The I In Immigrant

Abdel was raised in Chad by his grandmother until the age of 15, then he moved to the United States along with his three brothers, to live with his uncle. He knew little to no English, but started attending Carroll Middle School a few weeks after moving. Abdel talks about navigating through being unable to communicate with his classmates at first, and using sports to find common ground and make friends.

Now he’s 23 and recently graduated from Purdue University Fort Wayne with a degree in physics. Abdel is exploring whether he should stay in the United States or move back to Chad, but either way he wants to find a job that’s not just about the paycheck. He, much like his grandmother, is always looking for a way to give back.

Abdel and host, Ahmed Abelmageed, talk about how college changed the way he studied his Muslim faith, the importance of keeping an open mind when talking about immigrants and race and the impact his grandmother had on his life and his personality.

Francisco Townsend met his wife after the YMCA in Valparaiso, Chile, where he worked, made connections with the YMCA in Valparaiso, Indiana. Students from Indiana would come to Chile on a student exchange program, which is how they met. She lived in Chile with him for a while, but Francisco felt it was only fair for him to try living in the United States, where she could be closer to her family.

When he moved to the United States, Francisco didn’t speak English, but that didn’t stop him from working and attending college. After graduating in 2011, he went to work for the YMCA again. Francisco has done many jobs for the YMCA in Fort Wayne and continues to serve through his work there.

Francisco explores what it's like to raise Chilian-American children in the United States and he explains why he tells them speaking Spanish is a superpower. Francisco and host, Ahmed Abelmageed, talk about the relief of gaining citizenship, the difficulties of learning a new language, and the importance of remaining positive.

In 2003, Hamzah moved from Yemen to the United States. The decision wasn’t his own. His father was already living and working in Michigan, supporting the family. Hamzah’s dad felt bringing him the United States would give him a better life and a better education.

Hamzah explores the difficulty he faced transitioning from one culture to another, while simultaneously transitioning from teenager to adult. At his high school, he was placed in a bilingual program, where his teachers spoke Arabic and English, but after starting college Hamzah felt he didn’t know enough English to survive the classes. As a result, he moved to California to work, and eventually he found himself in Fort Wayne.

Hamzah and host, Ahmed Abelmageed, talk about the responsibility of giving people a better understanding of his Muslim faith, passing down his language and heritage to his children, and the beauty of the differences in the world.

Born and raised in a small village in the Dominican Republic, Max Montesino has now been in the United States for 30 years. He first came to the Midwest on a student visa, studying at the University of Wisconsin, then Iowa State University, and finally Western Michigan University, where he earned his Ph.D.

The recently published author calls himself an “American by choice, with a strong foreign background,” and he explores taking on the title of “Latino” and what that means as he fights for minority communities.

Max and host, Ahmed Abelmageed, talk about finding community in Fort Wayne, the intertwining of advocacy and politics, and the best places to find Dominican Republic coffee in the United States.

Irene was born just outside of Venice, Italy where she lived a good portion of her life. She was born with dual citizenship. Her mother was American, and her father was Italian.

She moved to the United State for college at Indiana University in Bloomington. It was there that she found her passion for international studies and travel. This and her ability to speak multiple languages allowed her to see and experience the differences and struggles that immigrants face all over the world.

She found that in America, no matter how long you’ve lived here, you would feel like an outsider, because of your accent or how you looked. Even with other Italians who would move to America Irene found that she didn’t relate with a lot of people except her family. Irene also speaks with Ahmed about her work with AMANI Family Services to try and help other immigrants adapt to American life.

Oleg is from Kyiv in Ukraine. With the countless hours of work that his parents put in, Oleg was able to go to school where he learned some basic English in a schooling system that did not promote the language at the time. He was able to move to America as a student-athlete playing basketball. He speaks about overcoming the challenge of speaking with an accent, by becoming a motivational speaker.

In order to face the challenges in his life Oleg talks about what was the motivation that kept him going. He wanted to eliminate the struggles in his life, and in the lives of his family members, and this was all going to be possible by making money and being a successful part of society.

Oleg talks about what immigrants face when they come to America and how people who are “different” from others may face struggles. These struggles can come from physical attributes or language. Oleg tells Ahmed that every person who faces these challenges needs to find a motivation to push them forward. They need to focus on the now and who they are in that moment in order to succeed.

Najla immigrated to the US from Syria nearly sixty years ago. Najla talks with Ahmed about her journey, acclimating to Fort Wayne, making connections, and what it was like being in the "Indiana Tech Wives Club."

Ahmed is a Palestinian who spent his childhood in Qatar before immigrating to the US shortly before the September 11th attacks. Ahmed talks about his journey, the concept of identity, and why these kinds of conversations are necessary.