Miss Iowa kicking off series on diversity

Nina Yu still remembers the moment that stung, a moment when she was made to feel she shouldn't be proud of who she is.

'I remember one time saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and someone behind me goes, ‘Why are you standing up? You're not American,' ” said Yu, a junior at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids. 'Those things that are supposed to be funny, supposed to be laughed about - really, it kind of hurts.”

Yu, 16, is Asian-American and a fellow at Diversity Focus. As part of Diversity Focus' Youth Leadership Program, Yu has helped organize a series of speakers on diversity that she hopes will encourage people to feel confident about who they are.

Beginning Wednesday and continuing through May, the speakers will address high school students in the Cedar Rapids, Linn-Mar and Iowa City Community school districts. The first speaker is Aly Olson, who competed as Miss Iowa in the 2014 Miss America pageant. Other speakers announced so far are Michael Kutcher and Jamie Utt.

Olson, 22, earned her title as Miss Iowa in June of last year. Since then, she has been speaking at schools throughout the state about the 'Do One Thing” platform, where she encourages students to take everyday actions to spread diversity and inclusion.

During her presentations, Olson said she will highlight how service and volunteering have helped her interact with diversity and understand her own background better. She wants to help students create their own 'definition of diversity,” and discuss how they see the issue playing out in their schools.

She also plans to cover Iowa's progressive history and break down the current demographics of the state.

'A lot of times, students begin with this idea that diversity is trying to say that we're all the same,” Olson said. 'The messaging is not necessarily that we're all the same, but that we're different, and we can work toward becoming very comfortable with those differences.”

Yu said the main message she hopes all of the speakers will convey is confidence.

'You can have your passion, you can have your different interests, and everyone should be able to accept that about you,” Yu said. 'Everyone should feel appreciative that everyone is different and everyone is unique. I feel a lot of high schoolers think that their differences are a weakness and not something that you should be proud of.”

Presentations will include a question-and-answer portion to give students a chance to share their opinions.

Olson said she has no illusions about being able to change the behavior of the high school students she will address. Instead, she wants to encourage teens to take responsibility for their actions.

To Olson, that's the most important and empowering lesson she hopes to impart.