Camille’s Migration Story

From the Alps to the Big Apple

For generations my ancestors resided and prospered in Switzerland, with no intentions of leaving their beautiful, nature-oriented homeland at any point during their lifetimes. My parents, Adrian and Ursula Studer and my sister, Dominique, were the first ones in our family’s history to break this seemingly endless trend and venture outside of Switzerland. On June 2^nd, 1992, my parents and Dominique boarded a plane in Zurich, Switzerland and headed towards New York, USA. Credit Suisse, the company my father worked for, had offered him an exceptional job opportunity in New York City. Willing and ready to travel across the world, my father, mother and sister set off and eventually rented out a condominium in Ossining, New York, since it was more affordable than living in New York City.

In comparison to Switzerland, the cost of living in America was substantially cheaper, allowing my parents to buy new luxuries, including their first car. Due to the close resemblance between American and Swiss lifestyles, my parents easily assimilated into their new country and did not experience any feelings of annoyance, alienation and angst that accompany ‘culture shock’. The only barrier that existed for my mother and sister was the difference in languages. Even though they only had a very basic knowledge of English when they arrived, they picked up the complexities and syntax with certain ease.

On August 23^rd 1993, I, Camille Ashley Studer, was born as an American and Swiss citizen. Realizing that the condominium was now too small for the four of us, my parents, sister and I moved to a new house in Yorktown Heights. Similar to Ossining, Yorktown was a dynamic, multicultural town with no dominant race or religion overriding the others. The house was ideal for our family until December 23^th, 1994, when my brother, Maurice Studer, was born. Once again, our growing family packed up their belongings and trekked down to a quaint neighborhood known as Thornwood, in Westchester County. Unlike Ossining and Yorktown, Thornwood is much closer in proximity to New York City and considerably lessened my father’s commute to work. However, it is much less diverse than the two previous towns we resided in, with a high Caucasian population. New York City, on the other hand, the place where my dad works and I study, is extremely diversified and full of unique cultural experiences.

Recently, in 2010, after eighteen years in the States, my parents and sister proudly became US citizens. Whether or not we will remain in the United States in the future is unknown, but my family and I will always appreciate this country’s open-minded attitude, complex diversity and the wonderful opportunities it has provided. As President Barack Obama boldly stated, “there is not a liberal America and a conservative America – there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America – there’s the United States of America.”