Jena's Story

I moved to the US at the age of 2. I was adopted by a single mother, and immigrated from Kampong Cham, Cambodia to Western Massachusetts. My dream is to one day work in the film industry to tell stories like mine, and stories that usually go unheard.

Django's Story

My parents moved to the US almost right after they were married. My dad was looking to go to school here, but didn’t end up going. They stayed for 5 years before they had their first and only child: me. Now, they’ve lived in the US form almost half their lives, this country is who they are and it is who I am.

Daniel's Story

My parents are Venezuelan, and they permanently moved to the United States before I was born and later on became naturalized citizens. My father first came here to do a surgical residency after studying medicine in his home country, before leaving and then coming back later on with my mother.

My sister and I were raised as Americans and our family holds a deep love for this country, while still sharing strong ties with our Venezuelan family members who still live in a nation that is slowly but surely falling apart. We could not be more grateful for the life and opportunity that we have been given here.

Aneli's Story

My father arrived in New York City from Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the 80s. Every night, he reads the Argentinian newspapers online, the bright computer screen illuminating his tired face, eyes fixed on a world he no longer calls home. During the Guerra sucia, or “the dirty war” in Argentina, people were forced to be silent, to take their opinions and ideas and stuff them deep into their pockets. My father now tells me stories of his youth, his face mapping out memories. My father, mi papi, is always there for me, encouraging me to share my voice, to tell others how I feel, to never be silent when there is something that my heart wants to say. Sometimes I try to coax stories out of him that he does not want to tell, stories of arrests, of mothers looking tirelessly for stolen children, of friends who were taken and were never seen again, los “decaparecidos.” Now, when my father has something to say, he lets the world know, his hard worked hands pushing through the surface of his childhood of forced silence, flourishing in the freedom that the past had denied them.

Nick's Story

I Come from a German, British ancestry. I am likely descend from colonizers of Jamestown and likely related to Patrick Henry and various figures in English history. Nobody in my family cares for these topics besides me!

Luca's Story

This isn’t my story, it’s actually my mom’s. It all started when the war over in Yugoslavia broke out. My mom was sent to America with only $100 in her pocket and a small suitcase. She is originally from Croatia, and she couldn’t speak much English at all; and if she did, very poorly. She worked 7 days a week at a bagel shop in Santa Monica, where she earned pay under the table. She went to Santa Monica Community College, where she learned English and lived with her brother. After her first year, she was transferred over to UCLA, where she graduated with honors. She is now the Director of Fundraising at Dana Farmer Cancer Institute, and owns her own home in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Dylan's Story

Both of my parents immigrated to the United States from Ireland. My mother moved here from Wexford in the late 80s and my father moved here from Donegal here in the late 80s. The reason that both of them moved was the same, to find work. My Dad originally came to Boston in September and promised his family he’d be back by Christmas. That never happened and he’s been living in Boston ever since. I know my mother was the same as she moved here just getting by with nannying jobs and other odd jobs. My parents met in Boston in the 90s where they had my 2 sisters and I. It’s nice to have that heritage from Ireland and get to visit there during the summer.

Antonia's Story

I was born in Bogota Colombia. At the age of 12 we moved to Panama because of my moms health. When I turned 17 I decided to move to Miami Fl, where my dad was living for about 5 years. In 2018, at the age of 18, I moved to Boston to attend College.

Sam's Story

My best friends parents are immigrants from Bosnia. They fled to America during the Bosnian War to get away from the mass genocide and to seek asylum. In America, they settled in Vermont where they found good paying jobs and a place to raise their three young daughters. They gained opportunities they never would have been able to have if they had stayed in Bosnia. And I never would have gained my best friend.

Ming's Story

I moved to the city of Newton at the age of 14 for my school education from China. My family has always wanted me to receive an education in the states. Comparing the cultures between the United States and China, not only they were different but also difficult to adjust in between each other. At first, it was difficult speaking the language and making new friends and adapting to the culture. Luckily, I was young so it was easier to adjust and make new friends with the help of my neighbors and teachers. Trying my best to fit in, now I am confident to say that I have fit into the culture well.

Troy's Story

My dad was born in Germany and traveled to the U.S with his family a few months after he was born. His parents were from the U.S. but were in Germany due to the Vietnam war. A few months ago I performed an ancestry DNA test and found out that the city my dad was born in 52 years ago was the same town his ancestors were from in Germany when they emigrated in the mid 1800s! Such an enlightening and humbling experience.

Ryan's Story

Coming from a predominantly Irish and Italian household, it may be hard to compare to the other dire and appealing stories commonly heard from people of other cultures and backgrounds that chose to migrate to the United States. As a child growing up, the world seemed so small to me, little did I know that the older generations in my family found the world to be ever expanding and still, to this day grow larger and larger. When I reached high school I discovered that my great grandparents came to America with strong ties to both Italy and Ireland. My great grandma from Italy and great grandpa from Ireland. With those strong cultures often not seeing eye to eye, it seemed they would never meet and potentially form a strong family network. While their cultures did clash, they found a strong center to form a structure around BOTH cultures and establish a family who seemed to be oblivious to their early struggles of migrating and settling down in a small corner of New Jersey.

Brian's Story

My family comes from primarily two countries- Italy and Ireland. Sometime in the 1850s or so, my Irish family came to America and founded a dairy farm in Medford, Massachusetts. My grandfathers parents came from Sicily in southern Italy and resided in the North End of Boston in the 1920s. I have great pride as an Italian Irish American.

Michael's Story

My grandfather, Carl Attardo, was born in Aragona, Sicily, Italy and moved to Brussels, Belgium when he was six years old. When he was 11, him, his parents, and six siblings made their way to the United States of America aboard the sister ship of the Titanic. They were poor and worked in the engine room of the ship for the entirety of their trip overseas. Once in the US, the Attardo family resided in Waltham, Massachusetts, where they still live today.