We extend our deepest gratitude to the Museum of Tolerance for their unwavering support and for providing a platform where stories of survival and hope can be shared and celebrated. This collaboration has been instrumental in spreading Dydine’s message and connecting with a broader audience.

Melody Seraydarian sat down with us this week to discuss her experience as a first generation American, a writer, and a fellow genocide prevention activist. Currently, Melody writes articles every week for her very own column titled “Hye Key” centered on Diasporan Armenian issues, culture, and lifestyle through the Gen-Z lens for the publication, Armenian Weekly.

Last week, our co-founders Alex and Dydine discussed their recent read, Green Lights by Matthew McConaughey. Through insightful reflection, McConaughey shares a summary of his life-changing philosophy by changing the way we interpret our surroundings and life events.

Cate also read our founder’s book, Embracing Survival, which caused her to reflect on the importance of sharing stories with others—no matter how painful or hard they are to share. We discussed how there’s always going to be someone who shares your heartbreak, which makes you realize that you are not alone. Here at Umuco Love, we totally resonate with this and see a similar value in sharing our stories!!

This week we spoke with Candace Megerssa, a senior at Cornell University studying Policy Analysis and Management, who shared with us her experience forming her own identity as a Black woman growing up in Atlanta and then transitioning to being a student at an Ivy League school.

Monika Gabriela Dorniak is a German-Polish interdisciplinary artist, who draws upon her background in choreography, psychology, and fashion design along with her story of intergenerational trauma to create meaningful art. We had the pleasure of speaking with her to understand how she has mastered the art of taking trauma and making it into something positive.

The recent Atlanta spa shootings that left eight dead this past Tuesday come amid a surge of hate crimes and xenophobia directed against Asian-americans—stitching together stigmas of race, gender, and immigration.

At UMUCO , we are dedicated to navigating these stigmas and finding the HUMAN within all of us (#IAmYou). As an online community, it is our belief that we must preach unity and acceptance, a theme that we had the honor of continuing to explore during this week’s podcast with Dr. Diya Abdo, a first-generation Palestinian Refugee originally born in Jordan and now an English Professor at Guilford College in North Carolina.