There are many things that I could tell you about who I am: a freshman at Northwestern, a journalism major, a native of Minneapolis, Etan Newman’s little brother (that last description was one I spent years trying to get rid of). But there is no better way for me to give you a sense of the ideals that I try to uphold and the values that I work to embody than by telling you about my maternal grandparents: Dora and Jules Zaidenweber.

Dora and Jules—or Nana and Papa, as I call them—were Holocaust survivors. But what is most amazing about them is not their ability to survive the camps, which both of them attributed to chance and luck, but their ability to survive life after the camps. They each told their story over and over again, both to their children and grandchildren and also to other people’s children and grandchildren, because they felt a need to educate the world, even if it meant reliving their own nightmares. As my grandma said in an interview in 1985, “I have a thorough commitment to the future. Obviously, having children was an expression of that commitment to the future, and a belief in a future, and not giving up on humanity.” That commitment to the future, and my grandparents’ ability to look for the best in other people even after seeing the worst that humans are capable of, are both ideals to which I aspire. Not only that, but my grandma continues to live her life to the fullest today; despite surviving a minor heart attack this winter, being legally blind, and living alone since my grandpa passed away four years ago, she reads more books on tape in a month than I read in a year and studies Talmud over the phone with a friend every week. I only hope to be able to emulate my grandparents’ perseverance, belief in humanity, commitment to the future, and love of life.

So, who am I? I am 19 years old, I love John Grisham novels, and my favorite movie is “A Few Good Men.” But most importantly, I am Nana and Papa’s grandson.