Benjamin Ajak and Judy Bernstein

I just attended an inspiring talk by Benjamin Ajak (one of the Sudanese “Lost Boys”) and Judy Bernstein, who collaborated with Alephonsion Deng and Benson Deng to write They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky, which was SHU’s summer reading book.

“Education is the power of the world.”

“When I tell my story, I wash my heart.”

In response to a student who asked him what aspects of American life he found most surprising, Benjamin demonstrated the cheesy grin he had to plaster on his face when he worked at a grocery store: “I have to give them my teeth.”

He also told an anecdote about going out the parking lot to collect carts and noticing “Two dudes kissing.”