Juan Herran (‘22) Responds to the Immigration and Cultural Identity Panel (2/26/20)
Juan Herran Ocampo, Sophomore/Accounting
The Psychology Club and the Exchange Club hosted a panel discussion on Immigration and Cultural Identity on Wednesday, February 26th. The panel was made up of Prof. Rania El-Badry, Prof. Peter Lin, Sashoy Milton, Mayumi Miyaoka, and Babacar Niang, a group of professors and students who have personal experiences with immigration and featured a discussion about how these experiences have shaped their personalities. Juan Herran Ocampo, a sophomore ACES scholar, who was among the audience, connects his experience as a recent immigrant from Colombia to what he heard and saw during the panel.
Below is his response:
First of all, when I saw the invitation to this panel, and I saw that this panel was about immigration and cultural identity, I immediately felt the necessity and the excitement to attend because as you might know, I am an immigrant who came four years ago to the United States looking for new opportunities. Additionally, I thought that it was very interesting that ACES, the Psychology Club and the Exchange Club were offering this space and event that many people can actually relate to.
At the event, I identified with many things that the speakers said. For example, when Babacar shared that in his home country he was used to eating three meals a day with his relatives, I could relate to that because where I am from, I was also used to eating at least lunch with my family. But here, I almost never eat any meals in the company of my family; sometimes I do not even have time to eat lunch at all. So, that shock of cultures has been really hard for me.
“I thought that it was very interesting that ACES, the Psychology Club and the Exchange Club were offering this space and event that many people can actually relate to.
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Also, a great topic that the speakers touched on was language. I come from a country in which the main language is Spanish, and the English they teach you in school is very basic, so coming here, and learning the language was a challenge for me. But now I feel confident with my English thanks to the high school I went to, ACES center, friends and even myself. I think a good tip for people who as immigrants are struggling with adapting to this culture could be to try to surround themselves with friends and with a community that supports and helps with the adaptation to this culture, but without forgetting where you are coming from. Finally, I want to thank the Exchange Club and the Psychology Club for making this event, ACES for also making this happen and for being part of that community that supports us as immigrants and as ELL students.
Professor Rania El-Badry was one of the panelists of the co-sponsored event.
More pictures of the event on instagram: ACES (aces_sjcny), Psychology club (sjcpsychology), Exchange club (exchange club_sjcny).