1 10 49 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Marta Caminero-Santangelo Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Yuvia Language of Interview English Format Video, audio only, text only Video City (Region, State) and Country of Origin for 2nd and 3rd generation, this is the place of family's origin Mexico Current City of Residence Where in Kansas or Missouri the Interviewee currently lives Lawrence, Kansas Intermediate point in journey (1) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Chicago, Illinois Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Yuvia Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Mexico to Lawrence, Kansas. Description An account of the resource Yuvia is a student at the University of Kansas pursuing a degree in Political Science. Her family comes from Mexico and settled in Chicago, Illinois. She chose to further her education at the University of Kansas because of its reputation and academic excellence. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Parents immigrated in the late 1900s/early 2000s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lawrence, Kansas Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_mx3vh1xx" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_mx3vh1xx/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Yuvia Trimmed"></iframe> Community Education Identity Lawrence Mexico Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Radhia Abdirahman Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Yomna Language of Interview English Format Video, audio only, text only Audio City (Region, State) and Country of Origin for 2nd and 3rd generation, this is the place of family's origin Egypt Current City of Residence Where in Kansas or Missouri the Interviewee currently lives Kansas City, Kansas Intermediate point in journey (1) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Nebraska Intermediate point in journey (2) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Michigan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Yomna Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Egypt to Kansas City, Kansas Description An account of the resource Yomna is a graduate student studying social welfare at the University of Kansas. She was born in Egypt and moved to the U.S. when she was 5 years old. Yomna speaks about how her relationships and mental health suffered due to frequently moving around as a child. She also shares her experience with racism, mental health stigma and community. She concludes the interview by saying that it is difficult to meet other individuals of Muslim faith and KU. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Kansas City, Kansas Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_kh5mtsxx" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_kh5mtsxx/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Yomna"></iframe> Community Discrimination Education Egypt Identity Kansas City https://comingtotheheartland.org/files/original/a9d66ac7343f43a76536b361883498fb.JPG 9840a8b68055a47b4a8d818b69f0d20a https://comingtotheheartland.org/files/original/41c231a848d2ffeddab8d2f18a859a68.JPG 2e5d727d2b00dae8945dd522150bb4d8 https://comingtotheheartland.org/files/original/71d02844791eedd30d1bf2b214aab862.JPG 51e1e6679605b7dc6a13a59926c8d607 https://comingtotheheartland.org/files/original/162d1b37bc58ecc90f9a214ce1c054a6.JPG 01024e82d2cb58265bad3d8febd4c6cd Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Radhia Abdirahman Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Yasmin Language of Interview English Format Video, audio only, text only Video Current City of Residence Where in Kansas or Missouri the Interviewee currently lives Overland Park, Kansas Intermediate point in journey (1) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Cairo, Egypt Intermediate point in journey (2) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Kansas City, Missouri Intermediate point in journey (3) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Overland Park, Kansas Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Yasmin (Y) Radhia (R) Y: So my name is Yasmin, and my pronouns are she, her, hers. I'm originally from Egypt. I was born in Cairo and I moved to the United States with my parents when I was really young, like a few months old. I have had lots of different times that I have been able to visit Cairo, so I'm very grateful for that. Y: But most of my life I lived in Overland Park. When I first moved, I lived in Kansas City, Missouri, and then moved to Iowa a little bit. And then moved to the Kansas City metro area where Overland Park is. Y: So I've been in Overland Park most of my life and now I am an undergraduate student. I'm in my third year at KU and so I’m [living] between Lawrence and Overland Park now. And I'm studying behavioral neuroscience and Spanish. Yeah. I'm involved with lots of service organizations at KU. It's something I'm really passionate about. That's a little bit about me. Y: I guess the reason why my family and I moved was because of my dad's work. He wanted to do a fellowship in rheumatology and he got matched with the University of Missouri, Kansas City. So that's why we moved to Kansas City, Missouri. R: Okay. So do you want us to talk about your childhood and what it was like being an Egyptian American? And that move from Cairo to Overland Park? Y: Yeah, for sure. So I guess my–in my childhood, like I said, I was in Kansas City. I don’t have much memory of that period of my life because it was just for a few years like right when I was born and then moved to Iowa. Y: So I remember a lot about that and I was like around four at that time. And I remember obviously being the only Egyptian person like that I ever was in my classes. I didn't have any really interaction with other Egyptians except through a couple of family friends that we had. Y: So when I was in preschool at that time, like, I was the only Egyptian student, so that didn't really create many opportunities for me to become closer to my Egyptian culture. Y: But at home, my parents spoke Arabic to me and we had lots of close ties to our culture obviously because we had just moved from the–from Egypt. So we didn't know anyone in The States. So there was–it was hard for us to kind of get used to what the Midwest is like and the weather. Y: Like I said, we didn't know many people, so I was still watching, like, Egyptian TV shows and movies and listening to Arabic music. And so I was very attached to my culture in that way at home, but at school I didn't really get to interact with other kids my age that had similar experiences to me; they are just people who weren't white in general. Like it was very difficult in that sense. Y: Then I would say, when I moved to Overland Park, I went to his school–I went to Indian Valley for elementary school for half– half [of] my time in elementary school and that also like I wasn't in…I got to meet different Muslim students, which I'm Muslim, so that was a very, very cool experience for once. But again, not many other Egyptians students… Y: I’m trying to think what else? Y: I was really– I remember growing up like I was really excited to tell people I was from Egypt. So that's something that I was definitely comfortable sharing. Y: Definitely like my parents and I had our fair share of racial profiling and discrimination because especially when we moved it was like right after 9/11. So there was things like that that were difficult. Having to hide–I’d hide behind my parents–they have thick accents so they didn't want to share where they were from. Y: Just like at the grocery store, people asked you where you're from, all this kinda stuff. That's information that they didn't even feel comfortable sharing. So I definitely remember experiences like that, especially within our first years of living in the States. Y: So I’m trying to think what else.. Y: What was the question again? What else–what else are you asking me to elaborate on? A: Honest like, I mean, I'm just curious to know about like how your Egyptian identity like influence you living in a state like during your childhood and stuff. I'm like, I understand the whole Islamophobia and all that, and I got that too because, you know, it's the hijab and stuff. A: But like, I mean, growing up, how are you able to kind of maneuver that and deal with it as you got older? Y: Yeah. So let me think on [sic] that. I guess as far as like how it shaped my identity is a very big part of my identity for sure. Because like I said, I was, like, the only Egyptian student. So I talked a lot and I would like I remember–I gave presentations in school about Egypt. Y: I did visit Egypt like in the beginning. When I was first in school, we would go in the summers as much as we could. And it helped me. Helped me…What’s a good word? I don't know it–it helped me really understand different perspectives at a young age, which I know a lot of people don't have, especially people in the Midwest. Often they don't get to go to other countries. Y: But it was very interesting to see very contrasting cultures like I was living in Overland Park where it's like majority white, very–lots of privileged people. It was a very developed community compared to when I would visit Cairo and there would be lots of homeless people I would come in contact with. And it was just a very different experience. And it also has to do with a lot with history. Y: I got to learn a lot about history with in relation to other countries like Britain and all of these different–different stories with the other countries. You know, I'm saying like? Y: My dad growing up would always be like, yeah, so this monument is from the war of whatever. And he would tell me these stories and I learned about a lot of different history like at a young age. So that was like–I really enjoyed that growing up because it would be such a shock to me to hear people who said that they didn't have those experiences and that they were only–they were only familiar with like Johnson County. Y: So…I’m trying to think… R: I love that you were raised to celebrate your identity instead of like to hide it. And you were kind of brought up in an environment where you had the opportunity to learn about your cultural history because like Egyptian culture is really rich and interesting culture is like it goes way back. You know, so I'm really glad that your parents did that for you. Y: Yeah. Me too. I'm really grateful that I especially like having them speak to me in Arabic because knowing your book was the way for me to connect to all these different parts of the culture like movies, speaking to my family at home, like in Egypt because they mainly speak Arabic. Y: That whole part of it was a really great way for me to connect to them. And yeah, they always like–I was always very excited to tell people. So I was never scared to talk about being Egyptian. My experiences with that. But there's a few times where people are like weird about it, but also it's like something that I was really excited about. Y: I'm trying to think. What else in specific, more about… how it changed my identity. So I guess it encouraged me to learn about other cultures because they understood the value of doing that at a young age. Y: So like when I'm studying Spanish now in undergrad, like it's very it's something like I take from those other experiences I had because I understood the value of that at a young age. Y: So now that I am learning more about Latin culture and learning the Spanish language, it's something that I really value in life in general. So… R: Now, I'm kind of curious. What was it like going back home to your family in Egypt? The contrast between your culture, your Egyptian American culture, versus their Egyptian–Egyptian culture like what was that like? Y: Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people have a similar experience to mind because it was something where I didn't really feel like I was fully like Egyptian when I would visit; like people would always like I was always like features like the American. Y: It's like weird because I remember when I was young, I always, I felt like I was 100% Egyptian. Like I felt I was, I was different from other people. I've had this whole other experience, but then I would go and I noticed my Arabic wasn't as good and I didn't know, you know, all the different foods I got. I was like, I didn't like all the different foods, like, because I was picky at the time. It was something I wasn't used to. Y: So in that sense, like it was hard because I just felt like I didn't completely belong, but I never–but it wasn't in the case that other people; I know other people experienced that way worse. I'm grateful that I was able to have parents who are very–were almost always talking about the culture at home. So trying to think… Y: Yeah, it was like–it was weird because I remember just like I remember really not wanting to leave [Egypt] when I would go like I felt I would like when I would leave like I'd be sobbing like I really, really didn't want to leave. Because we would go for a while like we would when we would go back and I was like in middle school, elementary school, we would go for like two months. So that was a long time. Y: I guess a big part was like family. I was really connected with my family. I still am, but like way more back then. I think it's maybe because I didn't–I had friends growing up–but it's like there's nobody that I was like die-hard like wanting to see during the summers. Y: I liked didn't have other plans like that. So that was like my main thing that I really enjoyed. Leaving was really hard. Y: But it was always so fun. It was literally like visiting there [Egypt] was the highlight of my whole year. It was the only thing I was looking forward to. Because again, like, I was just growing closer to something I really loved about myself– just like me. Y: So that kinda explains, I mean, it's like it definitely taught me at a young age to be humble and appreciate what I have because if you–if I just grew up in Johnson County my whole life without ever seen Egypt like, I don't know what kind of person I would be now, because you see just people like… Y: Egypt is very diverse. There's lots of different parts of its parts are very developed and like, you know, are similar to like areas in Johnson County in a way, but there's also places where people are really struggling–and it's very structurally just looks very different. Like it's so weird to be like somewhere where there's like, you know.. Y: It looks so different from Overland Park. In my head would always be like this picture perfect town that I like envisioned and I was like coming there's like, you know, it was broken but, you know, it, it had a lot of culture. I really, I also really like being able to interact with just like other Egyptians in general. Y: Like because they're just like there's something about them. They're like they're all, they're not all the same, but it's like a really good energy that everyone has. And everyone's just very like “go with the flow.” Like they're not, they don't stress out too much. It's a very different culture from here where everyone's like very focused on their work. There, they value family time and they value, you know, having–having a life outside of work. So now it's something that I really enjoyed. R: I love that and that's actually so heartwarming to hear that. You have that sense of community, you have that sense of identity when you went back home and you could relate to yeah, yeah, he found yourself there, so I think yeah, that was really nice to hear. R: I mean, like, how did you like–because, you know, based on what you said, this happened a lot in like your early life.. How did you take that and grow from that and influence what you were feeling back in Egypt? And how did you kind of use that as your into more of like your early adult late teens in your college years? Y: Yeah. Well, I really I like I knew I wasn't gonna be in each of the whole year. I needed to make sure that I was in like, even when I was getting older, like I couldn't go to Egypt as long anymore, like I'd have stuff to do over the summer. So. I knew that in my personal life I wanted to just make sure that I was interacting with more people who like were Egyptian were Arab or Arab in general because we do have similar cultures and other people who are Muslim. Even though it was hard to find people like that at school. Y: But I remember I never had like one type of friend in high school are now. Like I have very diverse group of friends from cultures that are very similar to mine. So that was my way of kind of growing closer and obviously like–and like meeting you [Radhia]. I was like, Hey, experience for me. Because you like, you know how to pronounce my name like simple little things like that. Like really allowed me to step into my identity more. Y: And now that I guess my sophomore year, I was in ESO, which is the Egyptian Student Organization which like I didn't even realize there's other Egyptian students other than the three that I knew from Blue Valley. So that was a really, really, like, transformative experience for me because I was around, like, eight Egyptians all at once. Like I was crazy and still getting to talk to them was really fulfilling for me. Y: So yeah, that's kinda the ways [sic] that I was able to manage that. Again, just kinda like at-home learning more Arabic, watching more movies that are Egyptian movies or Arabic movies. It was my way of kind of growing closer, if that makes sense. R: No, that doesn't make sense. Yeah. Yeah, That actually makes a lot of sense because I feel the same way with, like, my Somali– my Somali-ness, like whenever I find people who either like they're Muslim Somali or they just share that little bit of identity that is at the forefront of who I am, then it forms a bond. R: And I feel like yeah, that is what happened with us. That's what happened. If like me, you may arise like people who I like trust because fundamentally you know–we’re the same, but I don't know. So you're saying that you can see my camera is off, but I was smiling the whole time. Yeah, I get that. R: So okay. So I mean, like obviously you can't speak on your parents’ experiences because you have not lived them but like growing up, like, you know, being around them and their Egyptian-ness, like they're American is like, I mean, like how is your, from your point of view, watching them interact? Like the Johnson County Community…How is it to see your parents kind of maneuver the systems in North America? Y: Yeah. I was very impressed with my parents because it's just like they–they of course had an advantage. They knew English when we came in. They yeah–I guess I was just always was definitely impressed with them because…they…It's hard to navigate things here. Y: I'm trying to think like early, early on because that's probably one of the most change was happening. I felt I definitely felt sad for them for sure because the main issue with coming here and navigating everything is like not having your family and back then we didn't have time or anything. Y: It was very sad to see, like, my mom who was just spending time with me only because my dad would work a lot. So I was I felt that very deeply because like, I knew that they were very close because when I would go visit [Egypt], I would see the bond that my grandparents have with my mom and vice versa. Same thing with my dad. Y: So I think that definitely sticks out to me…Hmmmm…I’m trying to think..I mean, let's see. I don't know… Y: My dad…let me try to think about him…because he went to work. He interacted with a lot of people here and like users navigate everything. So I definitely know that his coworkers and everyone was like very–they valued him a lot, especially because from Egypt and practicing medicine, Egypt gave them a lot of valuable experiences that people always were wanting to know about. So he's very valued person where he, where he still works now. So that's something that I always proud of him for. Y: Like even when, you know, like like I always like, notice that he had a hard time like letting his guard down here because he really likes Egypt–like he like both my parents like he was the one who like, you know, when we would have things here like he's, he's very hard to get into like American TV shows, like American Idol, very attached to Egypt in that way. So it was, like, hard seeing him kind of try and it was hard seeing him not to let his guard down if that makes sense. Y: Because he–there was [sic] times where people like Midwestern culture, people, like, talk to each other about, like, the weather or something like that. Like he wasn't for it like you literally this is not something he's like comfortable with, especially back then. Y: So yeah. If that answered your question. I can talk about it more if you just let me know what else you're wanting. R: No. I mean, like that makes sense. I was just curious like that intergenerational pieces. Like you and your parents, like… Oh, what about your siblings? Like how–how is it for your little sister? Y: Yeah. So she like–she is a different experience for me because she was born when we lived in Iowa and then we moved to Overland Park. So she never was—she wasn't born in Egypt, but she still got to go to Egypt. And I think she–she's like attached to the culture and different ways for me. Like she really likes, like, Arabic music and different music artists. But it’s not like I don’t but, I don't, but I just not in the way I'm don't like in the way that she does. Y: So it's interesting to see that because her Arabic, although she can understand very well like she does struggle speaking and she does have a very thick American accent when she says words. So in that way it was kinda hard for her to connect to the people in our family who would just talk to her about stuff in the culture and stuff. So I think it was hard for her in that sense, definitely. Y: But she's still she–she still had a very similar experience to me because she was able to visit Egypt and although I was born there, I still didn't get to live there for an extended period of time. I think. I think we're similar in that sense, but again, it's a little different. R: No, I get that. Yeah. Like I feel like when you're older and you keep going back-and-forth, back-and-forth in your the–because you're the eldest daughter, right? Y: Yeah. R: Yeah. And it's like, you know, you kind of are that person you know when your grandma calls you on the phone first-person, we'll talk to you as you like. I didn't ask you: “How's your sister ? How's your family?” and then it's like because person like me to like, I'm the one who knows more Somali than my siblings and like my cousin because I was the one who had to talk on the phone. I was the one who is like going back-and-forth and family like a lot more when I was younger in life and I grew up with it a little more than likely siblings does. And it's just like I don't know, like I wouldn't wash them all even though they go. R: But yeah, I think it's really interesting how many similarities we have, even though, you know, we're rich from two different cultures, you know, our stories are so kind of similar. R: I don't know, like, do you think your identity, whether it'd be like your immigrant identity or you're watching muslim identity, female identity, whatever it is, has influenced what you wanna do in the future and what you see yourself doing down the line? Y: Yeah, I think it has because I always knew I wanted to go into a career where I can help people in some way and make change. So whether that is getting an MPA [Masters of Public Administration] and navigating that, I feel like you're just from my experience is now being in service oriented organization like that definitely has influence, has been influenced by my Egyptian identity and my immigrant identity as well. Y: Because like I've gotten to interact with a lot of people who are in disadvantaged situations. And like, I do want to help people like that, help marginalized identities. I'm fine there, their path and create change in that way. So I think it's definitely influenced it. I like yeah.. Y: I definitely–I pay attention more to issues surrounding people of color like immigrants, a lot, like especially undocumented immigrants. Like that's something that I also want to kind of work towards, like amending their situations when I'm older because it's a very sensitive topic for me because I understand like how on its own, how stressful immigrating to [the United] States can be. And on top of that, their experiences are like really, really traumatizing, like scary for most of their lives. Y: That's, like, definitely an example of one way that my immigrant identity has shaped what I want to do in the future. Like I do really want to find a profession, profession where I can help them. R: You know, I think that's really inspiring. It's extremely inspiring. R: Is there anything else that you wanted to share, any specific life event? Or anything you want to share about whatever you feel comfortable sharing about? Y: Let's think… Let's see…I think no. R: Do you have like [unknown] or something? I don't because I definitely want to help out as much as I can with this. R: No, actually answer all the questions I had. I know we talked about your parents a little bit. What did your mom be down to also be interviewed? Y: Yeah. I've–I've interviewed her before for things like this and I think she would be down because he has a lot of stories like she has a lot of other experiences that I don't remember. I think she would be good for them. R: Okay. Perfect. Okay. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate your participation in this project. R: So we also are going to be documenting the stories and preserving your family's history and putting this all in an archive. So if you had any pictures, or like letters, are important, like cultural objects that you also wanted to share. Feel free to let me know and we can find ways to get that no document and archive for you. Y: Yeah. R: Like your story is really important and you're like your Egyptian identity. I think that's so cool because as time progresses and as we get older, there's gonna be things that changed and shifted between like our generation versus their parents' generation rights, things like archiving is really, really cool and really interesting. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Yasmin Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Cairo, Egypt to Overland Park, Kansas Description An account of the resource Yasmin is from Cairo, Egypt. When she was interviewed in 2021, she was a third-year student at the University of Kansas studying behavorial neuroscience and Spanish. She speaks about her experience as the only Egyptian in school classes, her connection to her Egyptian culture via family and trips, and how her identity influenced her future career goals. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2000s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Overland Park, Kansas City Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_u6606ins" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_u6606ins/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Yasmin"></iframe> Culture Differences Education Egypt Identity Lawrence Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wasima Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Minnesota. Parents from Somalia. Description An account of the resource Wasima is a Somali student at the University of Minnesota who was born in the U.S. She speaks about identifying as Somali in a predominantly white community. Wasima also speaks about her experience navigating the labyrinth college admission system as the oldest child. She then goes on to explain how she comes up with creative pieces for her illustrations as a graphic design major. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Minnesota Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_usxy07vu" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_usxy07vu/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Wasima"></iframe> Community Education Identity Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vera Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Guerrero, Mexico to Lawrence, Kansas Description An account of the resource Vera is from Guerrero, Mexico and has resided in the United States for around 15 years. She has one son in the U.S. and one son in Mexico. Her mother is from an indigenous community in Mexico. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2000s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lawrence, Kansas Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_nwsm71wc" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_nwsm71wc/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Vera"></iframe> Identity Language Lawrence Mexico Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Marta Caminero-Santangelo Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Valentina Language of Interview English Format Video, audio only, text only Video City (Region, State) and Country of Origin for 2nd and 3rd generation, this is the place of family's origin Mazatlán, Mexico (mother) and Bolivia (father) Current City of Residence Where in Kansas or Missouri the Interviewee currently lives Lawrence, Kansas Intermediate point in journey (1) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Tucson, Arizona Intermediate point in journey (2) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Stillwater, Oklahoma Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Valentina Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Mexico to Lawrence, Kansas. Description An account of the resource Valentina lives in the Kansas area; her father is from Bolivia and her mother is from Mexico. As a young student, she often confronted racism and sexism. Valentina later realized that she was an intelligent individual during her time as an undergraduate student at the University of Kansas. In this interview, Valentina speaks about her parents’ journey to the U.S., intergenerational trauma and understanding her identity. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Parents immigrated in the late 1900s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lawrence, Kansas Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <br /><iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_0qzk2cmu" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_0qzk2cmu/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Val"></iframe> Bolivia Community Education Identity Language Lawrence Mexico Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Marta Caminero-Santangelo Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Teresa Current City of Residence Where in Kansas or Missouri the Interviewee currently lives Kansas City, Kansas Intermediate point in journey (1) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Michoacán, Mexico Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Teresa (T) Marta (M) T: My name is Teresa Pacheco. My maiden name is Teresa Valverde. My grandparents on my maternal side, on my mom's side were Agustín and Felicita Zamora. And they came in from Tangancicuaro, Michoacán, Mexico back in the 19, I think in the 1920s. T: My grandfather went from Mexico because, you know, back then there was really no borders. I mean, you could cross over. We didn't have any of these borders until after what, 1925– M: Right. Yeah. Yeah. T: So he came and he was actually a sheep herder. He took a job as a sheep herder up in North Dakota, and from there someone told him that, told him that there was possibilities in the Kansas–state of Kansas, and primarily Kansas City, Kansas, because of the Santa Fe Railroad was going to be hiring a lot of people. So, my grandfather, then he came from North Dakota. He realized there probably was an opportunity. T: And then when he came then, I guess he knew my grandmother before. But there was a ten year difference, you know, back then, you know, my grandfather was 23 and my grandmother was 13 when they got married. Could you believe? M: Oh, oh my gosh. Wow. T: Yes. But grandpa always said, oh, but if you see, if you see your grandmother, she sure didn't look like those 13. [laughs] So nobody ever guessed she was only 13, but she was– M:--And where did he meet her? T: Well, actually their families knew each other in to both her family and my grandpa's family. They knew each other living there in Tangancicuaro. So the families already knew each other. But I don't think my grandfather and my grandmother, because there was that age difference, that they really knew each other that that well. But and then in time, I guess when he went to North Dakota and it was so easy, he was going actually back and forth and back and forth. So I guess he finally did meet my grandmother and it just started there– M: Okay. Wait, wait. Let me ask for clarification. Did he meet your grandmother in Mexico? T: Well, he actually got to know her better in Mexico, yes. M: Okay. T: They were from the same little town. M: Okay. T: Because of the families knowing each other. M: Okay. And then did they marry in Michoacán? And then they got married there? T: Uh huh. M: Okay. Okay. T: And then and that time when they got married, that's when he ended up coming to Kansas City. Kansas, both of them. M: So he was going back and forth from the US. To Mexico? T: Yes. Okay. But he stayed a lot. Like I said, he went up to North Dakota like a little sheep herder, you know, a little job. Somebody told him about going up there, which he did. But of course he didn't stay because when they told him there's a better opportunity working for the Santa Fe Railroad, which he ended up doing and working there for God, I bet you was a good 60 years. I think that's what my mom said. It was a good 60 years he worked for Santa Fe. M: Okay. T: Because he was still working. Well, think about it. He was still working for Santa Fe when I was little. And you figure I'm 67, so go figure. Yeah. So he must have worked for Santa Fe for about 60 years. M: Okay. And then did he when he came to work in Kansas for the Santa Fe Railroad, where in Kansas did he land? T: Yes. Oh, where? Where in Argentine? M: In Argentine. Okay. T: In Argentine. Uh huh. Because at that time that's where Santa Fe had a lot of work going on. M: Okay. Great. T:Yeah, they're in Argentine and Kansas City, Kansas. T: Okay. And then he had they had five children. And those five children were Ignacio, which my uncle his oldest son, Ignacio Zamora. And then it was my mom, Raquel Zamora. Then it was my uncle no, my aunt, Socorro Zamora, and then my uncle Santiago Zamora. There was actually five, but I can't remember ‘cause one of them died… M: I think it's so impressive that you remember four. [both laughing] T: Well, but you know, because we were close because my uncle, to make a long story, my uncle that I just told you, Ignacio Zamora. Actually, I consider him almost like my dad because my parents got divorced when I was little. So my uncle, and we called him Nick, that was actually my uncle Nick was actually the one that raised us. So that's why I know all my–their kids so well because we were always together. T: And I've done a lot in the community because there with El Centro. I was on the board of El Centro for over 30 years. M: Oh, wow, That's amazing. T: Yeah. Actually, when I became a board member of El Centro they put me on the board for the use of the community so you could here I am 67 years old, and then myself out on the board and I was the chairperson for El Centro. T: But I've always wanted to do things for my community ’cause I saw my grandparents and my grandmother, Felicita. Just a wonderful she was your regular normal because the grandpa being so involved in so many things and working at Santa Fe and things like that, but grandma was one of those wonderful homemakers that I learned a lot from. T: And then of course, my mother learned a lot from her. They gave me all those principles and I think that as a migr– As a granddaughter of somebody came to this country from another country, what I appreciated is to learn all about the culture, how to do our holidays. Because that's being lost. Today, you can't find any of these youth–the recipes are gone. That you wish that somebody knew how to do certain dishes. And they're not going to learn because they're not teaching them. They're barely raising themselves, let alone trying to raise children, you know? T: I have to say that's what I value because I value that they spoke to us in both languages. We always learned to be able to speak both English and Spanish. They always say you're in this country, you're going to speak English, but your ethnic background, you’re Mexicana. T: I say we're a hybrid because on my maternal grandparents, Augustine, they came from Spain, and they came from France, and they came, it's a mixture. Then on my dad's side, I'm Sicilian and Spanish from Puebla [Mexico] mixture of everything. And then now I married my husband, and I'll get to that too. There's just a whole mixture of a high 57, but you got to appreciate all these cultures. T: Everyone is different. T: The routines of life and how you see things are different. I think that's being lost in today's world. I think these kids, they could care less about their Mexican culture unless you put them and you talk to them about it. Even from the dances, to the songs, to the foods you name it. Some of them, they just don't know anything about it. If you mention it to them, food maybe a little bit because they'll eat it. But you ask anybody if they know how to make it and they're not going to tell you, they will: “Oh, no. We don't know how to do that.” T: But as a child of immigrants, that's what I appreciated that they taught us, so then we were able to teach it like I've been teaching my two boys. M: So your boys do know a little bit more? T: Oh, yeah. And then I married, okay. I married my husband, Carlos Pacheco. He's originally from Mexico City. And he's a story and a half too, because I'm so proud of him. Because when he came and I met him on vacation with my cousin Bea, who you interviewed, cousin Bea Ramirez. T: She invited me to go to Mexico with her because a friend of hers couldn't go. So you know how back in the day that you could use airline tickets from other people? M: Yeah, I missed those days. I missed some days. T: Bea said: “Come on Teresa, you got to go with me.” When are you going? In two weeks. I said in two weeks I'm going to have to get permission to see if I can even leave my boss. I just presented it to him and said, yeah, go ahead, you just go ahead and have a good time if you get everything done, you go ahead and you go with her. So I said, okay. And that happens to be where we stayed at, her aunt and uncle's house. Happens to be her side of the family, but then they have somebody because, see, I'm cousin to her dad and my husband is cousin to her mom. M: Oh wow. T: How that worked out… M: Can I actually backtrack for just a second? Can you tell me a little bit about what it was like to grow up in Argentine? Was it all Latino? Hispanic? Were there a lot of Latinos? Hispanics there? T: Oh, yes, there was a Latinos/Hispanics right there in Argentine. Right there. Yeah, That was more Mexicanos like when I started. They say back in the earlier time, there was more of another mixture. That many, there were some blacks. There wasn't much, many blacks. But there was always white. But there was a grand majority was from Mexico primarily, believe it or not, was from this little town, Tangancicuaro, Michocán, where my grandparents were from. T: Since the railroad brought so many people in, well, you know how it is. Somebody says, come on, go apply for this, You might get it all ended up being almost from the same areas from me. M: So they all knew each other? T: Oh yeah. Back in the day, everybody knew each other. You almost have to watch who's related to who. Wow, You really didn't know. Because back in the days when I was growing up, everybody, everybody went to church there. John the Divine. T: We've always had St. John the Evangelist. It's a Catholic church there too, There on strong. But that was where all the whites would go. When I was little, that's where all the whites would go and all the Mexicanos would go to St. John the Divine. Then when they close John the Divine, well, guess what then, all the means had to go somewhere to church. So then we start going to St. John the Evangelists. A lot of them, I don't think they were that appreciative. We're going to have to go to mass now. There too, but hey, they closed down the church, so where else are we going to go? M: And when was that? T: When they closed it…Oh my gosh. And you know there was an article. There was an article in the paper when the church burned and they had to end up tearing it down. Here's a big call It give you some dates. I don't know if you could look. I can't possibly find it. Yeah, It's under the St. John the Divine. And they gave all the little history of the church too, you know, like when it opened. T: And that's when my grandfather was really involved when he was young with St. John the Divine like putting together all the sit like I say, like I said, he was the first was an orchestra. He played all kinds of music. And then we started getting other little bands. And other little bands were formed from the people that played in his band and they formed other little things. M: Well, I found a picture. T: Of the church? M: Yeah. Beautiful archive picture. T: Yeah. Well, actually my cousin Bea’s there, her house was right next to St. John the Divine. Yeah. They just tore that down. I'm thinking it was last year, was in 19 2019. I just can't remember when. M: Yeah and it was on the National Register of Historic Places. T: Yes, it was. And you have to read the controversy on that because everybody wanted to keep it with the most beautiful church they had the most inside, all the stuff, a lot of the chandeliers and stuff was brought in from Spain. They put it together with this beautiful tile, and now they and put it down at St. John the Evangelist. There's like a little history of what they ended up doing and all the santos they ended up selling it to, I think, other churches. And it was a shame and it was on the registry. But guess what happened? M: What? T: Everybody that wanted to save it, they really didn't work that hard. Because trying to save and make the church where it would be vile not to get donations to have it renovated, to fix it up, because it was falling apart when that fire hit, well, most of it came down on the back side. Oh my gosh. That, that poor building came down. So they had to end up tearing the rest of it because it really took a toll when they had that fire there. T: They say somebody set it [the fire], but I don't know if that's what ever has come out. But Yeah, If you look at the little history, will tell you a lot and probably tell you when it started. The church close? M: Yeah. What was it like? Were the schools segregated like that too? T: Oh, yes, my mom told me when she lived in Argentine yes. They did not let the Mexicanos go to school. There was the elementary school there. They couldn't go to those schools or Stanley Franklin, they were all schools there within the Argentine area. T: The Mexicanos–she had to go and you could look that history up. It's very interesting too to read the Clara's C L A R A Barton B A R T O N. Society still exists today. And that was the name of the school and that's where all the Mexicanos. I think it was left on 24th Street now where the, you know where that school was? The Walmart. There's a Walmart and Argentine and there's the new Walmart. All right in there. That's 24 Street that you come down and there's even a little soccer field there Now, all that area would have been where the grade school was for the Mehicanos to go to. Oh, it was segregated. M: So you basically grew up with just surrounded by Mexican kids? T: My mama did. I didn't. M: Okay. So what happened with you in school? T: Okay. With me, yes. We were able to go to Be then Emerson School was opened. Me and my brothers, we grew up. We went to Emerson School, and there's a lot of Mexicanos. John the Divine had a school, but my mom put us at Emerson. I don't know if it was money because then you have to pay for Catholic schools. Probably mostly they couldn't afford. My mom couldn't afford to send us. T: We went to the public school, Emerson. And the only time we would go to St. John the Divine was on Wednesdays for catechism and to learn the religion, because we didn't have it at the public schools. Every Wednesday we go for an hour and they would teach us different things. But that's when I was growing up. T: But when I was growing up in Argentine, then it became everybody was involved. And I have to say I got along, I said because there wasn't that many Mexicanos going to Emerson because a lot of them mostly went to St. John the Divine Catholic School. But like I say, I don't know but me and my brothers and there wasn't that many. We got along. T: Do you know? To this day, I still have my girlfriends and I have to say there's only one Mexicana and the rest are white. We get together every quarter. We haven't because of Covid. I've had friends. We've been getting together since we were in kindergarten. Can you believe? M: I mean, that's amazing. Yeah, that's amazing. T: There's what, 15 of us to keep together that close. Yeah. T: Do you know when you're little? I've always said this, don't they're not born to discriminate. They're not born to see people differently. People start talking to them and they start, but heck, we all got along. T: I have to say I had a wonderful upbringing and, you know, it was a bet to think I still have these friends from kindergarten. What does that say? That we all truly loved each other. You know, we didn't see our differences or anything. So I have to say I had a wonderful upbringing. T: I've always been wanted to do and my mom. She always told us you got to help your community Because when she got divorced, in my dad, of course, like I said, my uncle Nick raised us, she said “The community can give you a lot, but you got to help your community and help them get whatever they need.” T: Like I said, I was on the board of El Centro, become chair. I was on the board of the United Way chairperson. I was the chairperson for the American Red Cross, the Children's Museum of Kansas City. Anything that I wanted to on a board, I give it 100% not some of these people that just want their name on the board and they don't do anything for it. T: I really went after organizations, then they asked me to that, then they would ask me if I'd be interested to be on the board. But I've always been involved the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. I was with the founders of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. T: And then the National Office of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce grew from Kansas City, and then now they're in Washington DC. I was involved with all that too. [phone rings] T: Let me check if this is Sure. That's another scams. M: I know they're calling me. I hate them. T: I do too. T: My brother Tom, like I said, he's just been just as involved too. You need to speak to him because he'll tell you all the organizations he's been involved with. I would love to speak to him. We have our younger brother, Ray, who now lives in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. He's been down there for maybe six years now. T: But he grew up in, he grew up in Argentine and went to high school after high school. Then of course, the he's always lived in Kansas City, but just recently now living in Fort Walton. Then he was also involved with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. T: So we've all seen things that needed to be done here in Kansas City and try to get the best done for the city and our community. T: Now though I'm retired, I'm retired and taking it easy. And people want me to join the board again, I tell them: “You need to get some of this new blood so they can learn to what it is to be a good citizen” you know? That nothing is really given to you. You got to help your community and whatever it takes. Yeah. M: Can you tell me how old your sons are now and where are they now? T: Let me tell you. Of course. And my husband, he just retired, Carlos Pacheco and he was a firefighter. And he ended up being captain. He just retired. April the first. M: Wow, congratulations to him. T: Him, you know what? So when I met him like I was telling you the story, I met him when my cousin B, and then we came just were writing and calling each other and then we ended up getting married. We just celebrated 36, but he did not know one word of English. M: Wow. Really? T: Oh, Marta. He could talk to him to tell you. And I told him, I says, the only way you're going to learn English is by me just speaking to you in English. I never spoke to him in Spanish. Could you believe When we were married at the beginning. M: Wow. He had just come from Mexico City. He was himself? T: And yes, my husband, Carlos. Yes, he sure is from Mexico City, but you want to hear a better one? His grandparents were from Tangancicuaro, Mexico. M: Oh my gosh. That's hilarious. M: Okay. Can you spell this little town for me? What's the town, what is the town? T: It's T A, N, G A N C, U R O Oh, it's a beautiful little town to think. We then Carlos and I got married and we had our two boys, which I'm so proud of. My first one, he's 33, he's born in, we got married in 85, Carlos, he's Carlos Pacheco the third. He was born in 1987. M: Wow. T: And we're proud parents of a Dr. He's a medical Dr. and he went to KU. As a matter of fact, KU Medical School. And he's in his residency. He's going to actually I think next month. I think next month he ends his residency and he'll start at the Hartland Clinic out there in paper. In where? In ten. M: But where is the Heartland Clinic? T: Heartland Clinics where he's going to be the Dr. at, and they're located about 110, I think it's on Hutton Road, actually in Kansas City, Kansas. He wanted to do family medicine, so then he could help people. And he's been telling people he's bilingual. So everybody saying, oh, he's going to be an asset for the community. T: Actually, his residency, he's at the Lakewood Hospital in Lee Summit, at least as part of the Truman Medical. That's where he's mainly at, but he's gone to Truman Homes, the main hospital, and then he's gone to Children's Mercy Rotation. M: Uh huh. Children's Mercy’s great. T: Oh, they're wonderful. Wonderful. M: Do you think your son Carlos would be willing to be interviewed? Oh, I think he would. Yes. I think he would. I could get the whole family and that would be really nice. T: Then what can I say about him? He's our youngest and he was born in 93. So what is he? 28. So, he's 28 today. As a matter of fact that we're talking today was his first day. He's now the Marketing Director for Bishop Ward High School in Kansas City. Wow. That's where both Carlos and Alejandro went to school, high school. They've been to Catholic schools all the way up until they started at St.Patrick's. Then they went to Bishop Ward. Then both of them went to Benedictine College in Atchison. Wonderful football players. I can tell you that time I had a lot of fun watching them play football. T: Alejandro also has his own little company, He does real estate he'll be able to do to do both jobs. T: You know what I'm so proud of them, my husband and I have always been still amended. Whatever you put in, hijos, make sure you love what you're doing. T: And that's what actually happened to my son Carlos because he is the most wonderful writer. His teachers that high school used to say, God, you got to send him to the sports page because he had that way of writing. And then he went into communications. Writing, right? And then all of a sudden, when he graduated from Benedictine, came to really, I feel like I'm being called for the medical side. T: Well, guess what? He had to he didn't take all the science classes that he needed in high school and college that he needed to take. So he lasted two years poor Carlos has been in school since well, you think about it. He's 33. He hasn't never stopped going to school. M: Yeah, that actually happened to a friend of mine from college too. She majored in Latin American studies. And then like second semester of her senior year, she decided that she wanted to be a Doctor she had to go back and take all the science classes. T: All the science classes. I know they got to do all that before they get into school. T: And then thank goodness and oh, we were so proud of him when KU says you're in Oh, I tell you what. Oh, it just made us so proud that he went to KU medical school. M: You know, it's wonderful to hear it in your voice. It just shows in your voice. T: It's just because I'm so proud of. Yeah. And then got his masters at Benedictine. They've both been both just wonderful little go-getters that's always being in to help you know they're always… T: But see children learn from you what you instill in them if you don't teach them different things and all these dishes. And I tell them about their grandparents and my husband's side of the family on his side have wondered like his grandmother there again. Well, at that time it was Michoacán, también. Well at that time she was in Mexico City. She had her own little candy. She had a candy shop and made all the different types of candy that has. He's learned. It's very interesting. I'm so proud of my family, both me and my husband's side, because there's so much that somebody God, we can listen to you guys all day long. M: It's a wonderful story. It's really great to hear. T: It's been just it's a wonderful life. I'm happy. M: Can you tell me, is there anything that you would like your sons to know about your experience growing up in Argentine that maybe they don't know or that you'd like to make sure they know? T: Do you know what they know? I have to say I always talked to them about how I grew up and my brothers, we've taught them a lot of stuff. You know, hijos, I have such an interesting background both on both sides of the family to know, you got to know all this stuff. Oh, you tell us from young we used to talk to and they know the customs and they know the food. And like for Easter, I made this dish called capitrotada. Thaa, I don't know if you've ever heard of that, but Capito, it's a Mexican bread pudding that's made with French bread. Actually, French bread, and you make this syrup. M: Oh my God, that sounds delicious. I want it; it sounds delicious. I love bread pudding. To start with, Mexican bread pudding. I can't imagine anything better. T: And it has almonds and raisins. Oh, it is delicious. So see those kind of dishes. But you know what, if you tell some of these younger prisons they would know about capirotada people if they don't learn how to make it, then they don't tell their own kids. It's a triple effect. They don't know about all these little things. Says everybody just knows one tamal. Well no, there's all kinds, they all have different kinds of names, different types of names. But they [Teresa’s sons] know ‘em. T: I got to think of that there's something because I even told them about their great grandparents. My well, that would be their grandparents. Great grandparents. That would be they know about my grandfather and she heard coming down and marrying grandma at 13. “How can that happen, Mom? She was only a little girl.” I said, “Well, I know, hijos, but back in the day, the family sometimes used to set them up and.. M: It was a different time. T: We used to always say to our kids, my husband, you do good things in life. Good things will happen. You do bad things, bad things will happen. They always had that in their heads. I said, you know, hijos, when you go out in life, you're reflections of me and dad. Just think of what you're going to be doing. That. Reflection and my little young one, Alejandro, says “But mom, we couldn't ever do anything like that to you. Because you've always treated us so good, so much. Love.” It broke my heart with someone that little is telling you things like that and just here is 28 years old. T: Yeah. I just remember those good stories. You know? M: This is so wonderful. This is a great story. And I love your obvious commitment to trying to pass down as much as possible to the younger generation. And that's what our project is trying to do, to just… T: Yes! That's why I was so interested because I said that's what these kids need. Yeah. They need people to tell about all the different things and how people really went through a lot. And then they say, oh, when you hear a lot of people saying well, why don't they come in through the border like we did. And I said, listen, when did your great grandparents come in or your great grandparents come in? They didn't have any borders. Then they could cross in and come in. Now, yes, there is a law and there's laws and we have to follow that. T: But what makes me upset when they said, well, they came in legally. I said no, they just came in because they were allowed to be laws back then. T: Oh, and then they just and I says and if you don't believe me, look it up on the history book, You'll I tell them. M: There were no quantitative quotas. There were no numerical quotas for coming in. That was for Mexicans anyway. For Chinese people there were. T: Oh, yes. Back then. Yeah. But yeah, my aspect of when they were talking about Mexico. Yeah. Uh huh. And then when I say look in your history book, half of the United States was Mexico too and they just…they sold it for nothing. T: So, you know when you say, well, I bet you I forget when I was little. I can tell you this story. I forget somebody mentioned to me: “Well, I bet you bet. That was I bet Mexico doesn't have this or something like that or how beautiful” we're talking about geographies. And I said what I said. What do you mean? Have you gone to California? Have you gone to Texas? Have you gone to Arizona? I would go go go and say I said, well guess what? That used to be Mexico. What? I said “Yes, you read it? Yes. Meico. A lot of stuff, you know? M: That's true. T: And a lot of just like I'm sure you feel it too even from Cuba. They say, well, do they do this or do that? They think they're sometimes the only ones that know anything or have experienced anything of beauty or culture. T: Think about, I'm thinking of you right now, Cuba in the 1940s. Look back then when people were going to Cuba for the music and everything that was going on. Wow. And then of course the Mafia got in there with the gambling and all that. M: But yes, also true. T: Yeah. But people, the younger people, that's what makes me mad with our education that they stopped teaching kids certain things. Well, I know they need to keep it up because these things are coming up, you know. If they have no knowledge of what went on, yeah, They're completely naive. M: I would love to take my kids to Cuba. T: Oh, I bet you would. M: I would I still can't legally take them to Cuba because you still can't really be a tourist in Cuba. And we don't have any family left there. So it couldn't be a family visit. T: Yeah. Okay. When it was opened, when Obama opened it, was it We could visit, right, everybody? M: That's the thing. You still can't legally visit. It's actually, it's part of the economic embargo. You can't spend money there. So de facto, you can't visit. So you could go on an educational program, or you could go on a humanitarian program, or you could go like, for a family visit if you have immediate family. But you can't just visit as a tourist still. T: Oh wow. Yeah. Oh my. M: So I have been a couple times but it's been as part of educational trips. T: But like you say, you wish you had your kids be able to see all that. M: I do. They don't even know that they're Cuban. They don't speak any Spanish. They don't consider themselves Hispanic. They don't consider themselves Cuban. And I'm 100% Cuban. T: But hey, that's what happens. That's what happens, and that's the thing that happens and that's what we just got instilling the I bet you–Now, let me ask you, did you ever teach them about their foods? M: I do. I have made Cuban food for them. Yes. Yeah. T: But some don't even know that. That's a simple. I would think that to me that simple. I know, but my mom, though, told me that. My grandfather told her. He says, you're in the United States and I want you to speak English and we're going to speak Spanish in the home, but when you go out, English is going to be your first language because you're in this country. T: I remember my mom telling me that that's how we were raised. Thank goodness we my grandparents were still living because my mom always spoke to us in English. But every time we went to Grand Grandpa's house or my tíos or whatever, we always spoke Spanish. So I was always I think that's what needed to. But sometimes unfortunately, those things don't happen because if you're not close to the elders well, that's what happens. I have to say we were awfully were lucky they spoke both languages. Yeah. M: What happened with me is that my parents would speak to us in Spanish and then we would respond in English.So we understand everything, but our Spanish sucks. T: Yeah. That because my son, Alejandro, he understands everything. Now when we go to Mexico, he's dealing with cousins or whatever. Somehow he'll make it through. Yeah. But my son Carlos now the doctor, he understands he's able to handle a conversation in Spanish. So that's why I say he's going to be such a good asset here for a lot of people, they said, oh, and he has such a wonderful personality. The doctors have told me his–well, they made him the chief resident, the hospital, so all the residents go to him for like he's at. M: Wow, that's amazing. Yeah. T: Don't you think I'm proud? M: I can hear it in your voice. You're a glowing, proud mom. T: And then I said I just wondered when I'm going to have me. And my husband says, well, Carlos got married, they got married in 2019 and said, well, and he's still in residency when he starts getting a little bit better, but then they were married at 19 and then I have my beautiful little Vivian. Oh, she's just a and now guess what they call them, the Irish twin. Because Jenny's having a baby in the same month. M: Wow. T: She was born July the third, and this new baby's going to be born July 13. Great. M: Teresa, thank you so much for agreeing to talk to me. I appreciate it more than I can possibly say. T: Well, I wish I would have gotten her. I know my cousin Bea said, well, she hasn't contact, says, oh, she will. So, I was just waiting. And then when you send me the second text ah, I said I never got the first one– M: That's really weird. And a bummer? Yeah. Yeah. No, I had been and you know, I was ready to give up. I was just going through old emails, but I well, I'll try one last time. It can't hurt. T: I'm glad you did. M: I'm glad I did too. It's meant to happen that way. Yeah. Yeah. It was. Fate. Okay, thank you so much that Teresa, have a really great day and a great week. And I will send you this email and then you'll know where to send stuff back. T: I'll follow up with this stuff, tell you everybody's got phone numbers and stuff. M: Great. Thank you so much. T: Okay, thank you. Bye bye. M: Bye. Bye. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Teresa Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Mexico to Kansas City, KS Description An account of the resource Teresa’s grandparents migrated to the U.S. sometime in the 1920s from Michoacán, Mexico Her grandfather first worked for the Santa Fe Railroad and organized several community events such as fiestas and an orchestra. Teresa believes in giving back to your community and is a cousin to Beatrice, a fellow Heartland participant. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_tzjd9i3x" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_tzjd9i3x/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Teresa Trimmed"></iframe> Community Identity Kansas City Language Mexico Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Itzel Nava Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sylvia F. Language of Interview English Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sylvia F. Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Ghana to Missouri Description An account of the resource Sylvia F’s parents are from Ghana. Sylvia F. arrived in the U.S. after her father accepted a teaching position at a university. She remembers that she was the only black family and immigrants in her rural city. Not only did Sylvia F have to adjust to a new culture, she frequently encountered microaggressions such as the assumptions that her ancestors were enslaved; that her hair was dirty and hard to wash; and that she was too tan. Most of Sylvia F’s family lives in Ghana and communicates through WhatsApp. The first time that she saw people that looked like her was when she went back to Ghana. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2000s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Missouri Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_fyz26y7u" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_fyz26y7u/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Sylvia F. Interview Trimmed"></iframe> Education Ghana Identity Missouri Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Joohye Oh Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sylvia Language of Interview English and some Spanish Format Video, audio only, text only Audio City (Region, State) and Country of Origin for 2nd and 3rd generation, this is the place of family's origin Chihuahua, Mexcio Intermediate point in journey (1) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Utah Intermediate point in journey (2) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Hays, Kansas Intermediate point in journey (3) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence Great Bend, Kansas Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Sylvia (S) Joohye Oh (J) S: I think my story is a little unique in the sense that it's not your typical story of how I ended up in Kansas. S: Let me just say that my family is from the border from the south around the south part of the US–north part of Mexico. And from what I heard from family members. My dad's side of the story comes from Texas. And my great grandmother was born and raised in Texas and decided to move south to Monterey–Nueva León, which is south of Texas. S: On the other side, I have family that comes from the western part of Northwest part of Mexico. So that was another state, Sonora. S: But there's always been my grandparents had experienced living in the States. Some grandparents lived in California and Arizona. Some other grandparents lived in Texas, El Paso. S: It is not that unusual then that I was going back and forth live in coming from Chihuahua, Mexico. And being born and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico, being the first immigrant and my family to come and actually decide to live in Kansas. S: So that's where my family comes from. S: Being in Chihuahua, Mexico. That means that we had easy access to traveling and visiting Texas often, and that's what we did. My grandparents always had a place for us to stay in El Paso, Texas. That was a place for us to go shopping. S: Is just a two-and-a-half, three hour ride from Chihuahua to go to El Paso. S: So I was exposed since I was little to just traveling in visiting Texas and spending summers there in my grandfather's residence for a place to go. S: My dad, when I was an infant, decided to do his master’s. And I don't know how he came about deciding that he wanted to go to New Mexico. S: I lived in New Mexico as an infant for two years, the firstborn in my family, so it was only me and my mom and my dad while he was doing his master's in wildlife. S: Then again, as an infant that was exposed to English, I was exposed to the American culture. My family has a pretty good grip on keeping traditions and culture, but also being very comfortable and used to the American way of life in the American culture. S: So that's the moving back and forth. Yes. S: I lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico while my dad was at the New New Mexico State University at Las Cruces, then move back to Chihuahua. And I lived there and was raised when I was a kid in Mexico. S: I was very fortunate that my family is upper middle-class. So I've always been exposed to private schools, and that's what I attended when I was a child. I attended Catholic private schools from kindergarten, elementary school, and then I went to the, one of the most prestigious secondary schools there, one that was affiliated through the university, Tec de Monterrey. S: So I ended up going to a junior high school that was bilingual. So half of her classes were in English. Half of the classes were in Spanish. S: It was difficult at first, but but it was, it was a lot of fun. So once I finished with junior high, then the next thing that we typically did, our classmates at that particular school was to spend a year as an exchange student. S: So there were different options at the time, some people ended up being going to boarding schools for my particular family and my situation, we decided that I wanted to do an exchange program through a through a US company. S: So I sign up for that and I get chosen to go to Utah. So I spent my junior year in high school in Utah for the year. So 1990–91, I believe. S: That was a really good experience. S: I really learned a lot about their religion there, which is a Mormon. And even though the family that I live with, they were not practicing Mormons, they did have some connections with the Mormon religion and their oldest child was actually converting to become Mormon. S: And so I was invited to listen to their preparation meetings that they had. So that was quite, quite fun. S: As a junior, I finished my year, I came back to Chihuahua, finished high school. I started college. And after starting college is when I realized that I was in the wrong major, I was studying for marketing and I really felt like psychology was where I needed to go. S: So looking at the options that I had at the time, this is around 90 to 93. We're not really good Psychology schools in Chihuahua. And I always wanted to go back to the states to just study more. S: So I started looking for options and by then my parents were divorced, my parents were married and my stepfather was very supportive of me. S: Just looking for opportunities and finding a good school to go to. It was–it was a matter of luck that one of my classmates ended up suggesting for me to try Hays, Kansas. S: And the reason why he suggests that that is he came from a private school in Chihuahua that had some kind of agreement with the boarding school to high school, Catholic boarding school in Hays, Kansas. S: So a lot of my friends and close, close acquaintances were going to Hays, Kansas for this boarding school and thus his experience. But he offered the information that there was a University in Hays, Kansas, that it was a really nice, safe, small town. I should check it out. S: It's always researching options in applying for different places. I went ahead and applied for Hays, Kansas, and all the places that I applied in Texas and I want it to stay somewhat close. S: So I was applying for Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado. And then Hays–I got a response from many of them that was very not personal, but very generic of student 101234. You need to reply but this date, otherwise, we're going to toss your application and you're gonna be inactive. S: And Hayes sent a very personal letter calling, referring to me by my name, letting me know that they were excited that I applied, that they were hoping that I would choose them. It was signed by the director of international students, who happens to be, by the way, the current director of international students at the University of Kansas right now, Mr. Joe Potts. S: So that just made me think it made me feel that I was welcomed in Hays, Kansas and that I was going to have some kind of support system to go to. S: So we decided that that's where I needed to go. As a sophomore of transfer transfer student from, um, the Tec de Monterrey campus Chihuahua to Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas. S: That's why I say my story is not very common because I came here as a documented, not immigrant but as a documented student with an F1. I think it's an F1. I'm not sure. But with a student visa both times when I was an exchange student and then when I came back as a college student. S: My plan has had always been that I was just going to do my bachelor's degree and then I was going to go back home. S: And so I had a boyfriend at the time. He was in Chihuahua. He decided he needed to be closer, so he ended up coming to Wichita State University. And he was there for about a year but then he had to go back home and I was still finishing my bachelor's. S: So it was then that I met my now husband. We were in a class or two together. And it was towards the end of the semester that he decided he was brave enough to strike a conversation during an outing on a Friday night. So I was completely in love where I had a crush on this guy. S: So it was just the right timing, I guess, that I was not dating anyone in that he was asking me to go out for a date. That was my last semester of my bachelor's. S: At that point, I was already looking. I already had a plan of pursuing a master's degree, knowing that in psychology, you need to have higher education if you want to work in the field. S: So again, I started applying to different places, looking at what was feasible. My family was paying the bill. I was very fortunate that they have the resources to pay for me to live in Hays, Kansas, same pay the full tuition. And as an international student, that's not cheap. S: So I was looking at options, but also being very mindful that I'm one of three kids and I'm the oldest one of my sisters. I have two and they were close behind me finishing high school and needing to go to college, knowing that my parents were going to support them fully as well. S: So even though we had resources, I was very mindful of making sure that whatever place I chose, it was going to be within the budget so that my sisters could also experience something like this if that's what they wanted. S: And at the time that we're not interested, but the tuition at them on the Tec de Monterrey campus Chihuahua was pretty high because that's the most expensive university then northern part of Mexico. S: Anyway. So around that time is when I realized that one of the most affordable options while was to stay in Hayes and it was going to be easier for Hays to admit, you know, continue to have me as a grad student, as an international student, even though I had years and years of English as a second language, I really did struggle with language skills in verbal skills. S: So at the time I was taking the admission test called the GRE, scores were very, very unusual in the sense of the analytical and the nonverbal sections were extremely high. I want to say 90th percentile and above meeting all the criteria for whatever admissions. But yet my verbal skills were low. S: And that was because I was still learning academic English, not just conversational English and all these terms that I needed to understand. S: So with those scores, it was just easier to stay in haze in my directors international students. The Mr. Joe Potts knew that I was a straight “A” student 4.0 throughout my career at Hays. S: And actually finishing up my bachelor's in a total of three years, one year in Chihuahua Tec de Monterrey, and then enrolled in 24 hours usually per semester up for Hayes for two years. S: So I finished altogether in three years. S: So he knew that I was going to be capable of continuing with grad school and he offered for me to apply for a scholarship from the it's called Rotary Club. Rotary Club of Hays, Kansas. S: They were giving away a pretty big scholarship to international students. I applied and got the scholarship, which was great for my family because then my sisters, my family could afford my sister starting college at the time. S: So that really gave me the reason to stay and to continue pursuing my Master's in clinical psychology at Fort Hays. S: So I can I kept dating my husband and soon enough we got engaged. By then. I already knew that I was starting to grow fond of Kansas. S: He is–he was born and raised in Central Kansas. So he's a guy that was in law enforcement. S: So by the end of my master’s, we decided that we were gonna get married. And that's what we did. S: By then he got a job in central Kansas. So we move to Larned, Kansas where he was a police officer. S: And soon after that I, when an applied, they have a state hospital in Larned. I was not very fond of applying or working as a first job, a newly graduated psychologist, I was intimidated by the idea of working at a state hospitals. S: So I ended up going to the nearby bigger town of Great Bend, Kansas 20 miles from Larned and applying or at least going to the mental health center to let them know that I was interested in a job, which at first they dismissed me and they acted like that: We're not interested. S: Once they met me and realized that I was fully bilingual in Spanish, that quickly changed their strategy and they were all over wanting to hire me just immediately, which I'm very fortunate that they did. S: And that's because Great Bend in the surrounding area has a lot of Spanish-speaking families that are recently migrated. So a lot of people worked in the meat packing industry in the farms there that did not fully understand English and that just needed support and services. S: So I started working there. S: It was not until a year or two after that that the school district in Great Bend was really using my services for the influx of children that they were having that only spoke Spanish, that struggled academically. S: So soon after a year, after working at the Mental Health Center, the District approached me and asked me. If I would be willing to work for them and get my certification as a school psychologist. S: And being just newly married with no family. Knowing that I liked going to school, I said: Why not? S: So they hired me and gave me the opportunity to go back to haze or wherever I want it to do the required grad classes so that I could get my certification as a school psychologist in addition to the clinical one that I had. S: So I did that I started working for the school district. And this is two or three years after living in Larned and just realizing that Larned, Kansas is a very small town, even Great Bend, Kansas, this is a very small town. I'm talking about 4,000 people in learned, about maybe 10,000 in grape and I don't know, I'm guessing. S: But coming from even Hays, Kansas, this a little bigger. S: It's it's a college town and it's full of diversity. In my hometown of 500,000 people. It was a culture shock to live in central Kansas. S: It was, it was very it felt very lonely. I felt very isolated, even with the Hispanic community that they had over there. S: I didn't feel connected. S: My husband was American and I just didn't have a whole lot in common with being a professional in working for institutions. I didn't have a whole lot in common with the families that lived in long hours or that they were the clients that I was seeing at the mental health center. S: Because typically what I saw there was I was the one providing services for alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence for the families that were stopped and arrested for driving under the influence and then being referred to me to complete assessments and complete treatment because they were driving while drunk. S: So it was not a good situation of making friends or having connections with families that I was providing a service. S: So my husband and I started thinking and talking about places where we could move, what we needed to be to be happy and my family by then, they were visiting me, but they were not very excited to come and visit small towns with nothing to do. S: My sisters by then decided that they wanted to come to Fort Hays to pursue their bachelors and master’s. So I had them close by and that kind of helped a little. S: My middle sister finished her bachelor's in Mexico at Tec de Monterrey, but then decided she was gonna do her MBA at Fort Hayes, which she did. S: And then my youngest sister came–transfered from from Mexico and finished her bachelor's in her master's in school psychology as well. The difference with them, my middle sister have boyfriends in Mexico. So when she was done with her MBA, she went back home. Later married the same guy. So she's happily married in Mexico with her husband. S: And my youngest sister, stayed a little longer in Kansas, but then eventually ended up moving back to Mexico. And then later on deciding to pursue additional certifications in Spain. So she ended up living in Spain for a few years. S: So in around that time when they were going back home from Hays, Kansas. That's when we decided we wanted to move from Larned. S: So we ended up finding my husband didn't want to leave Kansas. He was not interested in going back to school or doing any more further training–police officer in Larned. S: So we were limited to staying in Kansas so that he could use his certification as a police officer in a new job. S: And the opportunity came around to come to Lawrence, Kansas, which was considering the places that house hoping that we were going to go to–I was hoping Wichita, I was hoping Kansas City for the amount of opportunities there and access to an airport. S: And Lawrence was a really good option. Being so close to Kansas City in the airport, but also going back to a campus town. And feeling that welcoming feel that you get when you are in a town that’s open-minded to diversity and that celebrates diversity. S: So that's what we did and we moved to Lawrence in 2001, when our first kid was born. So she moved to Lawrence, Kansas with us when she was a few months old. S: And ever since we've been in Lawrence. S: And Lawrence, my husband, transferred to the police department later on decided that he needed to change careers. So he now works for the National Guard–Army National Guard in Topeka as an active duty officer. S: I moved here a school psychologist and have been working for the school district since 2001. S: And eventually when my kids, I have two beautiful girls, and when when they were little, I decided that I always wanted to pursue a doctorate degree. And I fell in love with behavioral psychology, applied behavior analysis. So I ended up starting to take classes until I got to the point that I was able to find an advisor and finish the program and get accepted as a doctorate program candidates. S: So I ended up getting my degree in 2011. I think. S: I mean, I don't know if that's a lot. If it's too much. I still see my family. I think that the going back to school and becoming a school psychologist was the next best thing to having a part-time job. S: Because that means that with my job, I have the same schedule of work scheduled teachers, so that I get the summers off. S: And every single summer. I have gone back home taking my daughter's, gone back on and have spent summers with my family and Mexico, were very proficient, had deriving from Kansas all the way to Chihuahua, Mexico. S: Three day trip, spending a month or two with my family, enjoying their company, taking advantage of the fact that they have houses big enough for us to all fit in there. We usually sign up for the Country Club in summer camps that they have at the country club. S: And my kids–because of that, they have been exposed to not only Spanish, but also meeting friends from their meeting. My my longtime friends’ kids, as a result, keeping those relationships going. S: And then of course, my family continues to come and visit me when they can spending sometimes holidays with me. But just live in S: [reading out loud a question the interviewer put into the Zoom chat]. S: My extended family, most of my cousins, my grandparents died and Chihuahua, and most of my cousins had lived in Chihuahua. I have maybe one or two cousins that have moved away, but it's not very common. S: So like one or two in Mexico City, one or two in Monterrey. I have some cousins that have I have worked with Doctors Without Borders. I have one cousin that ended up in Africa a couple of times. S: I mean, it's not very common, but at the same time, my dad comes from a family of 11. So a couple of his brothers ended up marrying American wives. In one of them, like I have an uncle who lives in Wisconsin, and I have another uncle that lives in Michigan. S: So they kinda, I kinda ended up doing something very similar with them in the sense that if they migrated to the States, it was because they met their spouses and they ended up staying here. S: And I think that they had the situation, at least with one of my uncles. He ended up meeting the wife also in college. S: And the other uncle is a professor at a university. So my assumption is that he was at the university as well as how I was when I met my spouse. S: So kind of interesting that the story repeats. S: And you know my sisters, all of them ended up with a master's. Both of them. S: And my dad, even though he had his master's back when I was young, he decided he wanted a PhD. So he went to the university in Chihuahua–Universidad de [unknown] de Chihuahua. And he ended up getting his PhD in wildlife and conservation soon after I got my PhD. S: So I got mine in 2011, and my dad got his in 2012. So that was kind of exciting that we were both kidding our degrees together. S: And fun fact that he's the wildlife guy, but we didn't follow his steps. Since I'm a psychologist. My middle sister is into business, not currently working. She has kids that are little and then my youngest one [sister] ended up in psychology as well. S: And some family members being business owners. My dad's side of the family, there's a lot of physicians and my great–My grandfather actually owns a hospital. S: So I have some an uncle and aunt and several cousins that are physicians. S: I ended up not not choosing that but it did cross my mind, but I if I would have chosen that, I don't think I've ever would have come to the States because it probably would have been easier to go through med school, in Spanish, to finish the type of degree over there and not worry about a second language. S: [Reading another question that the interviewer left in the chat]. Okay. Let me look at your question as we wrap up. S: [Reading the question]. Is there anything you would like the youngest my next generation to know? I would like to share your concluding thoughts. S: Sure. I would like for Linux kids to know that everything is possible. If you set your mind to it. S: In that, you know, saying that I went to school and I got a degree. Sounds easy. It was not super hard. S: A lot of people may help you, may support you, but a lot of people kind of get in the way. And you have to have a strong will into now that I want to, I want to go to college, I want to go and get into grad school. S: If that's your goal, put everything you have into it and don't give up. And you can make it happen. Because I make it sound like it was easy for me and it was not. S: Many times my family said, we don't have any money and we don't–we can't afford that. We're not gonna be able to help you. And it was a lot of looking For supports, asking around making connections at the university and letting people know that I was looking for scholarships. I was looking for ways to make this affordable and make it happen AND kids can do that. S: If you, if you believe in yourself and you know that you wanna be successful, then just don't give up. Keep trying. And just show the rest of society that Hispanics are hard workers, that are smart people that are capable. And that we can we can also hold positions that are reserved for people that have professional education and we can do that. S: We can definitely do that and we can take advantage of the fact that we're bilingual. And unfortunately, in American schools, in American students may not see the benefit of being bilingual. S: But let's, let's keep our language alive, in our culture alive, and help our community to be successful. [END] Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sylvia Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Chihuahua, Mexico to Lawrence, Kansas Description An account of the resource Sylvia works as a school psychologist and is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. Her interest in furthering her education led her to Fort Hays State University where she obtained her Bachelor's degree. Shortly after, she continued onto the Masters program and found work serving the community in Garden City. Eventually, Sylvia moved to Lawrence to obtain her Ph.D. Today, she practices psychology at a local high school. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_tfafd5cq" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_tfafd5cq/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland Sylvia"></iframe> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1980s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lawrence, Kansas Community Education Identity Language Lawrence Mexico Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Aron Muci Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Suzette Language of Interview English Format Video, audio only, text only Video City (Region, State) and Country of Origin for 2nd and 3rd generation, this is the place of family's origin Nicaragua Intermediate point in journey (1) City/State or Country to which interviewee (or parents/grandparents) traveled before coming to current point of residence California Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Suzette (S) Aaron (A) S: Okay. My name’s Suzette Mendez. I came to Kansas when I was 12 years old–actually I was 10 years old–originally we lived in California and then I lived there…I came to the United States when I was a year and a half–so we lived in California and then moved to Kansas when I was 10 years old. And we’ve been here since then. S: I guess a story that comes to mind in regards with this project [Coming to the Heartland] is–my very first time when we went back home when we traveled to Nicaragua as a family. S: I had never been there. Like I said, I came to the States when I was a year and a half so I was never fully emerged [sic] in what the Nicaraguan culture was. S: I grew up here in the United States so this was all I had ever known. So when I went back it was really eye-opening; It was an experience that I would never forget. I remember how my life is very different from the life over there. S: I think that [deep exhale] when we went I was still–we went back when I was 12. So I got to experience the difference in culture. I got to learn more about where I came–where I’m coming from–my roots, so that was a really wonderful experience. [car honking] A: So is there something that happened on the trip that–correct me if I’m wrong, but you said that happened when you were 12, right?-- S: –Yes A: So is there something that happened on that trip that made you feel was important to you and that you were able to see some of the differences and that sort of thing…so what were some of the differences that you were able to see or what were some of the cultural aspects that you were able to learn? S: The food for sure. It’s very different. It’s something that–like my mom does Nicaraguan cooking but [pause] it’s–it’s different when you’re there, I guess, that’s what I want to say. S: The living aspect too, that’s the poverty–it’s one of things that struck me the most while I was down there. I noticed, you know–I could only imagine what would be my life if we had stayed in Nicaragua and never moved to the States. A: And could you maybe also explain a little bit about how your–I mean how do you see yourself today in terms of you being an immigrant– A: I mean with you immigrating so young coming to this country at such a young age did you see yourself as an immigrant growing up and going through school and things like that? Or did you see yourself in any other different light? S: Umm, no, like I never–Like I knew that my parents and I were from Nicaragua but I never really identified myself as like an immigrant. S: Like growing up, when I was smaller in elementary school, like I never thought about it that way I guess. S: When I started to get older, that’s when I could say, I know where I came from and I know that I’m an immigrant and that my parents were immigrants and that I was the very first generation to go to college and so it–that’s when I started to in high school–or elementary–in middle and high school when everything came into play. S: When we first got our legal status, I guess, then my parents kinda had a talk with me about what it was and that’s when we got to go back home [to Nicaragua]. S: Then they explained that they had been here for several years, I think that it was maybe 10 years that they had not been able to see their family so they explained that they were going to take a trip and we were going to be able to meet our cousins, our aunts, uncles, grandparents. A: Is that something you were excited for? Or was it something you were fearful of? Or just kinda unsure about? What were kinda some of the things that they prepared you for going back for the first time? S: To me, it was fun–it was exciting. I never grew up with any grandparents so that was something very difficult and different because I would know and because my friends would have their grandparents here and so I didn’t get to experience that until I was 12 years old and even at that time you would go for two weeks, three weeks at most, so I never really got that connection with my grandparents. S: With cousins, I never really grew up with cousins. The ones that I had in California were like two-three cousins and we would see them every so often for holidays so, like I said, I never emerged [sic] myself into the whole family environment with parents with my grandparents or my extended family because they weren’t living here, they were living back home. A: One of the–some of the things that others have talked about in their interviews is what they hope to share with maybe older generations or younger generations–So is there something about yourself that you feel like older generations or younger generations. A: So is there something about yourself, something that you learned about yourself that you feel like older generations don’t know about you in terms of how you see yourself? Or, is there something that you want to share with younger generations about who you are that you feel is important? S: I think what I would say to the younger generations would be to know where you come from. From a very early early years, learn your Spanish–I mean whatever language you speak: that’s something I always try to teach my child, now that I have a son, is you–you need to know where you’re coming from and it’s hard. S: Especially nowadays I know that I speak to him a lot in English and so his dad tries to speak to him in Spanish. And it gets hard for him [Suzette’s son] too and so sometimes [Suzette’s son] is like “I don’t want to speak in Spanish.” And I try to teach him why it’s important to do so. Where is his–where he is coming from, where his parents are coming from. S: So that’s something that I would try and advise the younger generation. A: And have you had a chance to take your son to Nicaragua? And has it been an opportunity to share a little bit of where you come from? And what was the experience for him? S: We have. I’ve taken him maybe about three times now. S: I think that the first time that I took him he was a year and a half–and one of the things that I try to explain to him is how fortunate we are in this country and we go back so he can see the difference between these two countries and what we have and cherish what we have here. S: We–I wanted him to know, you know, about poverty and how we can help people and so one of the trips we took down there, we made like 150 sandwiches and we bought drinks–water, pop, all that kinds of stuff–and then–and so we went to the streets and we took a car and we drove through the streets. S: At the stop lights there’s always homeless people or people working and try to get a little bit of money and so we would stop there and we would see all kinds of people–people in wheelchairs, little kids selling gum or drinks and stuff like that. S: And so we would stop and he would hand them [the sandwiches and drinks] out. People would just come towards the car and Isaac, that’s my son’s name, and Isaac would just roll down the windows and we would just hand sandwiches and drinks out. And so that is something that has always stuck in his mind and to this day he tells me “When are we going to do that again?” S: So I know that that made an impact on his seven years of life that he has, so yeah. A: That’s really great. I’m glad that he was able to have that experience that was so inspirational for him and exciting for him to go back and–that’s fantastic. A: Okay, wonderful. Thanks so much, Suzette, for participating in this project. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzette Subject The topic of the resource Oral history from Mexico to Kansas. Description An account of the resource Suzette was born in the United States but her parents are from Nicaragua. In this interview, she talks about visiting Nicaragua, being a first-generation college graduate and connecting with her family. Her advice for the younger generation is to learn Spanish or their heritage language and embrace where they come from. Suzette also highlights the importance of giving back to one’s community. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Kansas Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="400" height="285" id="kmsembed-1_9w99c2kp" src="https://mediahub.ku.edu/embed/secure/iframe/entryId/1_9w99c2kp/uiConfId/45147491/st/0" class="kmsembed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" frameborder="0" title="Heartland_Suzette_Trimmed.mp4"></iframe> California Education Identity Kansas Nicaragua