Miranda: I grew up in Green Bay, right near the edge of town. It used to be lots of cornfields and forests, but now it’s mostly subdivisions. I was a very early reader; I started reading before kindergarten. I didn’t grow up in a house with a lot of books, but we did have one of those complete …
I moved to the United States from the Philippines when I was young. I was always into music. I was in choir and studied piano and voice at a young age. I was really shy but knew I wanted to do music. Photos taken by Leslie Damaso I studied music at the University of Illinois …
“Home is where you have the most meaningful connections.” Read More »
I grew up in the Philippines during a turbulent time in the mid ’80s because of dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He was in power for 20 years. The TV was censored and there were restrictions. There wasn’t a lot of freedom of speech. I was 12 and remember it perfectly. There was tension when people spoke …
“I live here now, and if I want to have an impact, voting is the first step.” Read More »
I’m from Mexico, from the state of Morelos. I came to Plover when I was 21. All of my family who lives here told me Wisconsin is the best state to live, a place where family is a priority, where nature can be loved. Photo courtesy of Lili Vera They were not wrong, Wisconsin is …
“I won’t give up until my goals are met. That’s my future.” Read More »
My parents grew up in Laos during the Secret War, which was a smaller conflict of the Vietnam War in Laos. During May of 1975, the Hmong General, Vang Pao, decided to leave Laos. He said to the Hmong people who were still there, ‘Go to Thailand. That’s where you’ll find safety, and from there …
I remember back in ’62 we had to leave our village because the Communists came. You hear they are coming and you have to leave. Photo courtesy of The Lands We Share project “My family lived far away from the city, in the highlands of Laos. We had to work very hard doing slash and …
In this series, we are featuring the Odyssey Project, a University of Wisconsin humanities class for adult students facing economic barriers to college. With its whole family approach to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through access to education, this program has been transformational. Farren is an alumnus of Odyssey. I originally left school to …
I grew up in Mogadishu, Somalia. Somalis have a very close culture, we take care of each other. If someone doesn’t have a car, you take them to work. If someone is not making enough money, we help them with the rent by chipping in. If something tragic happens, like someone becomes sick or gets …
“I see myself as someone who knows both cultures—American and Somali.” Read More »
In this series, we are featuring the Odyssey Project, a University of Wisconsin humanities class for adult students facing economic barriers to college. With its whole family approach to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through access to education, this program has been transformational. Marisol Gonzalez is an alumna of Odyssey. Several years ago, my …
“No matter how big the obstacles are in front of you—success is possible.” Read More »
I grew up in Cusco, Peru, which is an incredible place to grow up. My great-grandfather was the president of Peru and then my dad was the mayor of Cusco. People come to Cusco from all over the world. We grew up entertaining all kinds of people in our house. We always knew that we …
“I wanted to help marginalized people learn about their rights.” Read More »
Alyssa: I grew up in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I remember being a little girl and walking from our home, past my friend’s home, to where we could feed carrots to the horses at the farms that bordered right up to our neighborhood. But then the suburban sprawl increased, and the farms were pushed further and further away. …
I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. My people are called Hmong. We left China about 3,400 years before we settle in Laos. Most of our people were farmers. We lived in the mountains and jungles. “This is the only photo of me from the refugee camp. You can see electricity in the photo, …
