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Community Members Share Immigration Experiences with 4th Graders

10/4/2017

As part of their study of immigration, Collegiate School 4th Graders heard from the first of three community members this week about their experiences coming to the United States. During their study, the students are attempting to answer the question: How can we help immigrants/refugees transition as they begin a new life in our community?

The first speaker, Collegiate parent Mera Sabha, who was born in Jordan and lived in Syria, engaged students with the story of her journey from arriving in America in 2001 not speaking the language with no employment to earning her finance degree from VCU and now serving as an assistant vice president for SunTrust.

“Education is the key to reaching your goals,” she told the students.

Speakers in the coming weeks include Collegiate alumna Ezoza Nomazova ‘13 from Uzbekistan and Global Scholar-in-Residence John Dau from Sudan.

"Our 4th Graders look forward to hearing authentic immigration stories from members of our Collegiate community ─ grandparents, parents, other family members and friends, faculty and staff,” said 4th Grade teacher and grade-level chair Heather Garnett. “They gain multiple perspectives of immigrants and refugees as they look, listen and connect to the many stories they're being exposed to.”

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