Stories
Louisville-Based College President Applauds City’s Commitment to Diversity, International Students
Only 750 of the 12,000 students at Louisville’s Jefferson Community and Technical College are foreign-born, but college president Dr. Ty Handy calls them an inspiration. “Our international student population is absolutely an example to our other students,” he says. “Their retention rates, GPA exceed our institutional averages. They know… Read More
Iraqi Immigrant Who Served the U.S. Army Now Wants to Serve Maine
Ali Farid and his family had a good life in Iraq. His father worked as an electrical engineer. His mother was trained as an anthropologist. The family of six was safe. And, at age 18, Farid began a lucrative, albeit highly dangerous, job to support his concurrent university law… Read More
Entrepreneur Couple from Albania Spreads Good Will Through Coffee
The chance of winning the diversity visa lottery is bitterly low—about one percent. Mateo Hodo’s family won the lottery, granting them U.S. residency, in 2002, and moved from Albania to Michigan and, later, Maine. Alba Zakja won the lottery in 2009, and moved to Maine to be near Mateo,… Read More
Iranian Refugee Seeks Ways to Give Back to Her Adoptive Community
When Islamic revolutionaries overthrew the Shah of Iran in 1979, members of the Baha’i faith once again faced persecution. On a single night in December, 500 Baha’i homes were burned to the ground. One belonged to the family of Parivash Rohani, an 18-year-old girl preparing for college. “My parents were… Read More
Chicago Business Leader, Grandson of Italian Immigrant, Advocates for Restaurant Workers Across Illinois
Sam Toia, a third-generation Italian-American, whose grandfather emigrated from Sicily in the 1920’s, is deeply embedded in Chicago’s culinary world. As President & CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA), he advocates on behalf of the industry and its workers. In the state of Illinois alone, there are more… Read More
Rwandan Refugee Expands Immigrant-Focused Newspaper into Buffalo-Based Non-Profit
Shortly after Rwandan refugee Rubens Mukunzi began publishing a newspaper about immigrant and refugee life, he got a visit from the Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash. “He was very excited to have the newspaper, Karibu News, as a voice for refugees and immigrants in Buffalo Public Schools,”… Read More
Argentinian Immigrant Credits Boston with Enabling Business Success
Jonathan Thon, an Argentine native, first came to the Boston area in 2008 to complete a Harvard Medical School postdoc, and stayed on to become an Assistant Professor there. He knew that platelets, the cells that promote clotting, had enormous commercial and medical potential, and so in 2014, Thon… Read More
New York State Assemblyman Reflects on Immigrant Legacy in New York City
When Ron Kim’s family immigrated to the United States from South Korea in 1987, his parents chose to settle in New York City because they knew it had a strong immigrant community. Kim, who was seven years old at the time, explains that this community provided the family with… Read More
Polish Immigrant Gives Back to Community that Welcomed Her
By the time she moved to Fort Wayne in 1998, Polish native Ewelina Connolly had already visited the city several times with the dance troupe in which she performed. On one of these trips, she fell in love with an American. But when they decided to marry, Connolly faced a… Read More
Self-Taught Immigrant and Accountant Has Long Considered Fort Wayne Home
Ning Sanderson grew up in small town in Thailand, hours from her single mother, who worked in Bangkok for the hospitality sector. Then, when she was 13, her mom married an American civil engineer, and the family moved to Saudi Arabia for his job. Since their new Saudi town lacked… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
