Letter: Learning from my refugee students

My name is Haley Hoium. I am a senior student at Augustana University, preparing to graduate with academic honors in the spring. Each one of my semesters I have worked a full-credit academic load earning my bachelor’s degree in elementary education with an endorsement in teaching English language learners. My time at Augustana University has been filled with rich learning experiences inside the classroom, but also outside the classroom. My university experiences have taken me to worship at the State Penitentiary, service learning on Rosebud Indian Reservation, lobbying at the state capital, and studying abroad in Turkey and Tanzania. To say I have had a rich learning experience during my time at Augustana would be an incredible understatement.

As I complete the required classroom time for my education degree, over 50 of those hours have been in the Elementary Immersion Center in Sioux Falls. At this school, where I will also be student-teaching in the spring, I have had the opportunity to interact with many young refugee children who have been in the U.S. for two years or less. As I have learned more about refugees, I feel a strong call to learn more and do more to help this group of people feel like belonging members of our community. To do this, I also volunteer two hours each week at Lutheran Social Services’ Center for New Americans as a classroom assistant in English classes for refugees.

I have watched sadness glaze over the eyes of both young children and elderly women as they recall dark memories of their lives in war-torn countries and refugee camps. Their stories do not end in hopelessness and loss. I have also had the opportunity to share in joy and laughter with students as we work together — learning from each other. Sure, I teach them English skills and some necessary cultural adjustments, but they teach me, too. Through my work with refugees, I have learned about perseverance, gratitude and hopefulness.

Recently, at the conclusion of my last class at the Center for New Americans before Thanksgiving break, I was embraced in hugs and kisses on the cheek from a few of my closest students. They wished me a “Happy Thanksgiving,” and I did the same, assuring them that I was grateful that they are here, as members of our community.

This Thanksgiving, as we express gratitude for the safety of ourselves and those who are dear to us, I hope each of you take pride in South Dakota’s opportunity to be a beacon of safety and hope for our world’s most vulnerable people.