I thought the interview was gonna be boring but since it happened I had a lot of fun learning about my veteran’s experiences.

“It is difficult to properly express our gratitude to Maryland Humanities for the help and support that we received through the grant-making process and through the project…The support of (Maryland Humanities) was not in funding alone. By including a spot about the initiative in (their) Humanities Connection program on WYPR, Maryland Humanities did much to help promote our initiative and alert the general public about the program that we were running in the early months of the fall.”

“[Humanities] are the gateway to our souls, and to understanding each other. They enable us to avoid repeating our mistakes, and are a tool for teaching compassion.”

Humanities matter because humanity matters. The best thoughts, the highest questions, the most profound actions of courage and sacrifice are found in written accounts, art, and creative expressions throughout the ages. To study the humanities is to study oneself in a way that develops cultural literacy, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence.

We were really moved by the testimony of the veterans and impressed by the professionalism and dedication of the students.

“The researching and communicating skills have made me a more confident person in all academic endeavors. These are skills that will last me a lifetime.”

“[The Walking Tour] was a delight: loved the audience-participation with the quotations; great history and anecdotes from the guides; they were excellent at asking provocative questions of the participants, eliciting thought and engagement; good pace, even for someone slow walking.”

“A sophomore on our school’s state-champ runner-up varsity football team was so taken by Joe’s story of the sophomore year on the boat that he got his dad (the coach) and several members of his team to read the book even though they weren’t assigned it in class. Another student described a discussion she got into with her math teacher after school about the relevance of the English curriculum and used her experience with Brown’s work and the field trip to convince her teacher that humanities are just as important as STEM. Great stuff!”

We were really moved by the testimony of the veterans and impressed by the professionalism and dedication of the students.

Humanities help everyone learn about common and universal themes from diverse groups of people. They can help build peace and understanding in the world.