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Lab coat worn by Bill Nye on Bill Nye the Science Guy

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Bill Nye is a famous scientist, engineer, and TV show host, and from 1993 to 1998 he hosted a show for elementary school children that explained scientific concepts in a way that was fun and easy to understand. Bill Nye the Science Guy has been shown in almost every American elementary school classroom, and the show's theme song and his signature lab coat are as iconic as the man himself.

I believe that Community Service Learning is essential for every active citizen, and that it actually comes naturally once someone begins taking that active role in their community. Essentially it is interacting with those around you, learning about different people and situations and learning what you can do for and with people. With learning inherently comes teaching, and Bill Nye is one of the most ubiquitous teachers in modern America.

I chose Bill Nye's lab coat as the representation for this pillar because of the unimaginable scale of his impact on an entire generation of young American students. He began his show out of a realization that there was a lack of enthusiasm for the sciences amongst schoolchildren, and he took it upon himself to try and reverse that. That is the definition of community service. Through teaching in his show, he also furthered his own knowledge, and remains one of the most prominent scientists in America today, most notably speaking out for climate justice.

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These banners were known as 'Great Demand' banners and were a common sight in women's suffrage demonstrations, rallies, and headquarters. This specific banner was carried by a woman named Marie Gilmer Louthan.

To me, the pillar of Leadership means the ability to stand for what you believe in, and the ability to defend that belief. There is a saying that 'progress is never comfortable,' and I think that being able to face that discomfort and resistance from others while still holding your ground and pushing for what you believe in, and continuing to advocate for it, is true leadership.

I chose this banner for Leadership because, though it seems like such an obvious concept now, women's suffrage was a completely outlandish idea when it was first introduced, and doubly so because the women advocating for it had no voice to begin with. This banner is symbolic of the determination needed to advance that fight. I find it admirable how straightforward the design is; it simply states what the women believe in. I think that the determination that this banner is symbolic of is a necessary trait that we need now more than ever in activism.

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This is the quinceañera gown of Natalia Flores, who is from Chicago, one of America's most diverse cities. A quinceañera is a traditional Latin American ceremony that marks the day that a 15-year-old girl becomes a young woman.

To me, Community Building in a Diverse Society means the ability to transcend differences and enhance the things that you have in common with those around you in order to better the collective situation of everybody there, and in doing so, improve your own life. I believe that regardless of background and experience, every single person will be able to find at least one thing in common with anybody else, and that once that connection is made, the process of cooperation and collaboration becomes much simpler.

I chose this artifact for the pillar of Community Building in a Diverse Society because I feel that it succinctly ties together Natalia's two backgrounds, of being a Latino woman and a young American, and showcasing her heritage to her community of friends and family, who in a city as diverse as Chicago, come from all over the world and many different socioeconomic backgrounds. Her dress was made by a local seamstress, whom she supported by buying the dress from, and her quinceañera was organized by her community. To me, this is the definition of Community Building in a Diverse Society.

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37c 1954 Brown v. Board of Education single

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Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) was a landmark Supreme Court case that established that segregated schools were unconstitutional. This postage stamp was released that same year, commemorating that decision.

The pillar of Scholarship to me is the most important of the five. Education is the first step that must be taken when undertaking community service and civic engagement. This includes both formal and informal education, the things you learn in a classroom as well as everything from the rest of your life. Almost every piece of information that a person intakes can be considered education.

I chose this postage stamp to represent Scholarship because it was such a monumental step in ensuring access to equal education across America. To deny a person education is to deny them one of the primary foundation blocks of living a good life and having access to social mobility. Segregated schools were a calculated measure to ensure that African Americans were denied that opportunity. 50 million of these stamps were printed, commemorating the huge step that desegregating schools was in the Civil Rights Movement.

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This is the African-American flag, a rendition of the traditional Star-Spangled Banner but with the colours of the Pan-African flag as opposed to red, white, and blue. The colours of the Ethiopian flag – red, yellow, green – along with black have become the symbolic colours of the African pride movement, due to Ethiopia being one of only two African countries that were never colonized by the Europeans.

The pillar of Citizenship can be interpreted in many different ways, and in my opinion it is not strictly relegated to your nationality. I personally do not hold American citizenship, yet I still perceive myself as an American, because my family and I live here, and this is where I go to school. Therefore this has become my community, and I am a member – a citizen – of it. Thus, I have rights and responsibilities to uphold, through community service, education, and other methods. Being a citizen means to give back to the communities that you belong to.

African Americans in the US have been denied citizenship, and the rights that come with that status, for most of their history. Receiving those rights has been a hard-fought battle that is still going on today. Regardless, African Americans have contributed to American society in so many ways, be it culturally, economically, politically, that listing them all would be impossible. Black people have touched every single aspect of American life, and Black Americans are an irreplaceable part of our society. The African American flag, a symbol that encompasses both past history and modern, is my preferred representation of the pillar of Citizenship.