作者：辛西娅·休伯特

2022年10月27日

作为传统墨西哥父母的孩子，戴安娜·麦地那用与许多美国同龄人不同的视角看世界。

“Our cultural experiences color the way we look at things,” said Medina, whose parents emigrated from Mexico to the United States before she was born. Growing up in Southern California, “I was Mexican in our home, and American outside of it,” she said.

10月28日星期五，麦地那和其他五个人将在博彩平台的舞台上分享有关移民生活的个人故事。

The public is invited to the free event, scheduled for 6-8 p.m. in the University Union’s Hinde Auditorium.

“Immigrant Stories” is a presentation of the nonprofit group Capital Storytelling, launched in 2018 by Lisa Cantrell, a 囊状态 associate professor of Child and Adolescent Development, and the Dreamer Resource Center, which serves undocumented students and their families.

• More about “Immigrant Stories” and Capital Storytelling

坎特雷尔说，研究表明，倾听个人故事可以让人们对难民、变性人、无家可归者和其他人产生更积极的看法。 Friday’s event will help storytellers process their immigrant experiences, offering the audience opportunities to better understand their backgrounds and interactions, she said.

“For the storyteller, it gives meaning to our experiences and helps us understand our lives,” Cantrell said. “For listeners, the stories create empathy. 你把这个人看作一个独立的个体，而不是刻板印象。 You care about them.”

萨克州立大学的研究生Ximena Ospina是10月28日的故事讲述者之一。

奥斯皮纳7岁时，她的家人通过政治庇护程序从哥伦比亚移民到加州。 虽然她的一些亲戚跟随他们来到了美国，但她想念自己的祖国，担心与自己的哥伦比亚身份脱节。

家人之间分享的故事让她脚踏实地。

“Listening to stories of the motherland kept me fueled and connected to home,” she said, even though she did not return to Colombia for many years.

“All of us are just trying to find home.”

坎特雷尔说，她希望通过讲故事的活动来帮助在萨克拉门托和其他地方培养同情和理解。

“The United States is so polarized right now,” she said. “I think storytelling can fix a lot of that.”

活动还将包括金伯利·戈麦斯（Kimberly Gomez）的故事，她是第一代墨西哥裔美国人，负责协调梦想家资源中心； 来自埃及的萨克州立大学学生南希·阿瓦德（Nancy Awad）； Meghna Bhat，一位在印度长大的教育家； 以及来自伊朗的萨克州立大学学生瓦希德·阿拉哈里。

Medina’s story will focus on the first time her father, who had little formal education, was able to help with her homework. 她上七年级，需要创作一个艺术项目。 Medina’s father, a woodworker, helped her build a Ferris wheel using Popsicle sticks.

“I will always remember it, because it was something he could help me with for school,” she said. “It was a tiny moment, but very meaningful for me.”

Cantrell 于2018年推出了Capital Storytelling with funding from 囊状态. 从那时起，她在全市举办活动、研讨会和课程，参加人数近4000人。

“Immigrant Stories” originally was scheduled for 2020, but the pandemic postponed plans.

“We didn’t revisit it until this year,” Cantrell said. “We really want it to be a space to elevate and amplify the identity of immigrants.”

梅迪纳说，她希望观众能够认识到，无论他们的背景如何，人们都可以在他们的经历中找到共同点。

“I hope that they will find little bits and pieces of themselves in the stories that they hear,” she said.