Courtney Latorre

After listening to Linda Stein present the circumstance in which one is put in the difficult position between helping someone seeking refuge and risking one's life, I began to think about a common theme of bravery. I would like to think that the choice is easy, that doing the right thing for others and humanity is straightforward and uncomplicated. I do not believe it is possible for one to truly know what they would do in this situation. It seems as though the dilemma lies in the risk of losing what you have in the process of helping others. Listening to Ruth Gruber speak in "My Name is Ruth Gruber", it was evident that she did not view this as a choice, but rather her duty to use her art, her platform, to inform the American people of the devastation of the Holocaust. Gruber states, "And then I began to realize how important it was to have tools and my tools were words and images and I could use those tools to fight injustice." Listening to Ruth Gruber's...

Hi Everybody! My name is Courtney and I currently reside in State College.  I am a teacher of both first graders and yoga students alike in this central Pennsylvania town, where rural countryside intersects with the academic world that is Penn State.  Downtown is the geographical location in which the university borders end and the town begins.  Here, student and university life is prevalent in the town's makeup and rears its head in many ways. When walking down the street, one might see a student, back pack in hand, rushing to class walking by a couple who made their way from a few streets back to grab a bite to eat downtown.  Paces of life vary here, but not nearly as much as what one might hear when venturing into the throws of College and Beaver Avenues.  Whether it's a heavy political debate led by the insightful and hopeful youth of the university or a townie concerned about the date of the annual Christmas tree lighting, one is guaranteed to encoun...