Odelia Hernandez grew up in the small town of Santa Catalina Yosonotú in Oaxaca, Mexico. She details her family’s farming traditions, and how everyone worked together to grow, sow, and preserve each year’s harvest. Her narration is peppered with the foods of her memories, which bring to light her experiences and how the foods that she ate depended on the seasons and availability. Odelia came to the United States only a few days before the September 11th attacks. She has been involved with the Proyecto Esperanza for over six years, actively gardens in Feaster Park, and helps run Mercado Esperanza.
Read MoreAmiri Tulloch
Columbia student Amiri Tulloch speaks to the racial violence he has encountered and hopes to help eradicate. His love for his community is evident, and he talks about this love in how his political awareness was shaped by his relationship to Highland Park.
Read MoreToni Hendrix
Toni Hendrix is an officer in the NAACP, a retired Division Manager for AT&T, and a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children in Foster Care) advocate. Toni narrates her life-long passion for civil advocacy and recounts the people who helped her get to where she is in her life.
Read MorePat Sheehan
Pat Sheehan talks about her time in government, specifically about her time she spent as a part of the “New Five” and as the mayor of New Brunswick (1967-1974). She reflects on the importance of service in the work that public officials do, emphasizing that a care about one’s constituencies should be the primary concern of those in office.
Read MoreMegan Williamson
Megan Williamson talks about the differences in care she received with a PPO versus Medicare and Medicaid. She also talks about the constant profiling she receives when she visits doctors or hospitals. Her experiences have left a traumatic mark in how she approaches the healthcare system.
Faustina Owoh
Faustina Owoh discusses her journey in shaping her personal identity through community engagement. Her future goals include going into humanitarian and international law.
Read MoreFida Ayoubi
Fida Ayoubi is the employment services and volunteer coordinator at I-RISE. She speaks passionately about the struggles and triumphs that her clients go through as refugees and asylees adapting to America.
Read MoreLeDerick Horne
LeDerick Horne grew up in Franklin Township and talks about his high school experience as a student with learning disabilities. He recalls the life changing experiences he had during his college career. LeDerick is a poet and an author and has co-written the book Empowering Students with Hidden Disabilities: A Path to Pride and Success.
Read MoreReginald Johnson
Metuchen native Reginald Johnson shares a plethora of interesting stories and life experiences from working as a civil service agent, to doing outreach for the police department, to his work with the executive search firm and the NAACP.
Read MoreHector Torres
Hector Torres has had several recurring health issues. He talks about his experiences with the healthcare system as a person with no health insurance and how he is treated differently than he was when he did have health insurance.
Read More"A"
Our narrator has made several redactions, including her name, in this audio to protect her and her family’s identities. “A” speaks quickly and with great conviction. She discusses her experience in foster care and as well as her experiences and opinions on traditional healthcare systems.
Read MoreEugene Armstead
Media, PA native Eugene Armstead recounts the importance of athletics as he describes his high school and college basketball career, as well as his academic pursuits at Rutgers. Eugene has held various careers, and now spends time working at the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society and on the Lost Souls Public Memorial Project.
Read MoreMaevonia Caldwell
Maevonia Caldwell recounts moving from Georgia, to central Pennsylvania, to Rochester, New York during her childhood and teen years. In college she was active in the NAACP and was a Freedom Rider. Today, she is currently involved in the Lost Souls Project.
Read MoreMary
Mary is an asylee who discusses leaving Turkey after Erdoğan came into power. She is a dentist who first got involved with I-RISE when she was trying to obtain an equivalency letter to work in the United States.
Read MorePaul Ruperintwari
Paul Ruperintwari uses his own experience as a refugee to help him connect to the clients of the I-RISE program.
Read MoreSidra Inam
Pakistani native Sidra Inam is a manager at the Global Grace Marketplace in Highland Park, New Jersey. Her own experience as an asylee helped her to connect with the programs affiliated with RCHP.
Read MoreCira Cruz
Cira Cruz recalls her difficult life in the rural state of Oaxaca, México, and her experiences with agriculture. She describes the challenges that pushed her and her family to migrate to the United States.
Read MoreParnika Celly
Parnika Celly is finishing up her Master’s degree in social work and is an intern at I-RISE. She recently initiated Creative Connections to provide a virtual arts development space for the I-RISE community.
Read MoreJennifer Hinton
Jennifer Hinton is the administrator for Unity Square. She describes how her faith has transformed throughout her life and how it has helped her throughout her various careers.
Read MoreAnna Petrie
Anna Petrie is a non-linear student who is currently finishing up a law degree at Rutgers Law School in Newark. She is a director and case manager at Interfaith RISE.
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