Congratulations to Fairfield University's Center for Faith and Public Life (CPFL)

I had the honor of attending A Century of New Beginnings - the gala celebration sponsored by the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants. Previously, IICONN, the organization has been central to collaborations in support of many, including the refugee youth who have participated in Ubuntu Academy and the Fairfield University mentoring program begun by the Office of Service Learning and my colleague, Dr. Jocelyn Boryczka.

Melissa Quann, who is central to so many of us on our campus, accepted the Circle of Achievement Award for all the academic support and services that Fairfield University has provided youth in CIRI programs.

It was wonderful to be seated with her, President Mark Nemec, my phenomenal collaborators in Bridgeport Public Schools, William King and Jessica Baldizon, Dr. Jocelyn Boryczka, and two young men who were first attended in Ubuntu Academy in 2014 - Omar and Arcadius.

Ubuntu, year one, in the house! (Ubuntu, 5 years later, still going strong).

There's so much to take from the evening, but I'm happiest with my donation of a $20 bill. The auctioneer, who was hired to raffle off tickets to Hamilton, the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, vacation space in Maine, and VIP experience with the Trevor Noah show, asked for someone in the audience to donate a $20 bill.

That was me. I had a twenty in my pocket.

He then proceeded to auction off the $20 in support of immigrant and refugee services through CIRI, and soon people bid $50, then an $100, then $500. Let's just say that my $20 bill spawned a $2,250 donation of support. Representative Jim Himes and Senator Jim Blumenthal, also in attendance, drew attention to the realities of our nation, where immigrants and refugees are being criminalized (and, for some, even being separated from their families). The reality is that we are a global family, but to protect privileges and ignorance, many choose to build mental walls.

I will likely die without that $20 in my pocket, but I know that while I have life I will work my hardest to celebrate the beauty of my definition of America - that is, the land of the tired, the poor, and the hungry who come to this nation to make something of themselves within the American Dream.

Congratulations, Melissa Quann, Fairfield University, and the Center for Faith and Public Life. I am, because we are. It was a phenomenal evening.