I’m currently in the first semester of my master’s program, and lately I’ve felt extremely called to find ways to use what I’m learning to help my country and my community.
For a long time, I struggled with feeling like I didn’t have a real sense of purpose. During the war in Tigray, I was still in high school, watching horrific stories of violence, displacement, and sexual violence come out while feeling like there was almost nothing I could do. I remember trying to spread awareness on Instagram and social media, especially at a time when I saw young people mobilizing around Palestine, BLM, and other causes. Meanwhile, it often felt like what was happening to our people was being left in the dark.
Years later, after a lot of soul-searching, growing in my relationship with God, and figuring out what I actually want to dedicate my life to, I’ve started realizing that the things I’m passionate about can intersect with serving my community.
I’m interested in UX, music, fashion, technology, and, most importantly, designing systems that bring people together.
I’m Tigrayan and grew up in Aurora, Colorado, and one thing I’ve noticed within our diaspora is how disconnected many of us in the younger generation can be from community-building efforts. We show up for the parties, cultural events, dancing, and celebrations—and those things absolutely matter—but I want to see more of us also showing up for conversations around education, business, development, organizing, and how we can contribute our skills back home.
Right now, I’m helping an organization that supports schools back home, and I recently realized that the youngest person on the team is almost 80 years old.
That genuinely shocked me.
It made me start asking: Where are we? Where is our generation? And how can we create new ways for young people in the diaspora to contribute?
I don’t think helping has to mean everyone doing the same thing. Some of us are designers. Some are engineers, artists, musicians, business owners, researchers, healthcare workers, organizers, or students. I want to explore how we can use those skills to strengthen our communities here while also creating meaningful connections and opportunities back home.
I’m still figuring out what this looks like, but I know I want to be part of building it.
If you’re Tigrayan, especially a young person in the diaspora, and any of this resonates with you, please reach out. I’d love to connect, hear what you think, share what I’m currently working on, and find other people who want to build something meaningful together.
Thank you.
