Where Courage Lives
October 20, 2025
Earlier this month, more than 350 of us gathered for the Wassmuth Center’s annual Change Your World Gala, united around the theme A Call for Courage. The energy in the room was unmistakable, a shared recognition that we are living through a time when fear and division often drown out empathy and reason. The very foundations of dignity and democracy feel strained. We don’t need to list all of the ways our shared values are being tested. The headlines do that every morning. What we do need to name, and claim, is courage.
But what is courage? For many, this word conjures images of battlefield heroics or acts of defiance under the glare of history. However, its root—from the Latin cor, meaning heart—points to something quieter, more intimate. Courage is not the absence of fear but the resolve to act in spite of it. It’s not reserved for the extraordinary few. It’s a daily practice, a habit of the heart that is strengthened one decision, one conversation, one act of integrity at a time.
At the Wassmuth Center, building this collective courage muscle is at the core of our mission. Through education, we help people of all ages learn to recognize injustice and take courageous action to interrupt it.
At the Gala, we celebrated two educators who embody this kind of everyday courage. Shayna Lopez, a social studies teacher at Gem Prep Meridian South, helps her students see history not as a static record but as a living call to action. In her classroom, empathy is practiced as intentionally as multiplication, and human rights are explored through the choices people make every day. Shayna shows her students that courage begins with listening, questioning, and choosing kindness even when it’s not easy.
We also honored Sarah Inama, World Studies teacher at East Junior High, whose conviction was tested last year when she was asked to remove a sign in her classroom that read “Everyone is Welcome Here.” Sarah said no and ultimately decided to take a job in a different district at the end of the school year. For her, creating a classroom where every student feels seen and valued isn’t up for debate. Her quiet resolve rippled far beyond her classroom, reminding us that inclusion often begins with one person willing to courageously stand firm in love.
Our keynote speaker, Reverend Nancy Taylor, deepened this call for courage. Decades ago, when many hesitated to confront bigotry in Idaho, Nancy stepped forward with other community leaders, believing that a public space devoted to human rights could help bend hearts toward understanding. Her vision helped shape the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial. Nancy recounted this journey, illustrating that courage doesn’t always arrive with a roar. Sometimes it builds—stone by stone, word by word—until compassion has a solid place to stand. While groups who work to restrict rights come and go, the Memorial, its words and the courage it inspires, endures.
These are stories of heart. They remind us that courage lives in classrooms and neighborhoods. It lives wherever people choose curiosity over certainty, connection over fear, and dignity over indifference. Shayna, Sarah, and Nancy teach us that courage begins when we choose to live our values. The call for courage is not a one-time event. Heeding the call is a daily practice, a way of living that keeps our shared humanity alive.
To everyone who joined us at the Change Your World Gala and financially supports our work as well as to all who connect, learn, and create with us throughout the year: thank you. Your presence, participation, and belief in this work embody the courage our world so deeply needs.
As we move forward, let’s carry the spirit of this year’s Gala with us. Let’s keep answering the call for courage, and together we will create a more just and joyful world.