All in essay

In A Name

A name becomes a peace offering, a chance to reconnect with her heritage, and a personal symbol. After transitioning, Joanna offers her family an opportunity to name their daughter.

Umbrella House

Umbrella House reveals the stories of the squatter community – most of them immigrants – that took over abandoned buildings in the Lower East Side of Manhattan reconstructed them and made them into homes.

Immigrant's Dilemma

“You would think that they would want their children to take the same type of risks in life and maybe be entrepreneurs. Instead my parents have always encouraged me to make the safer choice….”

Love At War

There are currently 15 seconds of the animated film Love At War. And those 15 seconds involved 155 hand-drawn watercolors and over 350 hours of work. But that is the job she signed up for...

American Mirage

"At first, I thought I knew a lot of things about America. ... Flipping through the saturated photos of swimming pools, palm trees, and tan, long legged women in bikinis filled my mind with stars and stripes..."

Emigration

It was springtime. The sweet perfume of the wisteria dominated the whole street. I approached the house and climbed stairs that were covered by the wisteria in full bloom. The canopy was still intact. The grape- like flowers dangled from the canopy like lanterns...