To better understand the immigration history of Asian Americans and the life of Asian Americans in West Michigan, Chinese Immersion students taking the WMU Dual Enrollment course CHIN 2750 Chinese Life and Culture at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids are interviewing volunteers from the AAPI community, writing their stories, and sharing what they’ve learned in class. Telling Our Stories provides the opportunity for WMU’s Chinese language students get to know more about the diverse communities in West Michigan, improve cross-cultural communication, and create empathy as a response to the disturbing trend of anti-Asian violence in the U.S.
The project was conceived and created by WMU World Languages and Literature Professor Dr. Li Xiang. With the help of the University Center for the Humanities Publicly-Engaged Faculty Mini-Grants program, Dr. Xiang developed an immersive learning experience where in addition to interviewing and sharing the stories of AAPI immigrants, and the students visit Chicago’s Chinatown for a day of cultural immersion and learning. Dr. Xiang has presented nationally on her innovative curriculum design and pedagogical approach to Chinese language education in the Telling Our Stories project, and the project is now in it’s second year of adoption at Forest Hills Northern High School.
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Interview with Sandeep Shenoy
Sandeep Shenoy
Interview with Sandeep Shenoy recorded on March 27, 2023. Mr Shenoy is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Tess McGrath and Haley Cook as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage Collection. During the interview Mr Shenoy discusses the following topics:
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Brief personal and family background;
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A typical day as a student in India;
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Reflections on living in India;
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Reasons for and process of immigrating from India to the US;
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Missing India and how he maintains connections with his home;
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Reflections on cultural differences between the US and India and how he adjusted to them;
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How he maintains religious and cultural connections to India;
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The norms for his life in the US;
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Goals as a young man, the success he has found in his career, and the future that he dreams of for his children;
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Advice for immigrants coming to the US;
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Speculations on what his life would be like if he never immigrated;
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Language education and abilities, and;
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His current career as a manager in Pharmacy IT for Meijer.
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