U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — The Air Force Academy’s appreciation for diversity and its willingness to respectfully address controversy make the school stronger. Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen Jay Silveria said this to an audience in Arnold Hall opening the 25th National Character and Leadership Symposium.

In the audience was Marina Eraas (RTHS 2015) a student at Illinois Institute of Technology enrolled in the ROTC program. Making plans for her visit to the Academy, Marina called old high school pal Sarah Antolik (RTHS 2013) with whom she bunked. The girls caught up with fellow cadet Hunter Haggestad, RTHS 2017.
The two-day symposium features an array of speakers from an amazingly diverse array of backgrounds, according to Silveria. “Some of their stories will inspire and encourage you, others will shock or sadden you, some might anger you and some will make you uncomfortable,” he said. “Each of these reactions are important to our experience here and to our development as leaders.”

The event theme is “Ethics and Respect for Human Dignity, a topic Silveria called, “timely and pertinent. It’s one that allows for some healthy introspection as individuals and as organizations, no matter where you’re coming from,” he said.
Academics, military leaders and veterans, senior corporate executives, humanitarians, activists, filmmakers, authors and professional athletes, are slated as speakers. “It’s a unique group of leaders who challenge the norm,” said Cadet 1st Class Ethan Young, cadet in charge of NCLS.
“We encourage you to stretch your thinking.” Silveria welcomed the scope of the speakers. “We’re having conversations that weren’t being had, or even considered back when I was a cadet. That’s something that needs to happen more across our country.”
The event list includes Holocaust survivor Dr. Ruth Westheimer; international human rights attorney Virginia Prodan; Academy Summit Everest team member Maj. Colin Merrin; counter-terrorism and public safety authority Dr. Erroll Southers; sexual assault and domestic violence consultant Anne Munch; and philosopher and social critic Cornell West.