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My father immigrated to the United States from Hungary during the Communist Revolution. He first fled to Italy, then to Israel, and finally arrived in America after taking a huge ship. He spoke Hungarian, Hebrew, & English fluently. He was so proud to be an American and thought it was the greatest country in the world.

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My father immigrated to the United States from Hungary during the Communist Revolution. He first fled to Italy, then to Israel, and finally arrived in America after taking a huge ship. He spoke Hungarian, Hebrew, & English fluently. He was so proud to be an American and thought it was the greatest country in the world.

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Flag of Hungary

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My Great grandparents were both born in Italy. They had my grandpa there too and after they had him, they moved to America and thats where my grandpa met my grandma. My great grandpa was born in Sicily.

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My great grandparents where born in Italy and the country of Sicily. I am Cambrian but im not sure there names or how they got here to the U.S. but I know I am 75% Sicilian.

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Ever since I was little, every Sunday my family makes pizza from scratch and we eat it and watch football.

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My dads mom is from Peru she came to America right before she had my dad and his siblings. My Dads , dad is Italian but i don't know if he immigrated or his parents did. Both of my grandparents from my moms side are Italian . My grandpas side is from Northern Italy and my Grandmas side is from southern Italy.

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My dad and mom moved to america but they were in mexico first then they met so they moved in to america and they got a home and had me.

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my grandma was born is havannah.

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I'm Norwegian on my mom's side as my Great Great Great Grandpa lived in Norway.

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My grandparents came from El Salvador and then my dad was born and then my mom came from Guatemala and then my mom and dad got married and had me.so thats how i came here

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my great grandma immigrated to the U.S when she was 2 years old.
my grandpa on my mom's side was from Germany

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I grew up in the Philippines... I lived their for 8 years till I had to move to U.S. It was a big cultural change for me. It was very different, the things I had here in the U.S. I would probably not own it in The Philippines. I grew up in a poverty community. I'm so grateful to be able to live in a nice country and have nice things! Once every year, my mom delivers these boxes called "Balikbayan Box" and inside are things that most people can't get in the Philippines. It makes me so happy to see their happy smiles when they receive stuffs that they would probably not own ever. My mom always tells me to look back to where I came from and always be grateful for the things you have <333

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My great great grandma was born in Poland so im part polish.

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Some of my family is a bit Italian but my family is mostly Spanish. Its my mom that's a bit Italian but my dad is Spanish

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I don't know much about my heritage but I do know that my dads side is Polish and Italian. My moms side is Italian, they are from Sicily and Naples. Neither my mom or dad speak any Italian.

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i don't know who in my family is from Italy  but i do know that i am like 90% Italian.

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My parents were born in the US. My grandma is italian. I don't know much about the other parts of my family.

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My grandfather Pietro was born in Sicily and came here with his 7 brothers when he was around 7 years old. He is my moms dad is where I get all of my italian heritage. he sadly passed away from Covid-19 last year.

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Both of my grandmas were 100% italian and my great great grandpa came from calabria which borders sicily.

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my family is from Italy. we are from the southern part. we come from Sicily

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sicily is cool! thats were im from! they have the most FANTASTIC CULTURE! I LOVE SICILY??!!

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My dad is italian and my mom is a little bit german

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my moms side of the family is italian and my dads side of the family is irish my great grandparents were born in sicily and immigrated to america

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My great grandpa and grandma came from Italy and Italian foods and traditions have been carried down!!!!!!!??????!!!!!!!!!!

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my moms side comes from Poland and Italy

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My father is puerto rican and my mother is irish and italian. I am surrounded by my mothers side so I am used to all the italian cultures, and traditions. My grandfather is Italian so he brings everything into the family!

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My mom and Dad was born in America. My great grandma on my Dads side was hispanic, my grandma was mixed and my dad is black ig. My great grandparents and grandparents on my moms side is carribean (guyana). My aunts and uncles on my moms side is all caribean.

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My dad side of the family is it Italian polish Ukrainian and dutch. My mom side of the family is Irish and that is all i know

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My grandpa was drafted into WW2. He had fight in many of the wars. When he got back home, he wasn't able to hear very well. He had a bunch of flashbacks and nightmares about the war. He still doesn't have great hearing but he doesn't have anymore flashbacks.

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My mom is half Italian and half Irish
My dad is half Polish and half Italian

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So i know that my Dads side it italian and from sylicali but i dont know that much else all i know is that i trying to find more info about my herritage but im still lost in the dark.

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My father is 100 percent italian and is obsessed with his heritage. He had a very strong connection with my great grandparents! My great grandfather Loved playing cards with my father and my great grandmother loved to cook and she was very organized! My Great Great Grandparents Came to the US from italy. We're still not sure exactly where they're from but we believe they came from Venice. My Great Great grandfather was in the military during the war when he was 18 (because it was a priority!) And my great great grandmother stayed at home. My mother on the other hand Is Irish, German, and British. She had a wonderful connection with my grandmother before she passed away sadly. She loved to teach me and my mother how to create beautiful drawings, she loved puzzles and learning new techniques! My Grandfather likes to do handywork. (I know I dont have any information about older ancestors but my family doesnt know much about them!!) Thank you to listening and have a nice day!

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my family is italian, im 4th generation italian so my great great grandma used to live in italy. Im also 3rd generation russian and 2nd generation french. My moms side of the family really inherates the italian part.

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On my moms side i'm Irish and Polish. On my dads side i'm Irish and German. I don't really know much about my families heritage.

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So my mom is from Atlanta, Georgia and my dad is from Tampa Bay, Florida. I have no idea how I ended up in Long Island but here I am. My dad is Indian so is my grandfather and my grandmother is puerto rico and african american . My mother is African american with some other things in her but My great grandmother was Puerto rican, African American and Italian. Now when I say italian I don't mean lived there, can make pasta from scratch or any of the sorts. In some of the words she said you could hear a little accent but nobody knew if it was the puerto rican in her or italian. Her grandmother was from Positano. Now my dad on the other hand takes his religion ( He's muslim ) Very seriously. We bump heads alot because He thinks I shouldv'e took spanish so I could inherit my grandmother more or because I still enjoy bacon and use deodorant instead of the oils he buys me every christmas LOL.I try to tell him my name ( Edeejah ) compliments his religion alot but he wants me to care more about my grandmother! I persoanlly think both sides is beautiful, The language Italian is beautiful and I cant wait to visit Italy.

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my great grandfather came to America from Italy and joined the army only for a couple months after that went back to Italy and came back my grand father and my great uncle were born in Brooklyn and i got to meet my great grandmother a lot but only met my great grand father 2 .

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All I know is that both of my grandparents are from Sicily. They went to the same school , but never talked to each other. When they were around 10 years old, they both moved to America, going on the same ship the same ship. Talk about destiny! Then it would be around 10 years later before they meet up, get married and have children.

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If im being honest, i really dont know much about my family heritage. I know my race and all but not the heritage if this makes any sense.

My apologies if this bores you or doesnt make any sense whatsoever.</3

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My mom is from Colombia. She learned English and moved to the US to be with her (Ex-)Husband. He was a horrible person but he was "friends" with my dad. They broke up and my mom and dad started dating. They had me and then got married. She moved back here to be with my dad after that. I was born there and her side of the family mostly live there and don't speak English.

My great grandpa (dad's side) came here with his dad from Italy and they had a small farm once my grandpa was born. My grandpa speaks Italian and he and my grandma have been to Italy a few times.

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I never really ask my grand parents where we came from cause it never really crossed my mind so i really dont know where my family is from or anything like that.

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My dad is 100% Italian but my mom is mostly Irish but has a little bit Cuban and a tiny bit german

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I know im mostly Cuban from my 2x great grandfather who came here somewhere between 1865 and 1895 and im part Panamanian. That is just on my dad side. While my moms side which is the side im most confused about but I know im part German,part Irish and part Native american

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my whole life my parents have always told me about past generations. my grandma on my dad's side came here around the age of 14-16 from Ireland and ended up losing contact with her parents. this makes my dad to be 1st generation Irish and me and my sister to be 2nd generation. on my mom's side, my great-grandparents both came from a small town Italy, but i'm not sure where. they both came here from the same place but never met until they were introduced through a mutual friend in America. they wanted their children to be able to at least understand Italian but to also be able to speak English. my grandma was the youngest of 6 kids and her and her siblings all understood Italian but couldn't speak it very well, they only knew the basics. my grandma passed away almost two years ago, but her side of family and she herself continues to stay with us. our family has always been documenting things without know we would keep the tradition. we continue to document our lives and moments that we want to last for a long time.

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I'm both Irish from my dad, and Italian from my mom. Both of these cultures are from my great grandparents. They both fought in world war 2 and both got captured in a concentration camp and both got out safe. My great great grandmother was from Sicily and was born their. She and my great great grandfather moved to the U.S to Brooklyn and had my great grandmother named Anna. She could speak fluent Italian, but my grandfather could not. Because of this, my great grandmother would speak Italian when she didn't want him to hear the conversation. as of now, most of my family is Italian Irish.

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My great grandparents from my moms side came here from Naples,Italy and my grandmother on my dads side arrived here from Quito,Ecuador. I'm 75% Italian and 25% Spanish.

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My father was born and raised in italy until he was 6 years old and then moved to America where he met my mother

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hi

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i have heritage from europe (italy; germany;  yugoslavia; ireland/scotland), canada, and mexico. genuinely can't remember all the european countries.

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my great grandma was adopted but her parents were from Italy her adopted parents lived in America then my grandparents were from Iriland so my mom is Irish and Italian and my dad was Irish Italian but mostly Greek.

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I am from El Salvador and Honduras but was born in America. My mom was also born here but both her parents, my grandparents were both born in el savador and came through trains and land. my grandpa when he was a teen and my grandma when she was 8. My dad was born in honduras and came to america with his 13 year old cousin while he was 15. and stayed with is uncle while over here.

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on my moms side is fully polish my grandparents met in Poland and two week later got married. after a little while in Poland they wanted to start a new life in america so they did they bought a house started a small cleaning company and had their first child my mom over the years they had two more kids my aunts. after my moms many years here she met my dad and 12 years later got married and after 3 kids i was finally born half polish.

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I'm Italian and my ancestors are from Italy. I do Italian because I want to learn how my ancestors spoke and my mom did Italian and brother does Italian too.

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My grandpa on my dads side is 100% Italian and my great grandma on my moms side was too. My dad is 50% Irish and 50% Italian. My mom is 50% Italian 25% German and 25% French Canadian. so that makes me Italian,German,French canadian and irish.

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My family migrated from El Salvador My dad  came here in a flight and then my mom came here on land

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My family migrated from El Salvador My dad  came here in a flight and then my mom came here on land

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my family is from ilaty and ireland and my dad side all served in the force and my moms side were big biliousness man and dont really know a lot more

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My moms dad came from Mexico and met my grandma in Florida. My dads family is Norwegian polish and Italian. I'm really just a big mix of a whole bunch of things.

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I don't know much but what I do know is that I'm 100 percent Italian from both sides of my family. My Grandpa Is from Montesarchio Italy.

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my dads side of the family is from peru. i sadly never met some of that family but some of them still live there so hopefully i can go and meet them soon. i wanted to learn ab our family more and wish to !

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My dad's side came from Puerto Rico and from Russia via. Poland. There's people with my last name in Pennsylvania for some reason. Idk why lol. Anyways yeah thats my story

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I don't know much about my family heritage. All I know is that my Dad's side is Italian and my Mom's side is English. Also, I'm mostly Italian with a bit of English blood in my veins. My last name is Italian for castle. It even sounds Italian!
-V

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my moms side is from italy my grandpas grandparents are from italy they fully speack italian and didnt teach my mom so i decided to learn more about our culture

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My family is from Europe in a small country called basque.  All of the kids, grand kids who are age appropriate have been getting tattoos of our last name Uruburu right above the flag and country. Its just a small tradition our family does I would like to get a small tattoo like that myself one day.

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My parents and grandparents were both born in America. My Great grandparents on my dads side were born in Germany. My dad is 100% german. My mom is a bunch of different backgrounds, mostly French, Irish, and Italian. My grandpa knows some italian from his parents.

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My family tree was here from the beginning to the end in America and we have been here for generations and generations.

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my father immgrated here from honduras and its hard sometimes growing up i would have to translate for him and i would teach him words too now i dont have to so much but here and there im proud of my dad for how far he has come since its not uncommon for immgrants to get taken advantage off since they cant speak english well

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As a young Hispanic girl there's 2 days you dream of when you are little. There's your wedding day.. but more importantly there is your 15th birthday, your Quinceañera! Growing up my mom would always talk about her party, she grew up in a small town in Mexico and basically the whole town was invited to her birthday. She wore a beautiful dress that her aunts and mother worked on for months and have the night of her dreams under the twinkling lights. A Quince represents when a girl is transitioning into a young woman. There are many traditions and ceremonies that occur during this celebration. For example, the parents of the quinceañera will girl her "the last doll" to signify a farwell to her childhood. One of the most important ceremonies is a changing of shoes when the father( or father figure) will switch his daughters shoes from a flat (in my case converse) to a heel to represent going from a girl to a lady followed by a father daughter dance. This tradition has been part of Mexican and Hispanic culture for a very long time, therefore the significance evolves over time. However it will always be this coming of age event. In my case, my mother wanted my celebration to be very grand, because she did not have as many opportunities in Mexico in the 1980's as I did in New York in 2015. I had a big dress, beautiful venue and so many family and friends that were able to attend from all over the world. I followed many traditions and added a few of my own but I was very happy to carry on a beautiful tradition from my cultural. (and it was the best party of the year). Sweet 16's are amazing but having my quince will always be a special memory.

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growing up i never really thought about my familys immgration story but doing this activity it makes me really think about it and make me want to go home and ask my mom about how my family got here . Ive been told that my family comes from Ponce and somewhere else in Puerto Rico.

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Both sides of my family have similar origins. My mother’s and father’s families have Irish and French heritage. Both sets of my grandparents were born in the United States and lived through the Great Depression in New York. My mothers parents married in 1929 and my father’s parents married in 1934. Also, the men on both sides of their families had similar professions. Bankers, Police Officers, Firefighters, and Military officers. My grandparents loved music and spending time at the beach with family.

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February 1913, my grandfather was born in Bari, Italy and lived there until he was 5. Due to violence, social unrest, and poverty, his parents decided to immigrate to America for a better life. They took a 10 day journey by boat to Ellis Island and settled in an Italian community in Brooklyn, NY. He learned English quickly and would translate for his parents who never learned to speak English.  He was so proud to live in America so much so that he didn't want to teach his children Italian and unfortunately, the language was lost with his generation. My brothers and I chose to study Italian in school as a way of keeping our heritage alive. As a family, we traveled to Italy to see the place of his birth and visit family that still live there. Today, our Italian culture is most strongly expressed through food and holiday traditions.
~ Sra. Schuster

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On my dads side one of my ancestors came to america on the mayflower from Ireland. My dads side also came from a native american group in Maine,Passamaquoddy. My moms side has some German and Irish/ Scottish genes.

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Both sides of my family came from southern Italy during the height of Italian immigration. After Italy unified in 1861, new government policies favored northern Italy and southern Italians were highly discriminated against. My paternal relatives came from small towns in Palermo, Sicily, and my maternal relatives from Carpino located in Puglia (back of the boot). My Great-Grandmother Concetta was born in 1891 and passed away at 104 years old in 1996 when I was almost six years old, just shy of her 105th birthday. Concetta, like millions of immigrants before her, traveled on an ocean liner for weeks to make the journey to America. Many immigrants dreamed of the day when they would see the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor greeting them with open arms. Excitement filled the air, but also fear. Ellis Island, next to the Statue of Liberty, required immigrants to go through medical and legal inspections to see if they were fit to enter. One inspection included a buttonhook that was used to check eyelids for a disease called Trachoma. Concetta was found to have this eye disease and was sent all the way back to Italy, forcing her to make the journey twice (1911 and 1913). Settling in America at 21 years old, she married my Great-Grandfather, who she knew from her hometown. She had three children, including my Grandfather Aeneas, who is about to be 93 years old. In 1992, at 100 years old, she was interviewed by Ellis Island for a collection of oral histories. When I visited the Statue of Liberty a few years ago, I went to the archivist and inquired about the interview. I had heard all about this growing up but no one in my family had a copy. The archivist located the transcript and a 23-minute recording of the interview. It was an amazing find that I really appreciate having, especially now that I am older. When asked what she brought to America she laughed and stated she had not much to bring. When asked what she remembered about her hometown she responded “nothing, miseria, miseria”.

- Mrs. LoMeli

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Brooklyn, NY 1913 & 1916 my grandparents were both born to immigrant parents.  My grandmothers family came from Agrigento, Sicily and my grandfathers family came from right outside Palermo, Sicily.  They came from large families, where my grandfather was 1 of 12 siblings and my grandmother was 1 of 8.  Both of my grandparents grew up on the lower eastside in Tenement Buildings where they knew each other as children in the neighborhood.  Years past as they both grew up, surviving the Great Depression and working to help provide for their families.  My grandfather work as a shoe shiner and my grandmother in the factories sewing.  They both learned young the importance of family and hard work.  Many years had passed and all the neighborhood kids moved to other parts.  One afternoon, as young adults, both of my grandparents happened to be at the beach at Coney Island.  During that time Coney Island was a popular hang out for people to spend their time.  My grandmother was getting an ice cream, when she saw my grandfather, both of whom lived on the lower east side together.  This is where their story truly began.  It was from here that they rekindled their friendship and several years later had a "football wedding."  Football weddings are an Italian-American tradition that dates back to New York in the 1940s. At the time, only wealthy families could afford catered weddings; working-class couples, especially ones with large families, would host informal parties at home or at a casual hall after the ceremony.

My grandfather later was drafted where he served under General Patton, in WWII in the infantry division.  While in Germany, my grandfather served proudly as his bride was home, pregnant ready to give birth to what would be their first born son.  My grandfather would be serving overseas as his wife gave birth, where he met his son many months later.  In 1944, my grandfather was discharged and he returned home.  They established their home in Brooklyn, NY near the Bay Streets.  In 1946, their second child was born.

My grandparents grew up with a strong Italian- American heritage and culture.   Their parents were all proud to be part of American dream and raised their children with their love of their new country. However, they tried their best to maintain as many traditions as possible.  Family recipes have been passed down generation to generation, and a strong tie to our Italian-American roots still runs strong in our family.  3 generation later, I have learned myself recipes of  how to make the family sauce or meatballs from my Aunt Rosalie.  Old recipes that were taught and passed down to us.  We still love to get our large family together, made of endless cousins, and family get togethers.  As years pass, I try myself to keep these traditions alive so that my kids will know their family and their history.  All immigrants, coming from various parts of Italy.    -Sra. Favorito

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My great great grandparents are from Ukraine. In 1910, my great great grandmother worked in a canning factory to put her husband through college to become a doctor.

On my other side of the family, my great great aunt survived the Titanic! She eventually made it over to the U.S. from Ireland. She got married here and had 5 children.

-Mrs. Pellegrini (Reisert)

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My father was the youngest of eight children. He was born on April 8, 1945. (However, due to some guidelines in Italy, they couldn't register his birthdate until April 15). We are from a small town, Provincia di Avellino. In the early 1950's, my grandmother and grandfather decided it was time to move to the U.S. Some of my father's siblings decided to stay in Italy, as they were older and had already started to raise their families. There is so much I could say about their journey here but I want to focus on the object that means a lot to my family. Don't laugh, but when I think of an object, I think of a hammer. I know, it sounds crazy, but let me explain. As a young man, my father arrived in the US with his older brothers, one of his sisters and his parents. He lost his father, my grandfather at age 15. When he arrived here, he was 10 years old in the early 1950s and his peers made fun of his accent. He struggled through his school years to learn the langauge and never went to college. He did join the ARMY after high school and around that time met my mom, they were married soon after and then when my father was done with his time, they started their family.
My three uncles and  my father ALL worked in construction and their days were filled with hard physical labor. Without college educations, these men supported their families, they worked hard...very hard and literally broke their backs to provide for their wives and children. It is hard for me to talk about my father as many of my students know, I still suffer from his loss.
But the one thing I have learned, is the value of hard work. I am who I am because of him.

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My great grandfather Luigi had an amazing story. He married my great grandmother Maria and after their wedding, he was sent immediately to fight for the Italian side in WWII. My great grandmother found out that she was pregnant with my grandmother Anna, after he left. He was sent to Africa to fight and was captured by the British. He was sent to England and was held prisoner of war there for 7 years. At this time, he learned how to speak English but also has painful memories of what he experienced. My grandmother Anna was born in December and did not meet her father until she was 7 years old when the war finally ended. My great grandmother didn't know if my great grandfather would ever make it back to his family and they struggled to continue their lives after the war. My great grandparents had 4 more children and my grandmother (who was older than them) was a second mother to her siblings. My great grandfather was a supervisor for a construction company but he started to realize there was no future for his children in poor Calabria. He asked his brother in law to sponsor him so that he could come to America with his wife, and my father Giuseppe (who was only 15 at the time). My father left everything he knew, and arrived with his grandparents, his two uncles, and two aunts in 1975. They were sent to live with different family members. My father remembers sharing his room with his two uncles and going to his new high school, Grover Cleveland high school. Slowly, my family immigrated here and when my father was 25 years old, he went back to Italy, met my mother Maria Teresa and they decided that they would marry . The only reason this was allowed, is because my grandparents all knew each other and they were all from the same town. My great grandfather had to work odd jobs such as a graves keeper in the cemetery. He kept a diary and wrote about his everyday adventures. My aunt made copies of his diary and shared it with all of us. I was able to meet him and get to know him. He was a sweetheart and loved his family so much. The picture above is a diary entry he wrote about having Easter with his family. In his diary entry, he talks about how we all gathered at my grandma Anna's house for lunch and how joyful he felt that we were all together, kids, grandkids, great grandkids, happy, loving together. Every year, we celebrate our family and have our family picnic in memory of him! He would have been 102 years old this year.

Signora Brady

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My maternal great grandfather immigrated from Italy in 1895 at age 4 with his mother; my great-great grandfather had come over the year my grandfather was born to get a place to live and send money back.  My grandfather's first wife died in the influenza outbreak of 1919, so my grandmother went to live with relatives.  We do not know much about him except he Americanized his name from Yenni or Yanni to Young to find work more easily.

My paternal grandfather immigrated from, what was then, Czechoslovakia around 1910.  He was 15 years old and came alone.  My grandfather came through Ellis Island, where they told him his name was too hard to pronounce, so they changed it.  The custom of hanging bells on all the doors is one that my siblings and I follow to this day.

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My grandfather (Arthur) lived in small town Pennsylvania during the Great Depression. When he graduated high school, his mother gave him as a gift a one way train ticket to Manhattan and told him he needed to make his way on his own because they could no longer afford to feed and house him. At 17 years old, he now had to find a place to live, find a place to work, and find a way to feed himself all on his own. Life was not easy towards the end of the 1930's but in 1941 when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entered World War 2 he immediately enlisted in the army. He became an army cook and was sent oversees to France where he was stationed at base on the outskirts of Paris. One day on leave he decided to walk around a local town. He saw a young woman hanging clothes on a clothes line and immediately fell in love. He approached her and tried to ask her name but realized she only spoke French and he only spoke English. So determined to have a conversation he immersed himself day night learning the French language. In just about three months he was fluent enough to make his move. He found the young lady in the town and approached her. Impressed with his ability to speak French they soon began a courtship. Since France was ravaged by the Nazis at this time, many people there were hungry and barely surviving. My grandfather used his access to the kitchen to sneak food to this woman and her family.   By the time the war was over he had asked the young lady (Emilienne) to marry him and travel back with him to the United States. She agreed and that is the story of how my grandmother immigrated to this country. Today my oldest daughter carries on her name.

Mr. Mrose

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Ang aking Mama at Papa. (My mom and dad)

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My parents both grew up in the Philippines. My dad grew up in Pampanga and my mom grew up in the capital of the Philippines, Manila. They met through family friends, and got married at 21. Soon after my older brother was born, nurses began being recruited from the Philippines to work in America. My mom responded, and was given the choice to immigrate to either Maryland or New York. She chose New York, leaving my dad and brother behind. My dad was able to come to the US for a few months at a time, but couldn't immigrate himself with my brother and I for a while.

When we were all living in the US, we began the tradition of Balikbayan Boxes, which many Filipinos do that have family back home. Balikbayan's literal translation is "Back to Country." These are huge boxes that families in the US put together, filled with things that can't be bought or are too expensive for our family in the Philippines. We usually fill them with clothes, non-perishable foods, and electronics. Every year or so, we send several boxes to our family. It's a family event for us to put them together, and for them to open the boxes. It's a tradition that I plan to continue in the future, especially if my parents decide to move back to their home country after they retire.

~Ms. Pascual

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My parents are both immigrants from Guatemala. When my dad was 16, his mother (my grandmother) got diagnosed with cancer. In order to help pay for medical bills my dad dropped out of school and started to work. When he was 18 he decided to immigrate to the U.S. He got a job in Los Angeles, and would send all his money to help his mom. She passed away 3 years later and he went back to Guatemala for the funeral. He got married to my mom a year later and they both moved to New York. My brother, sister and I were born but then when I was 2 my mom's mother (my other grandmother) got sick and we moved to Guatemala. I lived in Guatemala from ages 2-6. When we moved back to New York, I was 6 years old and didn't know a lot of English and had to learn the language when I was in 1st grade. My parents have always stressed the power of education, their sacrifices and being bilingual. I love being able to visit Guatemala now, and seeing where I spent some of my childhood and where my parents grew up.

~Ms. Garcia

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My second generation Polish grandparents on my fathers side were both from very large farming families here on Long Island. Both born to immigrant parents; My grandmother was a proud Valedictorian of her graduating class, a unique accomplishment for a women in 1945. She was one of 15 children in her family, often times being asked to miss school to care for her younger siblings or tend to chores on the family farm. She is still alive today at 95 and still cooks and prepares a traditional holiday meal for our very, very large immediate family of 40 with no help, from scratch. She is still very active as the Matriarch of our family and doesn’t let age hold her back from living life to the fullest. My grandfather was the 4th son in his family of 17 children and also was relied on for chores on the family potato farm. While he doesn’t have exceptional academic accomplishments to note, he was a superior athlete and a jack-of-all-trades. He went on to become a firefighter before becoming the Commissioner for his local fire department, as well as the head of the highway departments mechanic division. However, his love for farming never left his heart. In his retirement years he was often volunteering his time to work the sod farms out East of his home, as his love for tractors never faded. Among all things that were important to my grandparents was their Polish culture which  placed a large emphasis on pride in their large family, community service and a strong work ethic.  The Polish language was lost with both of their parents generation as they felt that assimilation was most important for their children to succeed in America. However, Polish traditions, culture and pride was still very important to our family. For me, the first granddaughter, being born in the summer was always interesting as most of my birthdays included items from the Riverhead Polish Fair which always happened to fall around my birthday. So the summer celebration always included fresh Kielbasa and homemade potato salad. Being Polish is only half of who I am culturally, but being from a family that values hard work and perseverance has proven over many generations just how much hard work pays off. These values gave me the resilience and work ethic I am most proud of in myself and my family members today.

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My great great great grandfather was an inventor.  His name was George Brain.  He was a first generation German from my father’s side. He invented the first back brace and the chocolate dipping machine to make candy.  He also built, not invented, guilded bird cages for the very wealthy. But, one very well know candy was created by him.  He invented the Baby Ruth candy bar. Currently, everyone is led to believe that it is named after the legendary baseball player Babe Ruth. It’s actually named after Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter Ruth, whom he referred to as Baby Ruth. Shortly after his candy became popular, he sold the patent for $100, which at that time was quite a bit of money.

Mrs. Cruz 😁

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My parents are both immigrants from two different countries. My mother is Haitian, from the Caribbean island of Haiti, and my dad is Jamaican. What is true about both of their immigration stories is that they had to separate from their parents and siblings until the United States granted them Green cards. My mom and her siblings were spit between their aunts and grandmothers for two years while their parents came to NY to try to establish a home for them. For my dad, he and his seven siblings were separated from their parents for four years. My dad was ten when his parents came to NY. By the time he was reunited with them he was almost 15 years old. He often tells the story that his dad didn't recognize the young man he had become. It is often the case that immigrant parents can not travel with their children until they show that they have established a home and income to take care of them. How sad to have to be split up and away from your family for so long. It was a sacrifice both my grandparents and parents made so that the future generations could have a better life.

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Everyone in my family does Irish dancing. My mother grew up doing it in school in Ireland, and when my family came to America, she brought her Irish dancing ghilles, which are traditional Irish shoes, that each one of her 8 sisters have worn. Those shoes are now 70 years old and will be passed down to my niece for her to start dancing. They might fall apart soon, but when I look at them I think of my mother's childhood in Ireland and the amazing journey it took to bring our family here.

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My nonno was born in Calabria (Southern Italy). He moved to Milano (up north) where he was treated badly because he was from Calabria. It was very difficult for southern Italians to find work which resulted in many of them emigrating to Northern Italy. He came from a family of musicians and to pass the time, he learned how to sing and play the guitar. My mother is one of 6 and they did not have a lot money so life was very tough for them. She always says how life was wonderful for them though because my grandfather did whatever he could to provide for his family. Many times, she was split from her siblings because her parents would move back and forth from Milano to Calabria because of the mistreatment. When my mother was 15, she had to stop going to school and find work to help support her family. She remembers being in Milano with her father and sharing a toilet with other families in this apartment building that they were renting out because that is all that they could afford.  He made everyone feel special and always gave a helping hand to anyone who needed it.  I always think of him when I listen to Italian music. He would visit us a lot in America (he missed my mom so much) and each trip was special for us. I always have memories of him with his guitar and all of his friends and relatives coming to see him. He would wait with me at my bus stop every morning with me in his overcoat, and when I would get onto the bus, he would point to me and trace his heart to tell the bus driver to take care of me. He didn't speak much English but he was always the loudest one wherever he went.  In this picture, he is singing in Milano and he finally went on tv to sing one of his songs. The local newspaper wrote a story about him and we were all so happy for making his dreams come true. Whenever I see someone from our town, they immediately respond back with a smile and say "you are Ciccuzzo's granddaughter!, he was a great man".
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11utN7CRpe2cpE800HIMyzlwrlgqrnfQy/view?usp=sharing

Signora Brady