“I decided that it was pretty hard to find a good bagel in the Upper Valley.”

“I think it comes naturally to a lot of people here to create bridges instead of finding divides.”

“That sense of interrelatedness and good humor is still a vision for me of what is possible in community.”

“I felt deep in my bones, for the first time in my life, that I had come home.”

“Everyone has a story, and everyone’s story is meaningful.”

“I have literally learned how to bake bread because I wanted to connect with more people.”

“I felt so nourished by the cultural organizations contributing such richness to life in the Upper Valley that we decided to stay.”

“I feel that by following your heart, it will never lead you wrong.”

“I have always felt I should model my experiences instead of telling people what to do.”

“I really believe that it is important for people to do what they want to do and not what the world tells them they have to do.”

“Because we have a universal appreciation for food, it helps facilitate a connection.”

“There is no right time to start a family while pursuing medicine, so you just do it.”

“I think my inspiration is whatever it is that lights me up at any given time.”

“We will all be figuring out life until we hit the exit ramp.”

“This lukewarm ignorance makes us colder than the sharpest winters. I believe it all starts with awareness. Awareness is the key to break up with the invisibility of others.”

“One of the things I love so much about the Upper Valley is the value people place on having a strong community – people have grown strong bonds that have been established for years, or even generations.”

“I live a happy life. I don’t need anything else. Why not spend it helping other people?”

“When you work with your family you work together the best way.”

“It wasn’t until I moved to the Upper Valley that I finally got to experience the quiet and calm of a Vermont forest.”

“When it comes down to me versus life, I was taught to endure and win.”

“There is a big sense of pride in taking care of myself and taking care of other people. “

“Do whatever you can at whatever age in your life to make your life enjoyable and meaningful.”

“You need a sense of humor! That’s what makes a happy life.”

“My favorite element of teaching continues to be the energy exchange between myself and my students.”

“I like to play with scientific ideas in a fictional landscape. The science has always come naturally to me.”

“One life motto I like to live by is: “slow down”. Not particularly meaning to do less, but to take it easy.”

“One motto I have lived by is: I am not afraid of change, if the prospect of better exists.”

“I hope that we can see more kind and courageous people rise up to make the change we need to see.”

“So, a big part of living here in the Upper Valley has been learning to be rooted and to feel settled in a place.”

“It feels like a life purpose – that’s how I feel about teaching. It takes energy from me, but at the same time, it energizes and fulfills me.”

“I don’t want to look back on life and have any ‘what ifs’.”

“I got to Hanover and on the first day of work, I called my parents and told them I wasn’t coming back–this is it.”

“If I could wave a magic wand and change the world, I would help people see that not everything is so black and white.”

“I emphasize that you can always find similarities with somebody new that you meet, even if you look or speak differently.”

“A memory that makes me instantly smile is thinking about the birth of my children.”

“Some days you have good races and some days you have bad races.”

“You need to push out of your comfort zone and try new things, even when they scare you a little. After all, the best ideas always seem a little crazy until someone has the courage to do them.”

“I was born in Chicago, but my family is from Kenya. We moved to the Upper Valley about 15 years ago for my dad’s job at the medical school.”

“I am just a very empathetic person, probably too much. The entire program sits perfectly with my heart. I just adore it.”

And my mom was like, ‘music is second nature to you. It’s part of your life.’

“It opened my eyes, and by the end of the night, I felt a change–like there was a spot for me in the world.”

“I think it is crucial to understand and support the different perspectives and needs of others in my community.”

“What attracted me to Thetford was a quiet life. I respect all people and hope to get respect from them.”

“I want to learn a person’s story so I can help them seek their full potential.”

“Those words changed my understanding of art, its context, and my entire life.”

“After my English got better, I had enough of the kitchen. There wasn’t any more I could learn. I worked from dishwasher to head chef.”

“We designed our first curriculum, using soccer to talk about HIV prevention.”

“My biggest motivation is to do meaningful and good work, whether that be on a larger scale with diversity and equity work at Geisel medical school, one-on-one patient interactions, or caring for my family.”

“One of the things that drives me as a coach is not necessarily developing the best athlete but using athletics to help young men and women develop into the best person they can be.”

“I want to know, what is the backbone behind the community?”