Over 200 students from nine middle and high schools from Maine, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky are participating in the 2023 Samantha Smith Challenge. They are addressing many issues – climate change, environmental racism, saving the monarch butterfly, violence in communities, recognizing truth tellers in their lives, the Declaration of Human Rights, and many more.

Americans Who Tell the Truth will celebrate these students and their activism on May 24, 2023, at Thomas College in Waterville, Maine. AWTT Truth Teller Maulian Dana will address the students and recognize the importance of their voices in working for the common good. Those who are unable to attend in person will attend via zoom. Students will create murals that show the intersection of their projects as they design “Windows to a Better World” and have the opportunity to meet and connect with people from participating schools. As this year’s 8th Samantha Smith Challenge Celebration draws to a close, AWTT founder and artist Robert Shetterly will recognize each school with a commemorative poster featuring recently painted AWTT portrait subjects.

Participating schools: