As part of the International Rescue Committee’s national Refugee Voices initiative, New American Voices in Salt Lake City encourages refugees and other New Americans to learn more about civic engagement, advocacy, and preparing for national events like the Census and the 2020 election.

Niyera, a former refugee and current citizenship tutor at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Salt Lake City, worked closely with Htay to help her study for her U.S. citizenship exam. Htay just passed her exam this past month.

Once a refugee himself, Yasir is proud to stand up for the rights of other refugee and immigrant families in his community. He shares about his recent experience travelling from Washington State to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress.

Tenzin was the Monitoring and Evaluation intern for the IRC in the NY Education & Learning department. In this role, Tenzin supported the Newcomer Youth Summer Academy (NYSA) program, including supporting the Program Director and Dean of Instruction and Curriculum. He assisted in reviewing program academic assessment tools, training Lead Teachers on conducting assessments, analyzing data, and disseminating pre and post-assessment for reports. 

Kezia Ahimina has never been to Burundi, the country her parents fled before she was born. But this fall, she may get a “dream” opportunity to finally visit: as a member of the Burundi National Soccer Team. 

Every day starts the same for Ahmad*. He wakes up around 6AM to see what trucking routes need a hauler. Looks like nothing for today but tomorrow, there’s a load in Baltimore that needs a driver to take it down to Florida. Ahmad claims the load and starts to prepare for the 28-hour round-trip job.