Connecting Students With Our Past, Reminding Them of What a Better Future Looks Like

by Sabrina Acloque

There is negativity all around us. In the news. On social media. In the world. In our country. These times are dismal, to be very frank. But, when I think about what I have been able to do within my power, I feel excited and optimistic. I have been lucky enough to welcome students from my high school, Boston Latin School (BLS), to Washington, D.C. for the past few years and talk to them about the impact of working in public service. I have had many meaningful professional experiences in my life - from working for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia while in law school, to enforcing the international human rights of people living in the Western hemisphere, and to ensuring that people within the U.S. are protected against discrimination. I have also worked as a prosecutor in Fairfax County, Virginia. Currently, as a Consultant, I train law enforcement officers on creating trust within the communities that they serve, which I really enjoy doing. The weight of doing this work in our current political climate is definitely not lost on me. I hope every day that my training sessions continue to resonate with the recruits who I speak with and who leave the sessions telling me that they are thankful for having had the training. 

While 2025 definitely presented some challenging moments for me, I am happy to have had the chance to connect with students from BLS once again. During the summer, I welcomed students from the John William Ward Public Service Fellowship Program to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, where I discussed my experiences as a student at BLS and what my career path has been like. I also used to be a Ward Fellow, and  participating in the Fellowship program greatly influenced the trajectory of my life. As a high school student, I knew that I wanted to become an attorney, and as a Ward Fellow, I was assigned to work for a U.S. District Court Judge as my summer internship. 

Most of my career has been spent working in government, but I also informed the students that there are many ways one can make a difference in our world, such as through consulting or pursuing your artistic passions. What really matters is how you can influence people in your immediate circle or surroundings and from there, the effect of what you do can continue rippling outward. 

There are so many examples of people who have made a difference in our society all around us. Civil rights activists. Lawyers. Judges. Politicians who lead with compassion and who care about our mutual progress. Teachers. Singers, and many other artists from other artistic fields. 

Thus, it was very meaningful to host students at the MLK Jr. Memorial Library, because it is a space that reminds us of the hard-fought victories of the past, and the importance of continuing to fight for all that we hold dear in the present. Even if certain people in power fail to model what civility and proper governance should look like, we can always share the knowledge we have with young people about the better ways that our world can and should be. 

Equity and inclusion are not bad words, regardless of how the uninformed try to spin it. It is the base of how things should be. The reason why diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work exists is because there has been so much inequity and exclusion in various areas of our society. DEI is simply calling out the injustices that have been perpetuated for so long. That is why we have a place like the MLK Jr. Memorial Library to show and educate people on what was done to address and correct our societal inequities. Cue the Voting Rights Act. Cue Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other similar laws. These laws were enacted to stamp out the racism that prevented people from being able to do things they should be entitled to do, such as vote for a leader that would govern them, and have access to job opportunities like the next person. In an ideal society, we wouldn't need to have these laws. Equity would just be the way of our world. But as long as biases exist, we will always have to work to ensure that we are treating people with the dignity, respect, and fairness that we would want for ourselves. 

Finally, another huge bonus of welcoming students to D.C. this past summer was meeting them for dinner at Busboys and Poets. I have been performing my poetry at Busboys for the past few years. Both the missions of Busboys and of the Ward Fellowship Program are to inspire people to make a difference in our society. On the night of our dinner, it was truly amazing to see and feel my worlds converging there in that one space: being with students who reminded me of my past and the difference I hoped to make in the world in the space where, today, I am hopefully moving people with my poetry. 

​When I interact with students of today, who know that the way things are isn't right and who care about improving our world, I feel optimistic for our future. Especially now. We must help young people lead the way. And we should also remember that in times when things feel frightening, to always lean on the people who form part of our community. We may not have everything, but at least we have each other. 

See pictures from the students' visit to D.C. here.