Sankar Raman

Listen When the Heart Sings

Not many men would invite their ex-fiancée to their wedding, but Vikram Srinivasan invited his. After all, she was his best friend in high school and stood by him

Sankar Raman

The Architect of Her Own Future

It was her birthday, an especially happy one because she got to see her mom. Johana Amani and her sister rarely saw their mother because

Elayna Yussen

Celebrating Identity Through Music

In the late 90’s, while employed at Powell’s Books and engaged in the workers’ effort to unionize, Gitanjali Hursh – known to friends and family as Anju

Sankar Raman

Learning How to Change the World

At four years old, already aiming  to “fix things,” Milen Gebreamlak decided she would become president of Eritrea to make things better.

Sankar Raman

Doing Everything With Her Own Hands

Ayan Salat can teach you all about scorpions. She can make fluffy injera bread and cook meals for an entire household. Ayan could ghost-write your next

Sankar Raman

From Fist Fighting to Mediating

Bernal Cruz had just been suspended from high school for taking part in a fist fight when one of the school counselors stopped him and said, “I think you would

Sankar Raman

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.

Sankar Raman

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.

Kim Oanh Nguyen

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

Sankar Raman

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.

Sankar Raman

Headphones In, Hate Speech Out

Farhia’s path to her new home in Portland called for courage and resourcefulness. She has faced repeated harassment about her skin color and her hijab

Jan Landis

A Candle in the Darkness

Dr. Baher Butti’s earliest memory dates from 1963, when he was just two years old. His uncle took him to visit his father in prison, where he was serving time

Sankar Raman

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

Sankar Raman

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

Sankar Raman

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.