Creating New Narratives
When Naskah Zada immigrated from Iraq to the U.S. in the fall of 1997, she was expecting to eat pizza in front of a big-screen television in either a mansion […]
Category: Immigrant
Becoming His Own Role Model
After his older sister was badly burned by scalding water, Miguel Rodriguez’s mother, a nurse in Orizaba, Mexico, knew the young girl needed to be seen by medical
Giving Others a Voice
Most second-graders don’t worry about what the other kids are thinking when they plan play dates. Elijah Russell, however, figured his friends were only interested
Education Triumphs Over Nationalism
On his first day of Second Grade in 1992, Flamur Vehapi arrived at his school to see soldiers barricading the entrance, declaring, “No more school for you.”
There Is More Than One Way
“I’ve never been a person who had a plan about what they’d be doing in 10 years,” says Susheela Jayapal, Multnomah County’s District 2 Commissioner. “I just do
Performing with a Purpose
Within a matter of months, Joe Kye had gone from teaching English in a high school classroom to playing his music at open mics in local dive bars.
Blind Faith in a Better Life
“Blue eyes, mustache, tall! I loved him,” says Anna Giurgiev. “And I still do.” She smiles, describing how she met her husband, Sava, when he waited on her
The Hard Way Can Be What Saves You
Yamini Rajan was 12 the first time she heard her father cry. With tears rolling down his cheeks, he saw the scars covering Yamini’s thighs and arms.
Embrace All Your Cultures
It was her teachers, violinist Inés Voglar says, who gave her the courage to do what she loved the most and to trust that success would follow.
Designing a Better Future
“After the travel ban and after Trump, I had the hard feeling — I felt ignored and voiceless,” says Shiva Farrohki. “I was thinking, how can we change
Love at First Sight—with Medicine
Growing up in Kyiv, Ukraine with a mathematician father and physicist mother, Tetyana Odarich was expected to follow in her dad’s footsteps.
Sketching a Life in Secret
Nothing about the financial world interested Sarah Rikaz. The only tie she could find between her passion and the career her parents wanted for her was
For the Love of Mozart
It’s the late 1980s in Taipei, Taiwan. Every week, four-year-old Ruby Chen ventures with her mother from their storefront apartment to the local Yamaha Piano store
Why Her Accent Became a Mask
When Onyeka Azike journeyed from Nigeria to America to attend Portland’s Reed College, she believed she would fulfill a childhood dream.
Upsetting the Status Quo
Contrary to the unobtrusive lifestyles of most immigrants, blending in has never been a priority for Victor Maldonado. Behind his signature blue mask,