Contributors

Mikaela Cook

Consent Manager, Community Liaison, Utah

Mikaela is honored to be part of the TSOS team. As a student at Brigham Young University Law School, Mikaela is committed to using her legal education to help refugees and immigrants. She strives to be an active member of her law school community by serving on a variety of clubs and working as a teaching assistant, research assistant, and student advisor. Before coming to law school, Mikaela received her bachelor’s degree in business management from Brigham Young University and had the opportunity to intern with U.S. Senator Mike Lee in Washington D.C. She also performed as a ballerina on BYU’s top performing ballet company, Theatre Ballet. After graduation and before beginning law school, Mikaela worked at KSL-TV as a producer and reporter for the lifestyle program, Studio 5 with Brooke Walker. While at KSL-TV, Mikaela did a highlight piece on TSOS and has since become an enthusiastic member of the TSOS team.

What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2025, more than 117.8 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced by war, persecution, or human rights abuses — and 45 million of them are children.

They arrive in refugee camps and countries seeking safety and carrying little: legal papers, if they're lucky. A backpack. A child's hand in theirs.

What they carry that we can't see is heavier: fractured families, homes they'll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

In a climate where immigrant stories are often ignored or twisted, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares what they survived, they reclaim their voice. When we amplify it through film, photography, and advocacy, the world listens. Hearts soften. Policy begins to shift.

Because when a lawmaker sees a person instead of a statistic, and a neighbor understands instead of fears, rebuilding becomes possible.

Your support helps us share these stories where they matter most.

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, Their Story is Our Story

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Their Story is Our Story is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization under the United States Internal Revenue Code. All donations are tax-deductible. Our tax identification number is 812983626.