems as a top predator. They hunt down the fast or the slow, the weak, the sick, and they maintain the biodiversity within these wonderful ecosystems that are vanishing before our eyes.”
Laurie Marker
Conservation biologist, executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund
