A Rebellion Against Silence
Sindy Avila-Gutierrez looks back undaunted on her life as an undocumented immigrant. “I’ve always been a rebel in that way,” she says. “You tell me
Tag: Story
Struggling to Stay in the U.S. of A.
Sometimes persistence pays off–especially when wending one’s way through the morass of the U.S. immigration system. Zhou Fang learned this lesson first-hand
East-West Encounters
The first time Susan Chan saw snow was also the first time she spent a winter in the United States, away from her childhood home in Hong Kong.
Choosing the Road Less Traveled
From the start, Barbie Wu was determined to forge her own path. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1986, she comes from a family of scientists.
A Lifetime of Listening
One of Margaret Stewart Clark’s earliest memories is of sitting, at age two or three, with her sister, who was blind, as the older girl taught Clark how to
Finding Identity in Resilience
Looking back on the many changes in her life, Sara Houranpay likes to quote her father’s advice: “When life throws you down, you get up,
Past Passions, New Horizons
For Ningshu Fang, the lessons that her grandmother taught her as a child are an invaluable part of who she has been, and who she has become. “She was a […]
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 […]
Portland Ukrainians’ Plea
Fighting back tears at a rally she organized a few days after the Feb. 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tatiana Terdal still managed to draw laughs from the 300
A Musician’s Education
As he was relaxing on the beach at sunset, beer in hand, Gerardo Calderon Garcia was startled when a stranger approached. After a short conversation, the stranger
Evading Stigmas and Stereotypes
“One day, I looked around, and everyone looked the same,” says Emery Thanathiti, describing her reaction to moving to Hong Kong as a teenager. “But I wanted to
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
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.
A Daughter of Two Countries
Ricki Mudd is a young girl sitting on the back of a bicycle–in front of her, an unidentified man pedals; above her, an umbrella shields them from the rain. The […]
Becoming and Never Looking Back
“I always knew I was a hands-on person. I liked taking things apart and putting them back together,” says Fiaindratovo Manavihare, explaining