Stories
Dominican Immigrant Gives Back to Her Massachusetts’ Community
In 2014, Carmen Tejeda was a single mom and second-year business major in Santo Domingo — but on what she now calls a youthful whim she decided to drop out of college and move to the United States to give her infant son a better life. Tejeda traveled to… Read More
Kenyan Immigrant Supports Fellow Community Members’ Journey to Achieve Their Full Potential
When Wangari Fahari was 20, she represented her native Kenya at the U.S. Open Taekwondo Championships in Atlanta. “I’d always dreamed of coming to America — that’s why I worked so hard,” she says. Fahari moved to Dracut, Massachusetts, to join family, and enrolled at Middlesex Community College on… Read More
Peruvian Immigrant Invests in Making the Community Welcoming for All
Peruvian professor and professional musician Nayo Ulloa, specializes in the Quena, an Andean pre-Columbian flute, and singing. He plays music from all the Latin American countries, but specializes in Peruvian music, including the main three folk styles of Peruvian music: indigenous pre-Colombian music, music from the coast, and traditional and… Read More
Irish Immigrant Leads Non-Profit in Indiana
In 1994, amid economic turmoil in Ireland, Aileac Deegan took a long shot and entered the diversity visa lottery, gambling on about a 1 in 45 chance of winning a U.S. green card. When she won, her family bought a house in Goshen, sight unseen, and her husband secured a… Read More
Iraqi Immigrant Finds Refuge in South Bend
In 2003, Dr. Rose Alyousif fled her home in Iraq with her husband and one-year old-daughter and moved to another country in the Middle East. The couple’s mixed Sunni-Shiite marriage made the family targeted, and they feared for their lives. Ten years later, they were resettled in South Bend with… Read More
Mexican Immigrant Builds Business in Indiana
Juan Cervera spent his childhood farming corn, beans, and tomatillos with his father, but he wanted more. So at 15, he and his brothers migrated from Guanajuato, Mexico, to Chicago, Illinois. “I came for the American dream,” he recalls. “And to have economic opportunities.” Over the next 10 years, Juan… Read More
Immigrant from Burundi Proves “Anything is Possible,” Even Amidst Challenges
In 2011, at age 22, Prudent Ndihokubwayo was able to flee violence in Burundi and move to Portland, Maine, which family friends said provided good public assistance. At first, Prudent felt lost. He was unused to the cold and unfamiliar food. Customs like shaking hands with a firm squeeze confounded… Read More
Somalian Immigrant Founds Nonprofit to Help Immigrant Community Understand and Navigate Substance Use
When she was three years old, Amran Osman, who was born in Somalia, came with her mom to Lewiston, Maine. She learned English quickly, but when she entered school, she realized how different she was. “I was the only Somali person wearing a hijab, which kicked off an identity crisis… Read More
Brazilian Immigrant Teaches English to Expand Opportunities for Fellow English-Learners
Bianca Arcencio grew up in Brazil, speaking Portuguese. But many of her favorite musicians performed in English. “I was a huge fan of the Backstreet Boys,” she says. “I would read the lyrics, and it frustrated me that I didn’t know what they meant.” She became determined to find out. Read More
Immigrant from Djibouti Pursuing Nursing Degree to Continue to Care for Community
When Marwo Sougue was 15, her aunt died—meaning that, per custom, in her native Djibouti, she would have to marry the widowed uncle. To save her from this fate, her parents sought asylum in America. The family settled in Westbrook, Maine, in 2017, and from that moment, Marwo took every… Read More
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