Photo by James Lucian from Pexels
By Grace Tesoro, Staff Writer
Seven teams of Susquehanna students presented immigration stories they learned through interviews for their level 301 Spanish class at 6 p.m. on Nov. 20 in Benjamin Apple Meeting Rooms 1 and 2.
Students of professor Walfrido Dorta’s level 301 Spanish class, Advanced Conversation and Oral Expression, were responsible for seeking out individuals who immigrated to the United States and conduct interviews with them regarding their experience of immigration.
Over the course of two months, students conducted interviews, worked in teams and put together a presentation to paint the experience and the feelings of someone who made the journey to the United States.
“Aside from gaining confidence in their abilities to speak Spanish, the main goal of the event was to make real life stories of immigration more visible,” Dorta said.
“These presentations are especially important during this time where part of the political establishment is trying to give the public a uniform or monolithic idea about immigrants,” Dorta added.
Dorta emphasized that there were a variety of different stories detailing the real-life experiences of immigrants from various countries, languages and reasons.
“We are very grateful that the people the students interviewed gave us access to their private life with their personal stories,” Dorta said. “For this project, they need to be translators of the cultural experience, meaning they have to make people visualize this experience and convey it effectively.”
Some students decided to interview friends, international students on campus, family members and even one of Susquehanna’s professors of computer sciences, David Chang. Junior Eneida Giboyeaux, first-years Haley Muth andAlaina Fry and sophomore Emma Beiter presented, “El sueño americano del Dr. Chang”, or “The American Dream of Dr. Chang.”
They detailed how Chang, after being born in South Korea, immigrated to the United States in order to find better work.They also shared during the presentation some of the cultural shock Chang experienced when first coming to the United States.
One of the presenters, John Morris said his group wanted to work to present their experiences and the entire process of immigration of the individuals they interviewed.
“My main goal of the project was to communicate their actual experiences and show a true picture of immigration and keep their stories as true as possible.
I was very excited to present their stories in the native language they speak,” Morris said. The presentations of these immigration stories highlighted the diversity as to why people immigrate and how each experience is unique.
“I believe that it is important for people to learn about the plurality of immigration and these experiences are diverse,” Dorta said.