Special thanks to Karen Yu, former Starting Line mentor and journalist, for visiting Shared Stories and holding our program's 2nd writing workshop! Below are students reflections on the practice interviews conducted in class.
Student's Practice Narrative on Mentors
By Ming:
I interviewed Linda last Sunday. I know more about her after the interview.
I found out that she hated her high school at the time because she thought her peers were too serious, they only cared about their grades (they were mostly asians). She didn't have any friends at that time, all she did was go to school, go home and study. That's how she spent her time in high school. Linda described that the four years she spent in college were the best moments in her life. She studied abroad and she made new friends.
By Jing Ling:
Theresa’s father came to the United States through a visa sponsored by her uncle. It was a hard time when her father just came here. Because her father did not know any English and was not familiar with the United States, her father could not get a good job. The first job that her father got was washing dishes, but her father was fired the first day. Because her father was tall and skinny, it made the owner think her father used drugs. Now her father is working in a nursing home. Although her father still does not know a lot of English, her father likes the United States and plans to live here forever.
Theresa was born in the United States. She went to a elementary school and a middle school where there were a lot of Chinese. It started her curiosity about China. Few years ago, she went back to her father’s hometown. She found everyone who lived in the village kind. Everyone said, “ Oh, you really look like your father”. It made her feel familiar with everyone. Although people from the village never met her before, they still treated her kindly. She went to the house where her father lived for about 40 years. She could understand her father’s emotions about China. With her growing up, she could understand her parents gradually and treat her parents better.
Student's Practice Narrative on Mentors
By Ming:
I interviewed Linda last Sunday. I know more about her after the interview.
I found out that she hated her high school at the time because she thought her peers were too serious, they only cared about their grades (they were mostly asians). She didn't have any friends at that time, all she did was go to school, go home and study. That's how she spent her time in high school. Linda described that the four years she spent in college were the best moments in her life. She studied abroad and she made new friends.
By Jing Ling:
Theresa’s father came to the United States through a visa sponsored by her uncle. It was a hard time when her father just came here. Because her father did not know any English and was not familiar with the United States, her father could not get a good job. The first job that her father got was washing dishes, but her father was fired the first day. Because her father was tall and skinny, it made the owner think her father used drugs. Now her father is working in a nursing home. Although her father still does not know a lot of English, her father likes the United States and plans to live here forever.
Theresa was born in the United States. She went to a elementary school and a middle school where there were a lot of Chinese. It started her curiosity about China. Few years ago, she went back to her father’s hometown. She found everyone who lived in the village kind. Everyone said, “ Oh, you really look like your father”. It made her feel familiar with everyone. Although people from the village never met her before, they still treated her kindly. She went to the house where her father lived for about 40 years. She could understand her father’s emotions about China. With her growing up, she could understand her parents gradually and treat her parents better.