Editor’s note: The SHIFT Chronicles is a monthly feature dedicated to amplifying student voices, where those most impacted by the public education system share their thoughts, reflections, and experiences. In collaboration with FaithBridge SHIFT fellows, these commentaries offer a genuine glimpse into the challenges students are facing within our city’s schools. These students represent a diverse range of schools across the city, each with distinct cultures and expectations, yet all united under the DPS banner. A special thank you to all the student writers who contributed their entries.
This month, three Denver high school students spell out their aspirational dreams for our country, in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in a very dark time.
Lily Becker, junior, George Washington High School
One planet, one galaxy, one existence, out of the infinite expanding reality of the universe, we, as humanity, only have Earth.
Yet with this one planet on which we exist, we create boundaries, caging some in or locking others out. Why? Because humanity wants to claim a world that is not ours to divide. Earth was around long before the existence of man and will be here long after us. It is not ours to claim and decide who is allowed where and why.
I have a dream, I dream of a world where we do not wage wars over land that is on a planet where we were all born; a planet where we all exist, and will keep existing, until our time expires.
I have a dream, that individuals are not branded with the label “illegal” just for taking a step beyond a boundary.
I have a dream, that the Earth’s soil is untainted from the spilt blood of these said “illegals;” that individuals from across the world can roam freely without the fear of being targeted, taken to a place against their will, only to be assaulted later in detention centers. Detention centers where thousands are left to rot, treated as less than human because they took one step over a line they could not see.
I have a dream, that what a specific demographic of people did far before an individual’s time doesn’t excuse the way people get to treat said individual. I hope for a time where one’s place of origin is not supposed to define who and what one is.
I hope for a world that is not divided by the construct of countries that can rally their citizens to such an extent that hatred towards another group turns into mass slaughter; a world where the concept of genocide is entirely alien; that no human could fully hate another human being just because of culture, place of origin, nor appearance.
As humans, we are both the same and different—yin and yang: distinct, yet always connected. One should not hate a defined population of people, due to this innate human connection. We, as people, build upon who we are and what we have learned.
To inherently hate people means hating the people who have had an impact on history that has ultimately helped shape who we are; whether it was good or bad, it has ultimately added to our collective development.
I understand my dream is only a dream, but that can change. Change starts with a dream.
Katie Cole, senior, South High School
I have a dream, a dream that every person who takes a step into this country has access to affordable and quality healthcare.
I dream that everyone will be able to walk into a hospital or clinic and know that they will receive the care they deserve—not the care they can pay for, not the care someone has to allow, but the care that every human being deserves.
I long for the day when people are not refused treatment because they can’t pay. That people won’t have to decide between going into debt or going without the treatment they need. I picture a world where people don’t have to sacrifice necessities like food or rent for another essential like medication, therapies, and surgeries. That people won’t have to go bankrupt just to stay alive. That we stop accepting a world where families have to spend years crawling out of mountains of debt from medical bills.
I dream that no matter how underserved or small a town is, people have access to qualified doctors who listen and clinics that don’t turn them away. That people who live in rural areas don’t have to drive hours for a checkup they can’t afford.
I imagine places who currently have limited resources not being forced to stretch their supplies at the detriment of complete care for patients. Instead, they’ll have modern equipment and plenty of supplies to fully support patients.
I dream that children don’t grow up thinking their lives are less important because of where they live.
I have a dream that one day people won’t choose death over the fear of being reported or turned away at hospitals because of where they were born, what papers they have, or what language they speak.
I believe in a system where language is not a barrier to survival. Where interpreters, translated material, and clear communication is easily accessible for patients to understand their diagnoses, treatment options, and rights. Just offering care is not enough, equitable healthcare is about making sure people can actually use it.
I wish for a world where welcoming a new baby does not become a financial crisis for families. A society where new parents are not forced back to work weeks after their child is born just to keep food on the table. That no parent has to sit beside their child in the NICU not only worrying about their child’s survival, but also the ability to pay bills that keep piling up because of unpaid leave and the price of treatments.
I want parents not to feel forced to sacrifice time with their child in order to support their family.
I dream of a time where women have full control over their own care, where their choices and health are respected without hesitation. Where they don’t lose their lives because medical professionals are prohibited from providing necessary care due to the fear of harsh punishment. Every woman deserves to receive fast and appropriate medical attention without politics standing between her and the care that could save her.
I have a dream. A dream of a nation that provides safe, supportive, and quality healthcare to all humans—immigrant or citizen, wealthy or struggling, urban or rural, and everyone in between.
Jada Pulsipher, senior, East High School
I have a dream that the process of applying for college does not feel as though an anvil has fallen on top of my head. I have a dream that every time a person asks me about my plan after high school I don’t feel like turning around and waving a white flag.
Applying to college has become a political and economic minefield. Every time a university asks me if I am a legacy of some sort I feel as though I am narrowly avoiding setting off a trap. When I read the overall cost of each college my heart sinks before I try to jump out of the way of those arrows flying at me.
I believe that it is unfair that the future of students relies upon factors often out of our control. Criteria like activities, honors, test scores, socioeconomic status, and location regularly burden the average high school student applying to college. Issues like grade inflation, achievement gaps, and opportunity deserts prevent many students from reaching their potential.
I have a dream that students can be relieved of these social constructs and our identities are not stripped down to numbers and yeses or no’s. I dream that my hard work means more than the friends I have whose parents have been pouring money into their dream school since they took their first steps.
In my dream, the love and support I have received from my own family helps me go to a university which I belong to and the people accepted to schools truly want to be there and take advantage of the chance of a lifetime.
