-
Macaulay Honors College
at Baruch, Spring 2011Professor Els de Graauw
ITF Emily Sherwood -
Authors
▪ Alyssa Alicino
▪ Brandon Baksh
▪ Ru Xiao Chen
▪ Belinda Chiu
▪ Els de Graauw
▪ Becca Glickman
▪ Elisabeth Greenberg
▪ Doris Hu
▪ Peky Huang
▪ Toby Joseph
▪ Haesol Jun
▪ Nika Kartvelishvili
▪ Farrukh Khan
▪ Holly Kiang
▪ Julian Kipnis
▪ Kar Yi Lim
▪ Yang Lin
▪ Cait McCarthy
▪ Sofya Moshkovich
▪ Mariya Tuchinskaya
▪ Ying Zhang Login
To login, click here.
God Bless America
Ivan came to American at the age of 15 from St. Petersburg, Russia. He is now 47 years old, has a family, and works as a freelance computer programmer. When asked whether or not he considered himself an American patriot, Ivan replied:
Yes, I would even go to the army if needed. This country adopted my family. It took us in as her own. No one was obligated to help us, but they did. I owe this country the life that I have now and it is better than the life I had in Russia. I am indebted to this country.”
Rock the Vote
Ivan came to America at the age of 15 from St. Petersburg, Russia. He is now 47 and an American citizen, has a family, and works as a freelance computer programmer. When asked whether or not he thought he had integrated into U.S. society and whether he maintained ties with his native country, Kevin responded (partly translated from Russian):
I cannot complain. I have a job. I work. I have friends. I try to stay informed about the news and I vote in the presidential elections. [I like to be part of] a little bit of both [cultures], I guess.”
It’s Friday Night, and I Just Got Paid
Ivan came to American at the age of 15 from St. Petersburg, Russia. He is now 47 years old, has a family, and works as a freelance computer programmer. Here, Ivan commented on how his parents found their first jobs in America and how he was hired to work fresh out of college (translated partly from Russian):
First, my dad was a laborer and my mother was a clerk. Then he got a job as a engineer. The Jewish non-for-profit organization NYANA helped my parents, they worked with many immigrants. [When I was graduating from college] there was recruitment after college and I was offered a job with IBM. I had to leave NYC and move upstate. After that I started freelancing and changed companies many times.”
Religious Discrimination in Russia
Ivan came to America at the age of 15 from St. Petersburg, Russia. He is now 47, has a family, and works as a freelance computer programmer. When asked if life in America was difficult for a new immigrant he replied (translation from Russian):
No… life was difficult in Russia, where I had to go to school everyday and try not to get beat up. Where I had problems with anti-Semitic teachers. Here life was not difficult. Just took some work.”
Learning Your A,B,C’s
Ivan came to America at the age of 15 from St. Petersburg, Russia. He is now 47, has a family, and works as a freelance computer programmer. When talking about his English language skills, Ivan told me (translated from Russian):
I did not speak English [when I came to the US]. I was learning French in school, in Russia. […] No, I did not take [English] classes. The year we came here, that summer I went to work in a camp and I picked up the language. Yes, of course, [by interacting with other people] and then school solidified and expanded on what I learned.”
How to Pack up Your Entire Life and Move to America
Ivan came to American at the age of 15 from St. Petersburg, Russia. He is now 47 years old, has a family, and works as a freelance computer programmer. When asked what he and his family knew before coming to the United States, Ivan commented (he replied in Russian):
I didn’t know much. [My parents knew] what they heard on the “Voice of America” radio, which was actually forbidden. Then people would get together and talk about what they knew. No they never said that [the streets were paved with gold]. Sometimes letters from the U.S. would actually make it to people, this was rare, because people were scared to mail them, because mail was screened. Then people would get together and share the information especially among the circle of people that was interested in immigrating. [This information included] what to bring with you if you left. Then how people live, how they go to school.”
