Holocaust Conference Offers New Program for High School Students

For the first time, Pacific Lutheran University’s Annual Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education will offer a program designed specifically for high school students. The conference, now in its sixth year, will kick off Wednesday, March 13, and last through Friday, March 15.

The high school program will take place on Friday, and this year the entire senior class at Annie Wright Upper School will attend the conference, which is free for all high school students. 

The theme of this year’s conference is “Empowerment,” and the goal is to give educators, students and members of the community a way to use the lessons of the Holocaust to empower themselves and others.

The high school curriculum, designed by Annie Wright history teacher Bridgette McGoldrick and Charles Wright history teacher Nick Coddington, addresses issues such as identifying injustices and taking personal responsibility, and uses resources developed by the Jewish Partisan Education Foundation.

The program includes breakout sessions on defiance and empowerment, a talk with Holocaust survivor Suzie Sherman, and a campus tour and discussion of the college process.

“Our aim is to provide students with an opportunity to grapple with ideas about this topic that both complement and contradict their own personal worldviews,” said McGoldrick. “They will hopefully leave with a better understanding of the Holocaust, not only as an important historical event, but also as a part of the unfolding narrative of world history in the 21st century context. Experiences like these, outside the classroom, ultimately provide history students with a better sense of how they can be active agents of change in their communities and the world.”

Parts of the conference will also be streamed live on the PLU website and Facebook page. Learn more at www.plu.edu/holocaustconference/home.php.