Los Alamos High School student Celia Pesiri presents a talk on May 11 to the Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos about her experience as a Salaam Shalom U.S. Peace Ambassador. Courtesy/Kiwanis

By KARIN CHURCH
Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos

On Monday, May 11, the Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos was inspired by a presentation from Los Alamos High School student Celia Pesiri about her experience as a Salaam Shalom U.S. Peace Ambassador.

Tomorrow’s Women, a 501(c)(3) organization founded in Santa Fe in 2003 to bring young Israeli and Palestinian women together, offers New Mexico high school students the opportunity to participate in its U.S. Peace Ambassadors Program. The program educates young women in compassionate listening, the history of the Middle East conflict, peer-to-peer conflict resolution, and storytelling. Pesiri served as a 2025 Ambassador.

As part of the program, Pesiri participated in a Leadership and Dialogue Camp hosted in Santa Fe in September 2025. Eight young Israeli and Palestinian women traveled to New Mexico to engage in communication exercises, bonding activities, and preparations for a speaking tour around the country.

Pesiri interacted with the visitors in both structured and informal settings, including a benefit event at the Santa Fe Botanical Garden, where several of the international participants shared speeches they later presented during their speaking tour. Pesiri also shared part of a story she wrote based on interviews with Rawan, a 26-year-old Palestinian physicist living in Gaza. The morning at the gardens concluded with singing and dancing.

Later that day, Pesiri continued connecting with the summit participants in a more casual setting, learning about culture through cooking, participating in impromptu Arabic lessons with a new friend, and enjoying a kitchen dance party to Israeli pop music.

Pesiri shared that “the girls (the visitors from Israel and Palestine) inspire me with their bravery, kindness, and continuous efforts to show up for their people and use their voices against injustice.”

Inspired by her experience in the program, Pesiri played an instrumental role in establishing the 2026 Rawan Alsaraji Scholarship, administered by the Los Alamos Public Schools Foundation. The $1,000 scholarship honored the Palestinian woman that Pesiri connected with through the program, raised awareness of the Salaam Shalom U.S. Peace Ambassador Program, and supported a college-bound student pursuing STEM studies.