English School to American Bound

By in Asian Immigration, Immigrant NYC

Priyanka Trivedi – Indian Immigrant turned American Hip Hop enthusiast/Nurse By Kelsey Brown, Wagner College 15′ If it wasn’t for a little sorority called Tau Kappa Sigma I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of meeting my dear friend and sister Priyanka Trivedi, an Indian immigrant turned Wagner College student turned Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurse. But believe me Pri as she is fondly called didn’t always start out in this direction. She was born in a small village in India outside of a major city. Her family being rather large struggled to maintain a well off lifestyle and although both of her parents had masters degrees they constantly struggled to better themselves. She was raised by her very educated parents and had the privilege of attending a English-Medium school growing up. Although this English school provided her with a basis for a good education...

In the Time of the Monarch Butterfly

By in Immigrant NYC, Latin American Immigration

Mexican Migrant Push/Pull Factors By Julia Zenker Wagner College ’14 Philosophy and Spanish “After being here for twenty-five years, yes, I feel like an American”, commented Juana during an interview about her experience as an immigrant (Juana interview). Juana, an undocumented Mexican immigrant crossed the US-Mexican border more than twenty-five years ago. With her two young sons in tow, Juana describes how she was able to contract a coyote to help her make the trek. In search of work, Juana’s husband, a gardener, had relocated to the United States four months prior to Juana’s trip north. Juana’s husband eventually found work among the approximate 319,263 Mexicans in the New York Metropolitan area and the 18,684 on Staten Island (Young 1).The couple had decided that there was no need for the family to be separated when the children could receive a...

Honoring World War II Veterans

By in European Immigration, Holocaust

Staten Island in World War II WWII Veteran John Byrnes of Staten Island, New York discusses his dramatic and tragic experiences as a U.S. Navy Gunner in the Pacific Theater, notably the horror of the USS Franklin attack in the Battle of Okinawa. Interview with Lori Weintrob, Wagner College, March 2013 for the Staten Island Holocaust Commemoration and Honoring of WWII Veterans.        

Huguenot Staten Island

By in NYC History, Staten Island History

Vive Staten Island !: Huguenot settlers and other French connections Please do not cite without permission. This is a work in progress.  Further research on the Huguenot history of Staten Island has been commissioned by the New York Geneological and Biographical Society and will be available on their website in late 2013.  A Special thanks to Peter Kerr for his support and encouragement of this research project. Lori R. Weintrob, Professor and Chair, History Department Wagner College, Staten Island (LRWeintro@wagner.edu) 718-390-3309 Introduction The poet Henry David Thoreau, who lived for a time on Staten Island, wrote imaginatively of the Huguenots’ early settlement two centuries earlier: The hills in the interior of [Staten] Island, though comparatively low, are penetrated in various directions by sloping valleys,…gradually narrowing and rising in the centre, and at the head of...

Pakistani Immigration: Transnationalism

By in Immigrant NYC, Middle Eastern Immigration, Uncategorized

Transnationalism By Kevin Ferreria, Wagner College ’13 “Islam teaches [us that] what country you live in, you should support them. . . . See, if I live in America, I have to support America.” Many Muslim Pakistani immigrants struggle with their identify, negotiating their transnational lives, split between Pakistan and the United States of America, their “model” minority status and the constant suspicion they face as Muslims within post 9/11 United States. The first wave of Southeast Asian immigration began with the 1965 passage of the Immigration Act, which drew upper class, highly educated immigrants entering on professional and technical visas. In 1980, the “second” wave of Southeast Asian immigration began, changing from professional and technical visa entry to the majority entering through family reunification visas. As the first wave began to take root, creating...