The following article summarizes the original event which is listed below the summary.
Stories that illuminate people and give us courage
More than 120 members and guests made reservations to attend UMRA’s March 26 luncheon forum, and despite a nasty spring storm that brought snow, sleet, and icy roads, two-thirds of them braved the elements to attend! Thankfully, so, too, did our guest presenter, Fred de Sam Lazaro, for an encounter that was delightful, sobering, and provocative.
De Sam Lazaro has had a distinguished career in journalism as a regular feature contributor to the PBS NewsHour and as the founder of The Under-Told Stories Project at the University of St. Thomas. The journalism project produces content that is used by news organizations as well as in classrooms and online to help students understand local and international issues and, perhaps, to inform their decisions as they embark on their careers.
Watch a video recording of the UMRA Forum with PBS correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro.
De Sam Lazaro described his beat as poverty and human suffering, and said his focus is often on “change-makers” who are tackling big issues in ingenious and practical ways to improve things on the ground in communities. Some of the change-makers featured in his stories, like the late Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health, are famous and operate on the world stage. Others, like Indian environmentalist and engineer Sonam Wangchuk—who came up with an idea for building “ice stupas” in the Himalayan mountains to alleviate water shortages in the villages below due to climate change—are perhaps first brought to public attention by de Sam Lazaro’s reporting.
His stories are also often about what drives human conflict, and the opening slide of his presentation was a scene from his story in 2018 about the conflict at the Gaza border. The picture looked like it could have been taken yesterday, but it was from years before the current conflagration that is so much in the news and on our minds.
De Sam Lazaro has reported from 70 countries, but also covers stories from our local community that connect with the rest of the world. For example, he reported for the PBS NewsHour on the deaths of George Floyd and Philando Castile and the subsequent convulsions and aftermath here and in other cities around the world.
Connecting his audiences
He also tries to connect his audiences with ongoing top-of-mind concerns. One example is the current heated dialog about immigration. De Sam Lazaro has reported from Wisconsin dairy farms, where 60 percent of the workforce comes from Central America and elsewhere in Latin America, interviewing farmers who acknowledge that they could not sustain their operations without these immigrants. He brought us a story from Elgin, North Dakota, where a small hospital, like many in the U.S., is now reliant on nurses from the Philippines. And from Dickinson, North Dakota, where six of seven nurses in the only remaining long-term care facility there are temporary “travel” nurses, foreign-born and trained. Beyond the persistent nursing shortage, one in four doctors in North Dakota now is foreign-born and educated. This essential work wouldn’t be done without immigrants.
The stories from de Sam Lazaro’s career touch us deeply because they illuminate individual people, and because they give us courage to look into the face of suffering and the conundrums of what people around the world and in our own backyard are facing. We don’t look away because his stories touch our hearts, challenge our assumptions, and give us heart. We thank him for his remarkable work and for spending time together with us.
–Jan Morlock, UMRA Program Committee
Making the foreign—and the local—less foreign
Tue, March 26, 2024, at 11am
Fred de Sam Lazaro
PBS correspondent and
Founder and Director
The Under-Told Stories Project
University of St. Thomas
Midland Hills Country Club
2001 Fulham Street
Roseville, Minn. 55113
We are delighted to welcome back journalist Fred de Sam Lazaro as our guest speaker for UMRA’s luncheon forum on Tuesday, March 26. De Sam Lazaro is a globe-trotting correspondent who has reported from 70 countries with a remarkable perspective on what is happening around the world.
As a founder and now executive director of the Under-Told Stories Project at the University of St. Thomas, de Sam Lazaro focuses on the consequences of poverty and the work of change agents who address those consequences. It’s intended to offer a critical reflection on the world’s under-reported news stories, and to use storytelling to enhance students’ understanding of the pressing global issues of our time.
With his home base in St. Paul, de Sam Lazaro connects these interests to our local community as well. Recent examples featured on the PBS NewsHour include a January 29 story about music composed by Polish prisoners at Auschwitz, now performed by the Isles Ensemble at a Lutheran Church in Minneapolis; and on February 8, a story about St. Paul’s new all-woman city council. De Sam Lazaro’s work draws us closer to the people he meets and the challenges they confront, making us all less foreign to each other.
In addition to being a correspondent for the PBS NewsHour and executive director of the Under-Told Stories Project, de Sam Lazaro is a regular contributor and substitute anchor for the PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. He also has directed films from India and the Democratic Republic of Congo for the acclaimed documentary series Wide Angle, produced for broadcast on PBS and distribution worldwide.
De Sam Lazaro has received three honorary doctorates, numerous journalism awards, and media fellowships from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the University of Michigan. He serves on the board of Sahan Journal, a St. Paul-based non-profit news service, and has served on boards of the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, his alma mater, the Asian American Journalists Association, and the Children’s Law Center of Minnesota. He was born in Bangalore, India, and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1975.
A great deal has happened in the five years since Fred de Sam Lazaro was our guest speaker for the first time, in January 2019. Please join us to welcome him back for UMRA’s luncheon forum on Tuesday, March 26.
To make your reservation and prepay for the luncheon forum at Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville, go to umra.umn.edu > Member Portal > Forum Reservations.
—Jan Morlock, UMRA Program Committee
Upcoming Events
Many life challenges that get in the way of quality of life and good health at home have little to do with medical issues. Cathy Lauring, our presenter for UMRA’s February 18 workshop, will explore a variety of resources to assist in keeping us healthy at home—including physical, emotional, cognitive, and financial services.
John Bantle will lead the discussion of A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson when the UMRA book club meets via Zoom on February 21.
Join UMRA members to watch two of the best hockey teams in the nation. UMRA has negotiated a discounted ticket price of $33.
Barbara Klick, RN, MBA, the presenter for UMRA’s February 25 Forum, has decades of experience working in human and veterinary medicine, and will bring her wisdom and perspective to our discussion about what we can learn from our pets about facing end-of-life challenges and decisions.
The Fourth Friday Book Club will meet via Zoom on February 28 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. CST to discuss The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
Join members of the UMRA Hiking Club for a hike on March 3 at the Holland Lake Trailhead in Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan. It is the largest park in the Dakota County park system. Our route will take us on an unpaved trail with some roots, rocks, and easy hills. It will be about 5 miles for 2 to 2.5 hours. We will meet for an optional lunch afterwards somewhere nearby (TBD).
Will Craig discusses using local sources for family history.
The THEME is Insects
The UMRA Photo Club will meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in the meeting room of the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library, in the small shopping center at New Brighton and St. Anthony Boulevards.
For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 a.m.
The UMRA Hiking Club will explore wildlife along the Mississippi River in Fort Snelling State Park. The 3.9-mile Pike Island Loop is generally considered an easy route and takes just over an hour. Hikers can leave at that point, or stay to add another short loop. The trail is located below the bluff on which the historic fort sits. The last time we were there we saw a lot of deer, and the river always provides fascinating views.
The UMRA Photo Club will meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in the meeting room of the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library, in the small shopping center at New Brighton and St. Anthony Boulevards.
For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 a.m.
Theme to be announced.
The University of Minnesota Archives, with its major holdings largely tucked away in two huge underground caverns along the Mississippi River under the West Bank campus, holds the essential records of our University of Minnesota’s past. University Archivist Erik Moore will interpret the holdings and bring out a sampling of what it holds. We will also get a tour of the caverns (Minnesota Library Access Center), revealing where these precious materials are housed, including the original tapes of KUOM, now Radio K.
You are cordially invited to see Rick Huebsch, Associate VP for Research, Technology Commercialization at UMN, who will discuss UMN Technology Commercialization. Tech Comm facilitates the transfer of UMN innovation beyond the research lab, to benefit the public good, foster economic growth, and generate revenue to support the University's mission.
Do you have a box or several albums of old family pictures that you are not quite sure what to do with? Or perhaps you just want to find out more about your ancestors and are not sure where or how to begin. This meeting of the Family history group will be an open discussion.