In this week's StoryCorps, we hear about a student who endured the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, and later returned to the school as a teacher.

Dee Westenhause came out as a transgender woman at the age of 63. Growing up in El Paso, Texas, in the 1950s, she remembers having a hard time fitting in.

In 2019, Mark Carles went to a StoryCorps booth with his brother David to talk about his cancer diagnosis, and their relationship as brothers.

When Angela walked into George's restaurant in 1971, he was immediately smitten. They married not two weeks later. At StoryCorps, George and Angela Ju remember those early days.

Before civil war devastated Syria, Walid Sakaan's home country, his daughter Magda moved there. At StoryCorps, Walid and Magda remember family they haven't visited in years.

Olivia Hooker advocated for the military to open its doors to women of color. But even after policies started to change, "nobody seemed to be joining," she said. So she decided to join herself.

Shig Yabu rescued a bird when he was a young boy detained at a Japanese relocation camp in Wyoming. "She was so compassionate with the internees," he said. "I don't think she realized she was a bird."

David Carles and his younger brother Mark Carles are just a year apart in age. When Mark learned he had cancer last year, the men decided to support each other as much as time would allow.

As a child, Willie Ito spent nearly three years in a Japanese American internment camp. At StoryCorps, he tells his son how he went from doodling on Sears catalogs to animating for Walt Disney.

Susan Ahn Cuddy didn't fit the 1950s housewife mold. For one, she was an expert in air combat tactics. It wasn't until after her death in 2015 that her kids understood the full extent of her legacy.

Greg Force was just a boy when his father, the director of a NASA tracking station in Guam, called home with an important mission for him: to help the crew of Apollo 11 return safely to Earth.

Tina Dietz spent her childhood in a troubled home. Her great-aunt Shirley changed her life and provided solace through love and validation.

At StoryCorps, Estela and Candi Reyes recount how a simple act of devotion helped them say goodbye to their beloved father. "Papito era lo máximo," Estela said. "He was everything to us."

At StoryCorps, Alexei Romanoff, an 82-year-old gay activist, recalls lessons he learned as a teenager from a proud gay elder — and which resonated as an adult.

Lauren Cartaya and her older brother, Zach, were at Columbine High School in 1999 when two students opened fire. At StoryCorps, they remember that day and discuss the effect it has had on their lives.

Dee Westenhauser came out as transgender last year. At StoryCorps, she remembers "Aunt Yaya," the first person to accept her for who she truly was.

In 1961, it was Jack ReVelle's job to make sure two hydrogen bombs that had accidentally dropped over North Carolina didn't explode. At StoryCorps, he tells his daughter about recovering the bombs.

Maria is one of nearly 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants who could lose their temporary protected status this year. "[I'm] terrified of missing you growing up," Maria tells her daughter at StoryCorps.

Barnie Botone's grandmother cried when he told her he was a locomotive engineer because an ancestor had been forcibly relocated by train. "The irony, it was too much to bear," he says at StoryCorps.

Israel Baryeshua has conservative political views, while Tiffany Briseño identifies as liberal. Both agree that more kindness and compassion in politics would benefit the country.