Rivers, Hieleras, and Love
Ramiro A. Hernandez Fall 2022 “I think there’s this big misconception about migration in that it is voluntary. My migration was not a voluntary act. It’s not a beautiful journey.
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Adventure Awaits
Hannah Humphreys Fall 2022 “When I came to this country I used to wonder why people spend so much money on pets right? And now I have a pet. Seriously,
A Search for Purpose and Acceptance
Amane Miura Fall 2022 Her experience as an immigrant informed her artistic purpose, because she realized that our shared identity as natural beings is much more significant and important than
My Own Country
Satchel Tsai Fall 2022 “Life is always better if you can communicate, interact, and love one another.” Wrapping holiday presents at a busy department store; housekeeping for a wealthy couple;
Creating a New Home
Stathis Kalathias Fall 2022 To respect anonymity, the person this story belongs to will be referred to as “Mrs. T.” “I felt homesick for the first year every single day.
….and that for me is home
Ana Michels Fall 2022 “I wasn’t thinking about becoming a citizen, because I’m a Mexican citizen. But because of you two, I really needed to think about becoming one, because
New Kid on the Block
Crystal Secaira Fall 2022 “I don’t know if you could call it an American dream anymore, but worldwide it’s there. If you look for it. There are ways you make
Ni de aquí, Ni de allá – Samantha Ovalle’s Story
Jocelyn Vasquez-Tax Fall 2022 “This place was like the best place. This place was like up top. They had the best technology. It was cleaner. It was way better… like
Continue readingNi de aquí, Ni de allá – Samantha Ovalle’s Story
You’re more than just an Immigrant
Giselle Vigil Fall 2022 Lucia is a first generation college student. She is a big sister to two siblings. She is a Queer Woman of Color. She is an advocate
Kuv Lub Tsev Nyob Ntawm No [My Home is Right Here]
Kaj Tug Lee Fall 2022 “I have to say the place that I born. The place that I first step in. I call the place of my birth. But when
Continue readingKuv Lub Tsev Nyob Ntawm No [My Home is Right Here]
The Journey that Made Sense with Motherhood
Liliana Araujo Flores Fall 2022 “The first thing that we did when we got here was go to Austin. My mom’s sisters were there and all my cousins I didn’t
“He was my home.” – Alice’s Story
Marco Roberts Fall 2022 “When the Cultural Revolution was still happening, I thought that we were the most fortunate to live under Mao. But later China opened up economically, I
The Vietnamese-American Dream
Nancy Vu Fall 2022 “…when talking about the journey to America, you see it is not simple. It is like that. There are a lot of things you have to
From Guatemala to America
Nicole Padron Fall 2022 “We are all equal but just with different faces. We are all equal but with different colors of skin and different looks. That’s it. Everything else
From Guyana to America: A Story of Family and Resilience
Olivia Stoetzer Fall 2022 “The village was very poor, and people mostly did sugar cane cutting for jobs, that was the only resource and income. My father did that for
Continue readingFrom Guyana to America: A Story of Family and Resilience
From Kenya to America
Ruthie Njagi Fall 2022 “I think both the US and Kenya are my home because I’ve met good people and established good relationships with people in the United States, but
A Fish Out of Water In A Fair Isle Sweater
Spencer Watts Fall 2022 “I lived in Chile. In Santiago my parents had a ranch home on a street called Avenida Tovalaba, across from the canal, which was the river
Migration Sacrifices
Zaid Ali Fall 2022 “[We] had a peaceful and beautiful life there. I lived with my parents and worked as a doctor. I had a lot of fun. We had
Mango Tree, SATs, and Church: The Story of a Chinese Immigrant in the United States
Zhe Meng Fall 2022 “It’s really difficult for me because of the stereotypes, like oh, they (Chinese) are supposed to be very smart, but for someone who just came from
Continue readingMango Tree, SATs, and Church: The Story of a Chinese Immigrant in the United States
For My Future
Veronica Ramirez Spring 2022 “My experiences have created and raised me to be nothing but determined and strong no matter what obstacles are to come.” F.S. was ten years old
Lo (Jati)bonito de 4th of July
Ramiro A. Hernandez Spring 2022 A yellow shirt with a brown skirt; an airport filled with strange people; a sun-filled sky in Miami. These are Gaby’s first memories in the
Rupa and Dumakant: To Find Family Again
Blythe McWhirter Spring 2022 Rupa Neupane is 35 years old. Before meeting Damakant, she lived with close relatives while attending nursing school in Kathmandu. Her parents weren’t happy to send
I Always Knew Myself to be a Feminist
Jean Wriggins Spring 2022 Motivated by curiosity and love, Sadhbh came to the United States in 1963. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Sadhbh moved to Paris when she was
Dutch Passport, American Soul
Carissa Kilbury Spring 2022 Kent Paul knew the United States was where he belonged. His first experience with the U.S. was attending an American school while he was living in
America: The Land of Freedom and Opportunity
Mariam Muhammad Spring 2022 “So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies And walked off to look for America” “America,” Paul Simon The concept of “America” is
Continue readingAmerica: The Land of Freedom and Opportunity
Education First
Vaidehee Durgude Spring 2022 Meera Honde’s story starts in Pachunde, population 3,000. It’s a small village in the state of Maharashtra, India. The first thing Meera has to say about
A Citizen of the World
Katie Schroeer Spring 2022 Juergen Schroeer is many things: an immigrant and onetime refugee, a U.S. citizen, a German native, a physicist, a husband, a father and grandfather. As he
Home, Hardship, and Humility
Isabel Ashford Arya Spring 2022 When Michael arrived in New York City, he had never heard of hot dogs. This is what he recalls first and foremost about his migration
Pou Fanmi Mwen (For my Family)
Destiny Rosulmé Spring 2022 In 1981, Joseph Paulin Rosulmé, a native of Les Cayes, Haiti, lost his job at the state department under the notorious “Baby Doc” regime. The difficulty
Life in Brazil
Sunny Martinez Spring 2022 Hildet Fernandes Clayton was born on October 14, 1962 in Brazil. She lived in Brazil for 29 years before coming to the United States of America
Living in Limbo
Shadae Chambers Spring 2022 Amy is an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic who moved to the United States when she was 12 years old. Her mother, who used to
No One Answer
Jone Bagdanskyte Spring 2022 “The Reason why I decided to go with my parents to America was because I totally believed in the American dream. I was like ‘this is
Life in México
Arianna Mosqueda Spring 2022 In México, Lili lived in a small Rancho in Michoacán with her husband, her four daughters, their small dog, their horse, and their chickens. While her
The Pain of Family Separation
Eduardo Burgos Quezada Spring 2022 Waiting for hours in line at the U.S. embassy in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Marisela, and I nervously watched as the applicant before us received a
How can I be Korean and American?
Lucia Navarro ’23 Spring 2021 Picture this: eating Burger King in a random hotel room moments after you have just landed in one of the country’s biggest airports without even
For a Better Future for her Children
Yusa C. Parcali ’21 Spring 2021 After her husband received a Green Card, Zehra and her family immigrated to the United States in 2004 with the desire of providing higher
Here to Stay. Here to Fight.
Yousef Khan ’22 Spring 2021 It may not have been Olivia’s decision to come to the United States as a ten-year-old by paying Coyote to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, but
A Product of Two Countries
The Story of a Chinese-American Immigrant in the United States Viktoriia Zakharova ’24 Spring 2021 Shu Yi Chen is a 19-year-old Chinese-American who immigrated to the United States with her
More an International Person
Raymond Sidener ’21 Spring 2021 I consider myself more as an international person. J was born in Singapore to Chinese parents. At age 5 her family moved to Shanghai, and
Mexican-American. Mexican? American?
Josué Ochoa ’24 Spring 2021 As a 9-year-old little girl, Karin moved to the United States from Mexico, in hopes of reaching the glorified American Dream. Being the youngest of
Passing for American
Jack McManus ’21 Spring 2021 Andrea’s story of coming to the United States has several unique wrinkles. Originally born in Hong Kong, she lived in several countries before her family’s
From Nigeria to America
Omene Addeh ’21 Spring 2021 My interviewee, Kemi*, wished to remain anonymous, but she is a woman in her early twenties who moved to New York from Lagos, Nigeria in
Alone to Finding Home
Kheria’s Immigrant Journey: Navigating A Lonely Arrival to Creating a New Home Dounya Ramadan ’22 Spring 2021 A Lonely Arrival Kheria, born and raised in Tripoli, Libya, was 22 years
Theorizing a Life History
Daniel Torres Balauro ’23 Spring 2021 Over the past several years, the world has seen a proliferation of scholars in the field of migration studies. One of these scholars is
Bright Borders, Religion, and Race
Damion DeShield ’22 Spring 2021 Maryam: Bright Boundaries Expressed Through Religion & Race/Ethnicity Maryam migrated from Pakistan to the United States of America as a baby when she was 1
Kindness and Open Arms
Cassidy Cheong ’23 Spring 2021 While she was nervous at the outset, the overall impression that I had of Lawan Li, a grandmother living in Long Island, was one of
A Mother’s Hard Choice
Andrea ’22 Spring 2021 Growing up in El Rancho B.E. grew up in a small town, colloquially referred to as El Rancho in Guanajuato, Mexico. Growing up, B.E. was free
A Trip to Disneyland
Anna Considine ’23 Spring 2021 When Jayhe decided that she wanted to visit Disneyland, she had no idea this choice would prompt her to leave everything she had known behind.
Facing New Beginnings
Anna Suh ’22 Spring 2021 In 1975, Ui Suh immigrated from Seoul, Korea to New York City, USA. An engineer, a husband, and a father, Ui lived a comfortable life
Boundless Dreams
Journey of a Mexican American Dreamer Atziri Marquez ’22 Spring 2021 From Tecalitlan to East Los Angeles Julissa was born in the small town of Tecalitlán in the state of