Congratulations to Layla Ismail, a student at Cleveland High School who has been named the 2023 Washington STEM Rising Star for the King County region! And congratulations to Adrianna Jones of Mount Tahoma High School, who is the Washington STEM Rising Star awardee for the Tacoma Region!

Created by the United Nations in 1981, the International Day of Peace takes place on September 21. The 2023 theme is “Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals.” It’s a call to action that recognizes humanity’s individual and collective responsibility to foster peace, which contributes to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which would create a culture of peace for all.

September 16 is known as National Trail of Tears Remembrance Day, and it marks the tragic anniversary of the day when the last Cherokees arrived in Oklahoma in 1838.

Hispanic Heritage Month (Latin Heritage Month) takes place from September 15 through October 15 each year. Often referred to as Latinx Heritage Month by the Latinx community, it's a global celebration of the rich vibrant contributions, cultures, traditions, and achievements of the Latinx, Hispanic and Latino-identified communities around the world.

Celebrated every August 26, Women’s Equality Day provides an essential and poignant remembrance of the passage of women’s suffrage in the U.S. It is also a reminder of the heroic women who suffered violence, torture, death and discrimination as they fought for equal rights for women, including the right to vote.

Created by UNESCO to memorialize the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, Slavery Remembrance Day, also known as International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, is observed on August 23 worldwide. Upon this day, it's important that we remember that this observance is not only a reminder of the horrors of slavery as we honor its victims—it's also about our dedication across the globe to ensure that slavery, and the racism that caused it, is abolished once and for all.

It's National Senior Citizens Day!

First proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, National Senior Citizen’s Day takes place on August 21, and honors the senior citizens among us while also seeking to create additional awareness and appreciation for the issues that frequently face older adults, such as those of health, discrimination, and more.

Celebrated each August 14, Navajo Code Talkers Day celebrates the courageous achievements of the over 400 Navajo men who were recruited to the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.

Commemorating the historic meeting of the first United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982, International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (August 9) provides us with the chance to promote the rights of Indigenous People worldwide, while also amplifying their voices, cultures, and accomplishments.

As a haunting reminder of the destructive power of the atomic bomb, August 6 is Hiroshima Day, when the city of Hiroshima holds the Peace Memorial Ceremony to mourn and commemorate the victims of the detonation of the atomic bomb in that city by the United States on August 6, 1945.

As Black Business Month, August gives us the opportunity to honor the formidable business accomplishments of Black and BIPOC people everywhere.

August is National Minority Donor Awareness Month, with National Minority Donor Awareness Week starting things off and celebrated annually this week, August 1-7. It marks a vital opportunity to educate and spread the word on the importance of organ donation among the BIPOC and other minority and ethnically diverse communities.

On Women Astronomers Day, we celebrate the fact that, throughout history, the eyes of women have focused on the stars as intensively as men, and to them belong many great achievements and discoveries as they played essential roles in a variety of scientific and astronomical breakthroughs.

On July 30, National Public Education Day reinforces the commitment to children as the future of our country while raising awareness of the necessity for free and quality public education as the basic right of all human beings.

Commemorating the formation of the first Army regiments to include Black Soldiers, Buffalo Soldiers' Day is celebrated annually on July 28, honoring the courageous achievements of over 180,000 Black soldiers, many of whom were enslaved people, who fought bravely with the Union during the Civil War.

Did you know that there’s a second Independence Day in July? Celebrated annually on July 26, National Disability Independence Day is an important and federally recognized celebration of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush.

July is South Asian Heritage Month, a month-long celebration taking place annually from July 18 through August 17 to honor those with heritage from such South Asian countries as India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and the Maldives.

Famed aviator Amelia Earhart is revered in history as a female American aviation pioneer and author who broke the women’s altitude record in 1922 (14,000 feet) and was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic in 1928. We celebrate her achievements each July 24.

On July 18, the world celebrates a towering presence for freedom and nonviolence -- Nelson Mandela, on Nelson Mandela International Day.

Too often, it sometimes seems that the one constant across the globe is conflict and strife, not peace. Yet there is always opportunity for resolution and alliance, and for justice. This is the reason for the founding of the World Day for International Justice—also known as International Justice Day—on July 17.