Rodas Tewelde escaped the east African nation of Eritrea as a child — but she's "never going to turn [her] back" on other refugees. When Rodas Tewelde was seven years old, she spent three months in an Eritrean prison.
Tewelde's mother had paid a coyote thousands of dollars to escort her and her three youngest children across the border into Ethiopia, in an attempt to flee Eritrea's authoritarian regime in 2013.
The group walked for several hours through harsh desert conditions, leaving scars on Tewelde's legs that are still visible today. Her mom's foot was "destroyed" during the journey, which she spent carrying Tewelde's two-year-old brother. After a while, the coyote declared they had finally reached refuge. He directed the family to climb up a hill to the border, while he left to meet another family in need of escort.
"The relief we felt was major. Walking up the hill, the joy was huge," Tewelde recalls. "But once we reached the top, there was nothing. It was flat for miles and miles, you couldn't see anything. We just broke down.”
The coyote had tricked them, taking their money and leaving the family abandoned in the middle of nowhere. The family trekked for miles in search of water and aid. When they eventually stumbled upon a farmhouse, soldiers arrived and arrested them.
Tewelde and her family were kept in an outdoor prison cell with twenty other people for months, sitting on dirt floors and wooden rugs without so much as a blanket to sleep on. The children were permitted to leave the cell for just a few minutes per day. There was no school, no medicine and no safety; Tewelde often witnessed prisoners being beaten by the guards without provocation. "They feel like it, so they will," she explains.
"It was very defeating, seeing how horrible people were being treated for trying to find freedom, trying to find a better life," Tewelde says. "What are you going to do if you're not able to legally leave the country? These are innocent people just wanting a normal life."
Tewelde and her family eventually found that better life. Her father, already in the United States, bailed them out of prison after around three months. Over a year later, in 2014, they successfully made it out of the country on Tewelde's fourth attempt to escape, following two years of efforts foiled by conman guides and soldiers' gunfire.
Today, Tewelde is an eighteen-year-old senior at Dawson School in Lafayette. She's set to graduate this month as a recipient of the prestigious Boettcher Scholarship, covering her tuition at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she plans to study biology and pursue a career in medicine. As Tewelde prepares to take the next step toward her future, she's pausing to reflect on how her past struggles remain a present reality for so many people.
Tewelde is working on a documentary film about the Eritrean refugee crisis. The relatively small nation is among the top ten countries of origin for refugees globally, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency, with a count of nearly 560,000 as of 2024.
Eritrea is one of the most repressive regimes in the world under the authoritarian rule of President Isaias Afwerki, who has controlled the country since it won independence from Ethiopia in 1993 following a thirty-year war. Afwerki was named president until national elections could be held, but the country has had no national-level election in 32 years. A democratic constitution was ratified in 1997 but never implemented. The nation has no active legislature, no independent media and no opposition political party. Its residents are forced into compulsory labor and military service, and suffer severe suppression of human rights, including freedom of movement, expression and religion.
Tewelde plans to travel to Ethiopia this summer to interview people living in refugee camps, like the one she and her family stayed in for a year after they escaped Eritrea before coming to the United States.
"I want to amplify their voices," she says. "The hope is to allow them to share their experiences and bring more awareness to the situation in Eritrea and what the world can do to help them."
Tewelde is funding the documentary and other aid efforts with a $4,000 Wolf Scholarship, an annual award granted to Dawson students leading projects aimed at bettering the world. She raised an additional $15,000 from an auction she organized in February, collecting money she says will be given directly to Eritrean families in Ethiopian refugee camps. Tewelde plans to hold another fundraiser this month, with a goal of raising $50,000. She hopes to give $5,000 each to individual families, as well as provide food, water and medicine to refugee camps via Campaign4Peace.
"Hopefully it can get them started, get them in the right direction," she says. "There’s a bunch of people in need. If I’m able to help even one of them, that can go a long way.”
The winter auction was held on the Dawson campus, largely using items donated from local businesses and artists. During the event, Tewelde shared her family's story and invited other refugees to do the same.
"A big piece of the event was really just educating the community," says Chris Ingwalson, director of communications for Dawson School. "I had never even known that this was a country that existed until I met Rodas and her family."
"It has been such a joy to watch Rodas grow into the incredible young person she is today," adds Arnie Lewis, dean of students at Dawson School. "Rodas is resilient and full of grit, always making the most of the opportunities in front of her. What stands out most, though, is the way she shows up with integrity, with compassion and with a quiet strength that inspires those around her."
Tewelde came to the United States in 2015 at the age of nine. Her father had left Eritrea years before while he was a member of the military; he fled in the middle of a conflict with Djibouti, risking torture or execution for desertion, Tewelde explains. He settled in Boulder, working three jobs to send money back to the family and organize their escape and immigration documentation. Tewelde's two oldest brothers escaped Eritrea ahead of her as well, leaving with their uncles as young teenagers.
When the family was finally reunited in Colorado, Tewelde spoke no English. She says she initially struggled in school and was bullied by classmates, but she doubled down on her educational efforts. At home, Tewelde practiced math problems and read whatever books she could get her hands on. By middle school, she was taking college preparation classes and participating in summer programs at CU.
“My parents always wanted us to get a good education. That's what this whole thing was about," Tewelde says. "Ever since I was a little girl, I understood that any opportunity that presents itself to me, I will go for it." Tewelde ended up at Dawson School after she took part in the school's summer program for local high-achieving middle schoolers.
"Lisa Michael, who is our director, right away saw the spark that Rodas has, how intelligent and hard-working and grateful her family is," Ingwalson says. "That's kind of how Rodas came to be a part of our community."
Tewelde and her family have become integral parts of that community. Today, two of her brothers attend CU Boulder, one recently got married and the youngest is in high school in Erie, she says.
Her parents work tirelessly every day and, two years ago, moved the family into their first house after years of living in a one-bedroom apartment.
"It's really cool to see how far they've come and how much they've done for me and my brothers," Tewelde says. "Seeing them still smiling every single day, it pushes me to do things like this.
"We're pretty set, but the hardest part is knowing there is so much stuff going on back home," she adds, noting that she still has family in Eritrea. "We're not going to ignore anything that's happening. We're still checking in and trying to see what we can do."
The situation in Eritrea threatens to get worse soon, as officials warn that Eritrea may once again be heading to war with Ethiopia. Tewelde hopes the rising tensions will not get in the way of her plans to help those in need.
"We thank God for getting us out, but I’m never going to get past what’s happening," she says. "I’m never going to turn my back.”
