A wall at Klondike Middle School is filled with the dreams of students inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Junior: “My dream is to be a sports broadcaster.” “My dream is to travel to new places.” “My dream is to sing in bright lights.” “My dream is to help others in their time of need.”  “My dream is to make it in the NBA.”

The activity is one of several celebrating diversity. Students made banners representing different countries and cultures to hang in the cafeteria. During lunch, students marked the places they were born or where their ancestors were born  (Sweden, England, Italy, etc) on a large map of the world.

Seventh grade student Olila Peckinpaugh, who won the poetry contest, says she put a lot of thought into her composition. ”People are different and no one should be judged for that,” says Olila. “I want people to know and understand that people are different in our world and that makes for a better place.”

“Mankind have advanced way too much for discrimination to be acceptable,” says Helena Howard, who wrote the second-place poem. “When writing my poem, I chose to use nature-themed word choice to further express that theme.”

“I want people to learn how beautiful our differences truly are. Embrace it, share it, celebrate it,” says third-place winner Ariyah Dill. "Diversity is a blend that requires inclusion. I want others to think of my poem as we are that inclusion to stir the blend of diversity.”