Karen Weliky

Using Identity to Live Out Loud

In elementary school Osvaldo Gonzalez felt sure that he was destined to be an outsider. “I felt like it was not OK to be me,” he remembers. “I would sit […]

Karen Weliky

Spreading Love Through Coffee

When Hector Mejia Zamora lost his father, he made a bargain with God. “I was only fourteen,” he says, “But I told God that if he gave me my dad […]

Sankar Raman

Exploring Heritage Through Music

From her childhood, Keiko Araki knew what Taiko drums were. But it wasn’t until she moved to Portland, Oregon, in 2004 and became involved with Portland Taiko that  

Karen Weliky

Pushing Boundaries Through Music

Raúl Gómez Rojas spent his youth learning the violin. Almost every day, he practiced the instrument in his hometown in Costa Rica. Then, at age 24, he found himself

Sankar Raman

Embracing and exploring identity

When Qasim Syed arrived in the United States in 2001, he didn’t realize that a simple decision to reorder his name would one day define his immigrant experience.

Luxe Studio Productions

Creating a Road Map to Success

Arthi Vasudevan makes a road map for where she wants to go in life, deciding on her goal and timeline and then thinking out the steps she will follow to […]

John Rudoff

Helping Others Find Their Voice

Growing up as a U.S. citizen in Venezuela, Giselle Rincón knew what it felt like to be an immigrant. But it wasn’t until she moved back to the land

Ali Estefam

Moving Away to Give Back

For her first 25 years, the only home Ali Estefam knew was a 23-story apartment building in São Paulo, Brazil. From swimming in the first-floor pool as a