Earlier this month senior Kelli Richardson attended an Interfaith Christian/Muslim dialogue at Al Amal, a Muslim school across the street from Totino-Grace. This event discussed the differences in both Christian and Muslim religions, and also described how we are all the same.

When asked what touched her the most throughout the dialogue, she responded saying, “I drive by this school every day not thinking anything of it, but they are actually the oldest and only Muslim school in Minnesota. Also, there was one kid named Sam who told me how he would sit across the street and try to watch our football games. He wasn’t asking for pity; he was honoring how great our team was. I asked why he hadn’t come over to the game, and he said he did not feel like he was welcomed. This is a problem.”

Kelli initially chose to attend this event because of a Kathleen Murphy Scholars requirement, but it ended up meaning so much more to her then she expected. She is very happy that she chose to attend and added, “Out of my four years of high school, this was my first encounter with our neighbors. That doesn’t seem right.”

Kelli wishes to attend again when she gets the chance, and is planning on helping form a club where they can meet with Al Amal as often as they can.