Elmhurst University Honors Program Celebrates Acceptance into Nobel Peace Prize “Partners in Peace” Initiative

An Honors Program event was held in the Founders Lounge on Thursday, April 24, to commemorate the program’s selection to be a member of the inaugural cohort of “Partners in Peace,” a new partnership between the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) and the Nobel Peace Prize Commission.

The nearly 800 institutions of the NCHC were tasked with creating a curricular or co-curricular Honors project to promote a broader understanding of the Nobel Peace Prize process and the most recent recipient of the award, known as the Peace Laureate, as well as creating a project to inspire innovative efforts toward achieving a more peaceful world by adopting a “think globally, act locally” mentality.

Dr. Mary Kay Mulvaney, a professor of English and head of Elmhurst University’s Honors Program, spoke first at the event, noting that EU’s Honors Program was one of only 16 nationwide and the only one in Illinois chosen for this honor.

“If all goes well with this, we will be listed on the permanent website of the Nobel Peace Prize Commission in Oslo, Norway,” Mulvaney said.

Mulvaney explained that for a project titled “A Path to Peace: Preserving Stories of Hope and Resilience,” Honors students interviewed refugees about their stories and partnered with Exodus World Service, a local volunteer organization that welcomes refugees to the Chicago area. The A.C. Buehler Library created a website to catalogue these stories.

The event began with the audience filling out a form indicating their current knowledge of the Nobel Peace Prize. A very similar survey was taken at the end of the event.

After completing the initial survey, those in attendance were shown a video providing an overview of the Nobel Peace Prize, including its founder, origins, purposes, and recipients, which can be individuals or groups. The 2024-2025 laureate is Nihon Hidankyo, an organization comprised of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing survivors advocating for nuclear disarmament.

The audience then heard from guest speaker Jody May, the director of education at Exodus World Service, who has visited EU classrooms for around 15 years.

May began by defining a refugee as “a person who has been forced to leave his or her homeland and is unable to return because she or he has experienced persecution or they have a well-founded fear of persecution,” which could be due to race, nationality, religion, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

May explained that most refugees resettling in the United States undergo an intense vetting process spanning eight federal agencies.

According to May, 36.7 million people hold refugee status, with the number of displaced people being even larger. A refugee is displaced for an average of 17 years, and less than 1% of the world’s refugees are resettled annually. Worsening the matter, the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program was suspended on the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term.

“Refugees are people, just like you and me,” May said. “Sometimes we forget, because we hear the news or we read stories, we read data and it becomes very black and white. And we see them as the other.”

“It is important for us to connect to refugee stories, because if we do, we will see that they’re not too different from us,” May continued. “They’re people with hopes and dreams for the future.”

May told attendees that many refugees flee suddenly and without planning, and must start from scratch in an unfamiliar place, adjusting to a new language, culture, and community. Additionally, several refugees bring only one item with them, such as a Bible, a flag, or a cultural dress.

“We run to save our lives,” several refugee children said in a video.

“We seek not just a place to live, but a place to belong,” one added.

May told attendees about how EU students have had opportunities to work with Exodus, such as by providing welcome packs for refugee families, including baby care items, ethnic groceries, and household care goods.

Other Exodus initiatives include a “New Neighbor Program” to alleviate loneliness and isolation among refugees, as well as overcome hurdles like learning a new language. At Heidi’s House, a resource center in Wheaton, Ill., refugee families are offered games, homework help, and even practice for the citizenship test.

“The interactions do not erase the trauma,” said May. “We’re not erasing their stories, we are adding beauty onto the story.”

Speaking after May, Erika McCombs, an English professor whose students have contributed to Exodus’s efforts, encouraged attendees to view posters students created about their project and ask them questions.

Mateo Gomez Bedoya, a student heavily involved with the project, spoke about the process behind it, as well as the importance of the initiative.

“It’s thanks to Dr. Mulvaney. The work that she has done for many, many years in NCHC has led to this,” Bedoya said.

“The most important part about this is that we are not only interviewing refugees, but we’re getting to know them, we’re getting to know their story, and we want to make people aware of those stories by sharing them,” Bedoya added. “Our goal was to share what refugees go through, and help bring awareness to the U.S.”