Introduction

I met Ali about a year ago, when we became coworkers at a community college.  During his first weeks in the office he was quite and kept to himself for the majority of the time.  As I am his direct supervisor, I had many conversations with him throughout the days pertaining to work and also about his day to day routines.  We soon began to discuss his journey as an immigrant to the United States.  I quickly discerned that when we were discussing his home and religion he would get very animated and involved due to how important his home and religion have been in shaping his life as a resident of the United States.      

            When I asked him if I could interview him for this assignment for my Migration and Culture class he was delighted at the prospect and said “sure, just tell me when and where”.  We scheduled to meet the next Tuesday evening after work in the conference room of our building. 

            It had been a long stressful day of work in the office but we went into the conference room full of energy.  Ali began to share his life with me and I began to learn from him why his family had come to the United States.  The temperature in the large room was cold and quite as we sat and conversed.  The seriousness and joy in the atmosphere was felt by the two of us.  It was a perfect place to sit down and talk about his migration story.      

            About two hours into the interview we had to stop due to time and decided to continue the following night right after work again in the same conference room.  After the second session I had learned much about Ali and felt we had a better connection; something that we would not have accomplished if it were not for this project.  He had shared with me an amazing story, his personal journey to the United States; a story that voiced his families and his determination to succeed in life.  What I’ve learned through this research project is that for many immigrants, the hunger is greater than the fear, and in return the solution is to migrate and eventually to shine above all struggles……