Browse Items (54 total)

Niccolo Roditti, who was born in 1996 in Guayaquil, Ecuador and moved to the U.S. at age three, is the Assistant Director of the LGBTQ Youth Center of Durham, part of the LGBTQ Center of Durham. Niccolo discusses conflicts and other intersections of queerness and traditional Ecuadorian culture. In addition to describing the experiences of queer…

Born in Guatemala but raised in Siler City, North Carolina, Hannia Benítez currently serves her local communities as Deputy Director at El Vínculo Hispano/The Hispanic Liaison’s office in Lee County and as Chair of Siler City’s Immigrant Community Advisory Committee (ICAC). Hannia shares her foundational experiences, including the need to be her…

Katelyn Robalino is a Community Connections Coordinator for the Affordable Housing and Community Connections Department at the Town of Chapel Hill. She was first interviewed by New Roots in 2013 when she was a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill; this 2023 interview is an update on her journey, the various professional roles she has held, and lessons…

Rebecca Heines, better known as Becca, recalls her experience on her class trip to Guanajuato in March of 2018 as part of APPLES Global Course Guanajuato (GLBL 390 Latin American Immigrant Perspectives). She explains how various factors influence education in Trancas compared to students in North Carolinian schools. Becca also discusses how her…

The interviewee, Emily Bivins, is the principal of Frank Porter Graham Elementary (101 Smith Level Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516), the district’s Dual Language magnet school. She was born in Richmond, Virginia but has lived in the central part of North Carolina for most of her life. She grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but moved to Alamance…

Jose Luis Arzola discusses his experience as a migrant in the United States, and his active effort to advocate for and address struggles that the migrant community faces in North Carolina. Arzola reflects how he dreamed of living in the United States ever since he was a child and how he left his life behind in Mexico in order to chase this dream…

Brian Riefler shares experiences from his life while growing up in Buffalo, New York, and how his family helped shape him into the man he is today. After high school graduation Brian took a gap year in order to complete a community service program in Ecuador. He shares how his experience abroad sparked his interest in immigration and on how it…

Ariana discusses her family history with a Panamanian father and black mother, with her and her siblings being classified as Afro-Latino/a(s). She discusses the factors that contributed towards shaping her identity as Afro-Latina: community, family, scholar-hood, and traveling experiences. She shares memories that compare her experiences as being…

Ana discusses her and her family’s experiences across various countries including: Argentina, Africa, and England to illustrate how her experiences have shaped her opinions on race, identity, and home. She shares information on several influential family members and how their insight and experiences have contributed towards her personal…

Terrell Brown is a junior undergraduate student at UNC-Chapel Hill. He was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, but moved to Hendersonville, North Carolina at the age of two, and has lived there ever since. Brown discusses what makes Hendersonville home for him, describing his family, friends, faith, and community. He tells the story of exploring his…