Karen Weliky

Beyond the Familiar Summit

Although Ang Pemba Sherpa was born in 1982 in Namche Bazar, Nepal, a small village nestled at 3,500 meters in the highest peaks of the world

Shi Choong

Creating Joy For Others

When Shi Choong, now a wedding planner helping other Portlanders celebrate their love, thinks about her childhood, she recalls the bright colors  

Sankar Raman

Soaring High, Staying Rooted

“Volando alto sin olvidar de dónde vengo,” a popular Spanish saying that can be translated in English as “Flying high without forgetting where I came from,” describes

Sankar Raman

How Music Became Her Life

Wu Man was just 16 when she attended a master class led by the  celebrated violinist Isaac Stern. The room at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing  

Sankar Raman

My Heart Has Two Countries

Kseniia Hnatovska never kept up with the news. Instead, she was a planner. She loved scheduling vacations and weekend activities,  

Sankar Raman

Getting Down to Business

For Abiba Magba Magba, running a business was a means of survival.  Her mother taught her this while Magba was growing up in Bangui,  

Karen Weliky

Flavors From Home In A Suitcase

Ask almost any refugee from war-torn countries how they arrived on these shores, and at this specific place, and you will inevitably hear of radical choices  

Erin Jimerson

Greater than the Good Life

Because of frequent moves at a young age, Paul Cheong grew up never feeling quite at home. “I’m not culturally Korean, but I’m also not ethnically Thai 

Karen Weliky

Leaving a War Behind

Chau Leatherman credits her migration story to three lucky breaks. The first was the journey south to Saigon just after the Communists took over the North.

Ana-Maria M’Enesti

A Passion for Culture and Language

In the outskirts of Cluj-Napoca, Romania’s second most populous city nestled in the heart of Transylvania, there stands an unfinished house.

Minaski De

Surviving the Liberation

When Minakshi De was born in 1958, the area where her Hindu family lived was called East Pakistan. Then came the bloody Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.

Sankar Raman

Striking Universal Chords

Jan Porvas was only seven years old when he picked up the drum that would change his life. Surrounded by his friends and family at home, he was captivated by

Sankar Raman

Keeping Our People Alive

As a child, Mohsin Jamal was terrified every time the sun set in his neighborhood in western Kabul. The Taliban would roam the streets at night, abducting young boys

Karen Weliky

Painting A Better Future

A rosary and his mom’s blessing are all Roberto Oran took when he left his small village in Mexico. His faith kept him going, but his belief in higher education […]

Karen Weliky

Escaping the Taliban Through Art

When Ghu Ali Danish Kamal and his family arrived in Portland from Afghanistan, they were provided with $722 in cash. He headed straight to the art store