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As the presidential debates continue to spark conversations and controversy about immigration, a local high school freshman is tackling the subject head-on by travelling to the Arizona-Mexico border to learn about the issue.

Sequoia Gregorich will travel with six other Seattle-area youth in April to talk to immigrants making their way into the country and activist groups trying to help them. The trip is part of the Unitarian Universalist College of Social Justice and BorderLinks programs. Sequoia and other members of the group were selected to go after writing an essay about the issue.

In an attempt to raise money to fund the trip, Sequoia’s mother, Patty Gregorich, is beginning a campaign for islanders to donate money in exchange for a luminary. All luminaries will be displayed on Saturday, Feb. 13, along the path between McMurray Middle School and Vashon High School. Luminaries can be dedicated to a person or group that has been a beacon or a person who may need more light in their life.

The name of the person or group that the luminary is dedicated to will be written on the lantern, and a path of light will be created.

Gregorich said that she hopes the fundraiser will serve as a representation of the trip’s mission.

“Some of us are saddened by another type of darkness, the political atmosphere of darkness, where fear is being nourished and allowed to grow and spread. There is a great deal of talk about keeping ‘them’ out,” Gregorich said.

The group travelling to the border over spring break will walk the paths travelled by migrants who attempt to cross the border and will visit and refill the water caches where migrants can refresh themselves.

Gregorich said that Sequoia has always been passionate about social justice and advocacy and found the Unitarian Universalist fellowship, which “believes that all people have worth and dignity.” After finding the group in middle school, Sequoia participated in a silent protest and vigil at the Tacoma Detention Center, where immigrants are detained because of immigration issues.

Gregorich said that the experience deepened her daughter’s “quest for more information on immigration justice.”

Sequoia seconded her mother’s words and said that she is wanting to learn a lot more about the major social justice issues in the world today. She credits her mother, who she joked is a hippie, with raising her to be aware of the issues..

“I’ve always been thinking about doing (a trip like this), and the opportunity just arose” Sequoia said. “I’m excited, but I think it’s going to be scary, and it should be. It’s not supposed to be a feel-good sort of trip.”

She said that the only things she is hoping to take from the trip are a greater comprehension of the issue and the people involved. She would also like to find out ways to help.

“I’d like to be able to understand this issue more and explain it to others because there’s a lot of confusion, I think,” Sequoia said. “I really want to help because actions speak louder than words.”

The public is invited to attend the luminary walk after dark on Feb. 13 beginning at the middle school. The path will be lit with the community’s lanterns and will be accessible to those who are mobility-limited or in a wheelchair.

A minimum $1 to $5 donation can be mailed to Gregorich at P.O. Box 2317 Vashon, WA. The name and address of the person or group that the luminary is being dedicated to should be included with the donation so a card can be sent to them.

For more information, email luminariesonvashon@gmail.com or visit www.luminariesonvashon.com.