This morning, I stood at attention as our select chorus sang the Star Spangled Banner. Looking at the flag in the middle school auditorium, I paused a moment to feel gratitude for growing up in a country where I have the right to define and redefine myself. I grew up believing I could become whoever I wanted to be. The flag stood tall, as did I. Thank goodness, I thought, that I live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

We at USC Shoah Foundation are saddened to learn about the passing of Marion Pritchard, a Dutch woman of great courage who rescued many Jews during the Holocaust. She was 96.

The contest is open to all secondary students, asking them to watch clips of testimony from the Visual History Archive and create artistic comic strip-style pieces inspired by the stories they heard.

The Challenge invites students to positively contribute to their communities, and complete an IWitness activity that involves submitting a short video explaining how they were inspired through testimony to make a positive impact.

USC Shoah Foundation intern and USC undergraduate Zach Larkin describes how testimony helped him discover his great-grandfather's story and shaped his future goals.

Borrowing from a tradition set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he assumed office in 1933 and announced an aggressive agenda for his first 100 days, USC Shoah Foundation will offer 100 Days to Inspire Respect starting Jan. 20, 2017, when America swears in its 45th president.

The two-day international conference “Digital Approaches to Genocide Studies” will be held on October 23-24, 2017 at the University of Southern California.

On Thursday, Oct. 27th, I witnessed history in the making. Nanjing Massacre survivor Xia Shuqin flew from Nanjing, China to Los Angeles to record a 3-D audiovisual testimony in Mandarin for USC Shoah Foundation’s New Dimensions in Testimony. For those of you who watched USC Shoah Foundation’s Instagram story that day, I was the intern behind the camera.

December 15 will mark the beginning of a pilot for a new professional development offering from Echoes and Reflections: a three-hour, self-guided course that teaches educators everything they need to know about using Echoes and Reflections to teach about the Holocaust.

In recognition for their longstanding commitment to humanitarian efforts and education, Mellody Hobson and George Lucas were presented December 7 with the Ambassador for Humanity Award by Steven Spielberg, USC trustee and founder of USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education.