We arrived in lovely Laramie, Wyoming, so my father could obtain his Ph.D. in meteorology. Yes, we stayed there until the completion of his degree, and then we moved to greener pastures. Quite literally there was no green and Laramie. It was either frozen or dirty, thank you very much. Then we moved to Mexico. My father was a ... Read More »
How was life in Soviet Russia for my Mom? Life in Soviet Russia was not easy but they didn’t know how to live any other way. Everybody lived very simply; there was not much food to go around, clothing was all the same, nobody had excess clothing, and they lived in small apartments. After the fall of the Soviet Union, ... Read More »
Tom Chiu is a first-generation immigrant who has lived in the Bay Area for more than 40 years. He is currently a resident of San Jose. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Chiu came to the U.S. on a F1 student Visa after graduating from high school. Tom later graduated from San José State University. His career path has been ... Read More »
Herlinda Zavala’s story is one of passion and determination captured both in her personality and how she maintains her small business in cosmetology while also giving back to her community, family, and friends. Zavala lives in San Jose, California and migrated to the United States from Zapotitlán Jalisco, Mexico at the age of ten with her family via a temporary ... Read More »
Teresa Marquez’s story is one of hope, inspiration and hard work. She has been with East Side Union High School District for twenty-six years. As Associate Superintendent of Educational Services at East Side Union High School District, she is the highest-ranking Latina in the District who paves the way for opportunities in the public education field for other ... Read More »
Robert is a first-generation Laotian refugee who has reached his American Dream of owning his home, being active in his children’s lives and saving for his children’s future. He has overcome many obstacles in order to be where he is now–working as a Chief Of Construction Services. He began his journey here in San Jose, where he attended primary schooling and then started working when he was ... Read More »
Mylene Madrid is a first-generation immigrant from the Philippines who arrived in the U.S. when she was nine with her mother and two sisters. Her kindness, compassion, and motivation to make the U.S. a safe and welcoming place for communities that are struggling for a new beginning in this country is both inspiring and relatable. Mylene’s father first arrived in ... Read More »
Don Long came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam when he was a child. In reflecting on his journey prior to coming to this country, he talks about images from a refugee camp that was very crowded with over 30,000 individuals in a limited space that restricted their freedom. Although ... Read More »
Farah Barnia was born in Iran and immigrated to the United States by herself in May of 1978 at the age of sixteen. In her homeland, she lived with her parents and five siblings until the age of five, when her mom passed away. Her father considered himself a nationalist whose main goal was to make his country better. For ... Read More »
I began by asking what was life in Mexico before coming to the states. She said “life was okay, I married your grandpa young and when I got married my mother told me I had to go live with him and to not come back” I asked her why she married young and ... Read More »