Alma | Mexico | 2002
My name is Alma. I immigrated from Mexico with my family to the US. I was 5 years old. We landed in Chicago and then made our way to Louisville, KY. Our other relatives lived in Kentucky. I am now 26 years old and recently got my permanent residency. Back to THREADS
Carla | Brazil | 1989
Carla was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She immigrated to the US in 1989. She is a retired attorney who has lived on four continents and several American cities before settling in St Louis in 2011.
She loves the peacefulness of her home in Chesterfield, where she enjoys painting, cooking, and spending time with her family and friends. Back to THREADS
Anna | Russia | 2001
I was born in Moscow, Russia in 1980. Grew up as a Soviet child, I never traveled outside of the country until my high school years - when the USSR collapsed and Russian Federation became a democratic state (as history shows, not for long). Won a scholarship to pursue Master's in the United States (equivalent to winning a lottery). Arrived in 2001 to the University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Completed a PhD after that and call Iowa my home. Back to THREADS
Ricardo | Mexico | 2003
I left Mexico age 28. I walked twelve days in the desert. I lived five days on a ranch in California where they were trafficking more than people. I rode in a van for six days dropping people all over the US before reaching Chicago. Now have a good career in a restaurant and a 13-year-old daughter in St. Louis. Back to THREADS
Sangam | Nepal | 2016
I grew up in the eastern plains of Nepal among rice and mustard fields. My father was a village clinician who inspired me to serve others as a nurse and join the military. As a first responder during the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal, I was eager for change and encountered young love. I moved to Minnesota where I became a mother to two daughters and married a wonderful man. I continue to work as a nurse. Back to THREADS
Julie | Scotland | 1985
I was born on Jan 26, 1958, in Scotland to parents with Scottish, Irish, English, and Indian ancestry. My father, like many men in his family before him, was a Drum Major in the Gordon Highlander Pipe Band, a regiment of the Scottish Military. Because of his service, we lived in Germany, Africa, Gibraltar, Scotland. Most of my young life was spent in Scotland.
I met my future husband, Kevin McCollum, a member of the US Air Force in 1982 while he was stationed in Fraserburgh, Scotland. A year later he was reassigned to San Antonio, Texas, and wanted me to join him. I was reluctant to leave my homeland.
A year later he asked me to visit. While in Texas we got engaged and I returned to Fraserburgh. It took a year to go through our mutual embassies and for me to complete medical and paper procedures to get a visa to come to the United States. We were married on Flag Day in 1985. I became a US citizen in 1994, proudly earning my right to vote. Back to THREADS
Gustave | Sweden | 1877
He was born in 1853 in Lesjofors, Sweden. At age 25 in 1877 he immigrated to Madison, Kansas. In 1881 he began a 30-year career with the Santa Fe Railroad – first as a pattern-maker, then rose to Chief Locomotive Draftsman.
He worked in both Topeka and Chicago and was one of the first members of the Swedish Engineers Society founded in Chicago 1907. He died in 1917 leaving a wife and 4 children. Back to THREADS
Amjad | Pakistan
I came to the United States at the age of 40 from Pakistan with my family (my wife, 2 daughters, and 6-month-old son). The decision was mine and my wife's. We felt like we needed a better life for our children. It was tough at first, but all I cared about was that I am here now. I knew, even though I was an engineer, I had no future for my kids in Pakistan due to extreme corruption and a broken education system. I am 65 now, on my way to retirement. But my children are in good positions; my older daughter is a Chemical Engineer, my middle daughter is a Medical Doctor, and my son is an IT engineer. My dream and vision 40 years ago was that the United States of America is the land of opportunity. That dream is almost fulfilled. Thanks, America. Back to THREADS
Bisa | Bosnia | 1998
After years of civil war in the country that I was born in: Bosnia and Herzegovina together — my family and I immigrated to the United States in 1998. Years later, I became a US citizen. Lack of English language did not allow me to continue my career that I went to school for. In time I learned the language and started working with people that needed help and care. I continue to be a professional care giver. My children have their own families and I enjoy watching my four grandchildren grow and become their own people.
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Rosendo | El Salvador | 1989
In 1979 I arrived in the United States from El Salvador, escaping the civil war. I was 20 years old and a student activist protesting against the government. The army and the police reacted with violence against the students; my life was threatened. I told my mom that I needed to leave. I was supposed to go to Mexico City and then come back; that never happened until many years later.
I crossed the border in San Luis Rio Colorado, then headed to LA. I remember being with the coyotes and seeing a room full of passports from all over the world. We burned our passports and left. I had a sister in Brooklyn – I went and stayed with her for a summer working packing potatoes. After that I went to Chicago to play soccer. I also worked construction breaking rocks in the cold winter. Then, one of my coworkers helped me find a job in a bakery, an inside job. After a while I moved up into research and development. Around this time I met my wife, Pamela; we raised three daughters in Chicago.
Since I was a boy I was told that I had a don, which in English means a gift from god. I have (so I am told) an innate ability to feel a body and sense where the pain is. I went to massage school to become a massage therapist. After moving our family to Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1996, I was able to start my own practice. I am now a small business owner,. I have my own massage therapy clinic. I deal mostly with people who have chronic pain. I am grateful for all that we have and the good life we have made for ourselves. Back to THREADS
Jackie | Belgium | 1996
I moved to the US in 1995 to do a post doc in cancer research at Stanford University. I was planning on only staying a few years before going back to Belgium but I fell in love with the diversity in the Bay Area in terms of culture, ethnicities, religions and kindness of the people. San Francisco being the Mecca of homosexuality, I was able to do my coming out and finally be comfortable with who I was. I felt home here. Back to THREADS
Carol | Canada | 1959
I was born at Sarnia Ontario Canada in 1959. I lived my first 3 years in London, UK while my Dad was doing his PhD then back to Ontario. I went to Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario, finishing my BFA in 1981.
In 1985 I moved to London UK for my husband’s post-doctoral fellowship. I received an Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation award which allowed me to keep painting and not to have a job. First child born there. 1989 to Vancouver British Columbia. 2nd child born. In 1992 we moved to St Louis for my husband to work at Washington University. We became Americans in 2004. I remember and practice what the judge said to us at the ceremony which was: The importance of always doing the right thing. I really felt like a foreigner for many many years. People in the US never thought of us as being foreigners so it was only our own hangup.
In 1999 I started courses at Fontbonne and finished my MFA in 2010. Now we are living and working in Florida during the winter and in Ontario during the summer. We love living in both countries. Back to THREADS
Elia | Cuba | 1999
I moved from Cuba in 1999. I met my husband Stuart there, we fell in love and he asked me to be his wife and move to Cleveland.
I was a pediatric neurologist in Cuba. I had to do my training again after I move to USA but after all that hard work, I now provide medical care for children with rare disease and epilepsy. I live and work in Cleveland, Ohio. Back to THREADS