As part of the Cormier Honors Program, Longwood’s Diversity goal is satisfied through a study abroad program. Due to my medical condition however, I was instead given the opportunity to work with Literacy For Life over the course of 5 weeks to understand America’s immigration process through the eyes of immigrants themselves.

  Literacy For Life is a non-profit organization associated with William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. While not directly under William & Mary, Literacy For Life fosters a close relationship with the college and help visiting scholars, exchange students, and local immigrants learn English, American culture & government, and daily customs to help facilitate their citizenship process and acclimation into American society.

  Over the course of 5 weeks, I attended multiple classes and worked with immigrants and staff to get a further understanding of what challenges immigrants face when assimilating into society. In addition, I got to hear some of their immigration stories and reasoning for leaving their homeland to come to America.

As a result, I have earned a renewed appreciation for individuals taking the necessary legal steps to immigrate into America and become citizens. It was an amazing experience being able to talk to and work with some of the students, who come from a variety of homelands. While their reasoning for immigrating to America may differ, all of them shared one common ideology: the American Dream.

 Getting to view America from an outsider’s perspective makes me even further appreciate being born in such an opportunistic country.

Please view my attached poster for more information on my research and experience with Literacy For Life.