Amen from Ethiopia came to Iowa on a scholarship to live with a host family and go to an American high school. A teacher encouraged her to write an essay from a state contest, and Amen won first place. In her essay she talked about witnessing a horrible tradition in her country. Amen's goal is to earn a law degree so she can fight for women's rights in Africa. She bravely wrote this story to educate people on this subject. She is willing to work tirelessly until this practice ends. Her main focus will be female genital mutilation (FGM) in countries where this practice is common. Young Artist Faith Mutum did a marvelous job of bringing her story to life with her illustrations.