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Argentinian Immigrant Helps Make Kent County Welcoming for All
When Natalia Kovicak moved from Argentina to Spring Lake, Michigan, at age 25, she quickly realized the challenges of starting a new career as an immigrant. It didn’t matter that she had a resume that included a good job with Coca-Cola in Buenos Aires and her own event-planning company. Kovicak lacked a network. Without strong […]
Read MoreMexican Immigrant Brothers Launch Mechanical Services company in Grand Rapids, Hiring Dozens
Although Ruben Ramos was born in the United States, he moved with his family to their village in the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico when he was a baby. When the family moved to Grand Rapids in 1990, the Hispanic population was small. Ramos was 10 years old. “I consider myself an immigrant because I […]
Read MoreFilipino Immigrant Finds Grand Rapids as Best Home for His Atelier
Romel “RC” Caylan is an internationally celebrated fashion designer who has dressed more than 100 celebrities and has a showroom in Beverly Hills. Yet he proudly runs his business out of Grand Rapids, at a studio in the Breton Village Shopping Center alongside Lululemon, Anthropologie, and other big-name retailers. “I’m always asked ‘Why Grand Rapids?’ I have the […]
Read MoreBurundian Immigrant Helps Create a Community Association in Pittsburgh to Support Others From Burundi in the Community
After resettling in the United States, David Hajayandi set out on his own to find employment without guidance or support for navigating the American job market. He showed up unannounced at a clothing store, but instead of giving him a job application, workers threatened to call the police. Years later, this experience would contribute to […]
Read MoreBhutanese Immigrant Co-Founds Community Association in Pittsburgh that Supports All Newcomers
When Timsina arrived in New York City at 39 years old, he’d never driven a car, let alone navigated a massive subway system. As a member of Bhutan’s ethnic Nepali minority, which has experienced persecution for decades, Khara Timsina’s family was prevented from receiving an education or working in the country. In 1992, they left […]
Read MoreAmerican Moves to Pittsburgh from Peru, Finds Value in Supporting Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Although born in Fargo, North Dakota, Brent Rondon has experienced first-hand the obstacles of coming to the United States, learning a new language, and finding your place in a new community. Rondon and his twin brother spent most of their early lives in their parents’ native Peru where the family moved when Rondon was 5 […]
Read MoreIndian Immigrant Entrepreneurs Find Success in Kent County
When Sonal and Ramesh Patel built a house in the town of Cascade in 2011, they quickly noticed something missing: an Asian grocer on the southeast side of Grand Rapids. The Patels are from a small town in Gujarat, a state in western India. They moved to West Michigan in 2004, when Ramesh was hired by a […]
Read MoreSaudi Arabian Immigrant Creates Social Movement in Pittsburgh to Encourage Inclusion and Connection Through Art
After her son encountered bullying when he was young, Ebtehal Badawi created a social movement to encourage inclusion and connection in Pittsburgh. Badawi grew up in Saudi Arabia and graduated with a degree in microbiology, thinking that a career in science would land her a good job. She met her American-born husband, moved to California, […]
Read MoreMexican Immigrant Advocates for Immigrant Rights Through Poetry and Storytelling
In 1988 when Yosimar Reyes was three, his family brought him from Mexico to San Jose. Though undocumented, he felt at home in the city’s Kollmar neighborhood and especially in his apartment complex, where the majority of residents were immigrants. “I loved the communal feeling of the apartments and my friends at school,” he said. […]
Read MoreVietnamese Refugee Invests in Future Generations to Help Them Grow Up as Successful Vietnamese and Americans
In 1981, 16-year-old Quyen Vuong and her family came to America as Vietnamese refugees. They took a harrowing sea journey, encountered Thai pirates and nearly capsized. Then, once the family arrived in the states, they were constantly at risk of eviction. “My dad worked at a convenience store, and my two siblings and I worked […]
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