Dreaming Big

SGI-USA member Tricia Elam Walker, of Maryland, won the 2021 Ezra Jack Keats Book Award for her children’s book Nana Akua Goes to School, which teaches that differences can be wonderful and celebrated. This is a national literary award that honors early career authors and illustrators for their achievements. Ms. Walker is a district women’s leader and also a region Many Treasures Group leader.

“My dream that I realized through my Buddhist practice—in terms of who I am as a person, what I want to create for my children and what I want to leave behind for the world—is all about writing things of value, being able to make a child smile through a children’s book and really making a difference,” she said. “Through [this] book, I have been able to do that. It became way more than I thought it would be, but Ikeda Sensei says, have big dreams, so I keep making them bigger.”