Walk from Aurora to Elgin puts focus on experience of immigrants
A pair of English teachers at East Aurora High School, along with about three dozen of their students and other faculty members, spent Saturday walking from Aurora to Elgin to put the spotlight on the experience of immigrants.
When it comes to the topic of immigration, students like Ashley Martinez, 18, of Aurora, know something about it first-hand.
'We read this book about someone who immigrated to the United States when he was 9, and for me this was something about not just connecting with the book but with my dad who immigrated when he was 4 years old,' Martinez said Saturday morning as students from East Aurora High School waited in Wilder Park in Aurora for the walk to Elgin to begin. 'Taking this walk today is kind of like symbolically walking in both my dad and the author's shoes.'
Shane and Sarah Gillespie, a married couple who teach at East Aurora High School, each teach sections of a course known as Survivor Literature, organized the walk to offer students the chance to experience what an author of one of the books they read in the class went through as an immigrant himself years ago.
Shane Gillespie explained that this spring, students read 'Solito' by author Javier Zamora, who actually came to the school late last month and spoke to the students about his own experiences while coming to the United States.
Gillespie, who also is the coach of the boys' and girls' cross-country and boys track teams, said there are about 110 students enrolled in the four sections of Survivor Literature and that about 40 of them as well as more than a handful of faculty members were making the walk from Wilder Park to a place in Elgin that was over 20 miles away.
'The Survivor course has units on survivor situations like the Holocaust, Sept. 11th, things like that,' Gillespie said. 'This year, one of our units was on immigration and we read 'Solito' and the kids really connected with it and we built this service project. We created this walk as a sort of put ourselves in Javier's shoes sort of thing and raise some awareness for this topic that's important to these kids.'
The book itself tells the story of Zamora as a 9-year-old who travelled to get to America.
'I was a big fan of the book. I loved how it was written. It was easy for me to read and it was very captivating,' Martinez said. 'Meeting the author was really exciting. You forget they're like normal people, so meeting him was refreshing in a way and hearing about his experience and post journey was exciting.':
The destination for the walk on Saturday was Centro de Informacion located 23 miles away at 1885 Lin Lor Lane in Elgin.
'The Centro offers services for immigrants and that sort of thing. We did a similar project in 2018 and this is sort of modeled after that,' Gillespie said of the walk which began at 8 a.m. 'We'll have transportation back but we're hoping to get up in Elgin sometime around 4 or 5 p.m.'
He said 'one of the things that we tell the kids is that hopefully they learn some English stuff in our classes but also learn something about themselves too.'
'I think that's what you get here – you build empathy, you build leadership skills – you build those things that are hopefully going to be useful through the end of their lives,' he said.
School nurse Kara Patrick was asked to attend in case any issues developed along the way.
'It's good to experience something unique like this. It's for a good cause,' Patrick said of the walk.
Kate Hala, who teaches French at the high school, said she was a big fan of the Gillespie couple 'who have run this program before with the English department and it's a wonderful experience.'
'I got the opportunity to do something with them before when an author came and it's very impactful for the students to see someone outside of the classroom,' she said. 'Educationally this is a very experiential thing. You can immerse yourself in it in a very different way, and it connects with the students in a different way.'
Student Sinclair Zackery, 17, of Aurora, said the book 'Solito' was impactful to read.
'I think it brought into reality what so many have to go through because of the country that we live in,' Zackery said. 'People should not have to put their lives at stake just to live a better life. I was honored that the author chose to come and share his story with us.
'As far as this walk, it's nothing compared to what these other people have gone through but at the end I hope I'll have a little more understanding of what they were forced to go through,' Sinclair added. 'This experience and this class are definitely in my top three things I've experienced over my four years at East Aurora.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
ESOL Summer Bridge Program to begin in third year helping community
WILLIMANTIC — The English for Speakers of Other Languages Summer Bridge Program kicked off its third year at CT State Community College Quinebaug Valley in Willimantic. The Scripps Family Fund for Education and the Arts funded the program through the Northeast Connecticut Education Foundation. The $40,000 grant covers tuition and educational expenses for students with classes, field trips, tutoring and activities. The 10-week program aims to help improve language skills and prepare students for the fall semester as some transition from ESOL to degree paths at Quinbaug Valley. The past two iterations of the program have data that shows incredible gains, which include a 100% completion rate for those who registered for the 2024 fall semester. 'Summer is a long time to go without hearing and speaking English for many English Language Learner students,' said Elkin Espitia-Loaiza, Quinebaug Valley professor of ESOL and Spanish, Arts and Humanities, and ESOL program coordinator. 'This program has proven to be an effective way to bridge that gap; over the past two years, we have seen students gain the knowledge and confidence they need to excel at their studies. Without the Summer Bridge, many students would not be able to make the leap from ESOL to credit courses.' CT State Quinebaug Valley ESOL student Germán Méndez González, who has been in the program, shared their experience and the opportunities it has provided. 'My time in the Summer Bridge program has given me a chance to progress with my education and have more opportunities as I plan my future,' González said. 'I am grateful for the funds that make this experience possible and for what I have been able to accomplish.' CT State Quinebaug Valley Director of Institutional Advancement Monique Wolanin extended her appreciation to the SFFEA. 'Sincere thanks are due to the Scripps and Linda Marshall for their continued investments and confidence in our students, faculty, and the Northeast Connecticut Education Foundation. Your gift is truly transformative,' Wolanin said. The foundation's mission is to provide scholarships and other financial support to Northeast Connecticut residents who want to pursue higher education.
New York Post
12 hours ago
- New York Post
Shocking anti-ICE riots in LA remind me of two violent mobs I lived through
A new view on old terrors I'm a single person. Scared. This is my country. My entire life. My ancestors came from the old world. Russia. My mother was born in Liverpool. Inheritance? Nothing. Immigrants, they came with nothing. No relatives here — nobody. Grandma, who spoke no English, scrubbed stoops on the Lower East Side. Grandpa, a tailor who made no money, kept just enough to apply for legitimate citizenship. To pay for their taxes, mortgage, children, doctors, schooling, food, old age, transportation, future — no help from the government. Forget stories about immigrants arriving with hidden jewels sewn into their skirts. There were no gems. No hems. Hard-knock life When I was in public school, long ago but so painful that even now I remember it clearly — even though at this moment I can't remember where I left my phone — back then I was given a used secondhand dress. Pale blue. Silky fabric. Garnished with fluffy fake fur. Excited, I paraded in it around our house. Enter tragedy. A stain. From where, how I got it, who knows. Nothing but a scissor would've removed it. I was crazy. Inconsolable. 'No problem,' said my mother. 'I'll wash it.' WASH? Accented with fake fur? The fake-o crapola immediately turned stiff — like cardboard — and peeled off. My mother worked two jobs to be able to feed me, dress me, take me to doctors, buy medicines because I was always ill. But this was my only party dress. I was inconsolable. That's 90 years ago. I still remember it. By the time I could buy my own clothes I was a working reporter in Asia. The recent unrest and turmoil in Los Angeles has reprised two terrors I survived. One in Jakarta, another in Tehran. Jakarta. An ungovernable mob flooded the roads. Barricaded the streets. Angry about some official edict. Came with guns, flames, knives, flags, signs, the usual. We were locked in traffic. Terrified. Me a foreigner. Alone except the driver, who knew to call someone as our car was rocked side to side, bottles thrown at our windows — and people came to save us. Thrilling escape Another time. Iran. A guest of the Shah, I was up country in Isfahan, a hotel owned by his then-Majesty's twin sister Princess Ashraf. I was in their official black car. Their official driver. En route back to Tehran. It was the first days, the exact moment, the move had begun to oust the Shah. A small village through which we drove saw their movie theater set on fire. If not protected by the Shah, who knows what might've happened. His people caught us en route, escorted us with guns to the hotel, watched as I packed up and then threw me at 5 a.m. onto a plane out of Iran and home. That story — and its saga of embassy personnel sheltered by my late friend Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor — I mightn't be here today. He, too, spirited me out and onto a waiting Pan Am jet. The story was immortalized in Ben Affleck's 2012 Oscar-winning movie 'Argo.' It's terrifying. They looking to turn us into Syria, Iran, Venezuela, Russia — the cauldrons from which they fled?
New York Post
12 hours ago
- New York Post
Mysterious ‘dumped' bodies of woman and child found by archaeologists in picturesque town
Archaeologists recently uncovered a mysterious grave in an idyllic German town with clues that hint at a tragic story. The findings were announced by the German town of Vaihingen an der Enz in a recent press release. The town is located in Baden-Württemberg, a German state known for its scenic landscapes and natural beauty. In the announcement, local officials said a months-long excavation yielded hundreds of archaeological discoveries. The excavation began in Sept. 2024 and wrapped up in April, ahead of the construction of a future industrial park called Wolfsberg IV. The most haunting discovery was the grave of a woman and young girl dating back to 400 B.C. Both of the decedents, officials said, wore jewelry from the Celtic period of German history, which was roughly between 600 and 200 B.C. 'The girl had two bronze arm rings, the woman a necklace with blue glass beads threaded on iron wire,' said the statement, which was translated from German to English. 'These beads could have been easily made many millennia earlier – provided one had the necessary knowledge.' 3 Archaeologists recently uncovered a mysterious grave in Vaihingen, Germany. State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council The arrangement of the skeletons suggests the bodies were 'dumped,' a historian said. The child was found '[lying] over the woman's leg, limbs outstretched,' the release indicated. 'What exactly might have happened to them, even experts can only speculate,' the town said. Felicitas Schmitt, a historian from the State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council, said the grave indicated far from a respectful burial. Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters 'Here, we are not talking about a burial,' she noted. 'The two were dumped, rather than laid to rest with dignity.' She observed, 'Perhaps they suffocated due to fermentation gases that developed during the decomposition of the [organic materials] in the pit.' The grave was just one of 1,100 discoveries found during the excavation, according to town officials. 3 The grave is located in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images Some of the findings were as old as 7,000 years. Eight other graves were found, in addition to a cooking pit, some remains of longhouses and various ceramics. Tools and jewelry were also unearthed. 'In addition to the nine graves, several longhouses up to 20 meters long from the Middle Neolithic period were uncovered,' the town's statement said. 'Particularly interesting for researchers is the cooking pit made of clay and stones, presumably from the early Iron Age (800 to 450 BC).' 3 The grave contains a woman and a young girl that dates back to around 400 B.C., with jewelry that indicates it is from the Celtic period of German history, around the time between 600 and 200 B.C. Stephan Sure / Vaihingen an der Enz Officials also said they uncovered an exceptionally well-preserved axe next to a skeleton, dating back around 5,000 years ago. 'At first glance, it might seem like it came from the hardware store across the street,' the release said. 'But the axe head is not made of metal, but of elaborately polished stone!' In contrast to the grave with the two females, archaeologists do not believe the man died violently; rather, the axe was likely left as a grave offering. While they were interested in the findings, local officials weren't shocked by them overall. The general area is known for Neolithic finds, so excavators expected to dig up some history. '[The findings] contribute to further deciphering the history of the city and preserving the cultural heritage of the region,' the press release noted.
