Came to US at early age
Bonner 12
1. I was born in the Dominican Republic and migrated to the USA when I was 11.
2. In the future I want to be able to provide job opportunities for my community through owning a business.
3. Im also an aviation geek if I wouldn't be studying Business being a pilot would be my career.
4. Im passionate about climate change and equal opportunity for everyone.
5. I also take a lot of pride in my country and one day if possible I would like to run for a government position.
Melvin Valdez
Bonner 2
1. I recently got married (September 2020) - We had an extravagant wedding planned for last December 2019, however my entire household got sick, therefore, we had to cancel it to March 2020. Then..... COVID-19 happened. So again, we had to cancel. September 1st, we randomly decided to cut our guest list of 250 people down to 55 people and had a backyard wedding. It was perfect. 09/19/2020.
2. I was born and raised in Kingston Jamaica. Migrated to the States in November 2009
3. I make over-the-top Balloon decorations for companies and private events.
4. I am big on fitness and Cycle 11 miles a day, 5 days a week.
5. I have a 6-year-old son and he is my entire world! He has me wrapped around his little fingers :)
Shanice Pearson
Bonner 17
1. My parents adopted my sister when she was 6 months old and I was born a year later. My sister is multi-racial and presents as black and I do not, but we didn't understand race as a concept when we were kids and would often tell people that we were twins. I remember two classmates telling us "you can't be sisters because your skin is two different colors".
2. I study yoga and try to practice in some way every day including physical practice but also meditation
3. My mom died over 7 years ago after battling ovarian cancer for 3 years
4. I'm biracial and have spent these last few months reflecting a lot on identity and intersectionality as it relates to privilege and oppression largely as a result of the current civil rights movement
5. I try to read 15 books per year and I'm currently on #15, #16, and #17 at the same time
Arianna Illa
Bonner 19
1) I migrated from India at the age of 16.
2) I want to pursue my higher education in the medical field.
3) One of my favorite indoor games is billiards (pool), and I never get tired of playing that game.
4) Apart from Bio, Geo-politics and psychology are the areas of interest that I like to explore.
5) I am passionate about making others happy (because you cannot gain happiness without sharing it).
Rohan Dave
Bonner 13
1. My father died when I was 7 years old
2. I have a heart murmur
3. I am the oldest in my family
4. I love food
5. I love the stars and the moon
Karen Diaz
Bonner 16
1. I moved around as a little kid, I migrated from Ecuador when I was 7 and from then on we never lived in a town for more than than 4 years at a time
2. I was raised by a single-mother who has always been my biggest supporter and my best friend
3. I am passionate about social justice and I lucky to have found social work LOL as a first generation student I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, I just knew I wanted to help people.
4. I am part of a Latina Sorority, and I consider my linesisters my family
5. I just learned to Rollerblade and it has been the hardest most rewarding most scariest physical activity I have done since it requires a certain amount of loss of control that I am not used to
Sharon Tufino-Llerena
Bonner 15
1. I played and practiced volleyball for 5 years, almost every day, but I stopped when I migrated to United States
2. I migrated from Nicaragua when I was 17 years old, after I got graduated from high school
3. I had an awkward high school graduation because of politics difficulty my country had during that time (that is why I am looking forward for my college gradation)
4. I love to be surrounded by nature; I rather prefer to be at a forest than in the beach
5. I know how to drive ATVs and I really love it!!
Diana Osorio
Bonner 8
1. I am passionate about literature and reading.
2. I love being a dance teacher because I get to help the students grow and improve.
3. I have lived in six states, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, New York, Colorado, and New Jersey.
4. I am a dancer with American Repertory Ballet.
5. I like research and learning. I feel there is always more to learn about a topic.
Marie Tender
Bonner 20
1. Both of my parents migrated to the United States.
2. I am passionate of higher education.
3. I am the first in the family to soon graduate from college. (This fall)
4. I have a learning disability.
5. I'm very passionate about the medical field.
Luis Solano
Bonner 6
1. I was born here in the states from my dad coming over here following my mother from Lima, Peru I am a first generation immigrant
2. During COVID I struggled a lot with my family’s stability, and mental and physical health,I decided to focus on my podcast to get through these hard times
3. I am the final and last one in the family of all of my siblings
4. I work part time as a door dash driver
5. I was born 8:57pm on April 2 a day after April fools, I am premature and was not suppose to live, I was suppose to be born around June time
Alex Salazar
Bonner 3
1. I was born and raised in US for the first seven years of my life. Then I moved to India, at the age of 7, because my parents separated. I did my schooling in India and now I am back to New Jersey for my further education.
2. I am a published author of 5 poetry books and 1 short story book. I am currently working on my next planned short story book and my first novel
3. I am a trained and certified dancer in the Indian classical dance form of Kathak for the past 6 years. I am continuing my Kathak classes with my teacher in India through Zoom now.
4. I am planning to join medical school and become a cosmetic surgeon
5. Having been brought up by a single mother, who struggled to make ends meet, and forever regretted not having a stable education, I am extremely concerned about my education and I firmly believe that education is one of the few tools that can change one’s lives.
Sanjana Butala
Bonner 5
1. I am a nursing student that is an Ecuadorian immigrant.
2. I moved to The States when I was 16
3. I completed my last and only high school year in Pennsylvania
4. I have been in NJ for 3 years now and I am still not used to the roads with all the holes here.
5. I am going to graduate as a nurse in 2021 and start to look for my BSN.
Leslie de Salto
Bonner 14
1) I am a third-generation American
2) I am passionately anti-imperialist and believe in the right of self-determination for people living in occupied/disputed territories or colonies (Palestine, Kashmir, Tibet, Puerto Rico, etc...)
3) I would consider myself to be a feminist
4) My least favorite thing about life right now is probably Tomi Lahren
5) I'm passionate about art and literature
Zaineb Haider
Bonner 10
1. I played the bass for some time, and liked it even if I wasn't very good.
2. For minor things I have slight stubborn tendencies at times to stick with it.
3. Stress and deadlines are a useful but double edged motivator for me.
4. My memory for academic matters is a bit spotty.
5. My memory for non academic matters can be pretty good.
Felix To
1. I was born in Maryland.
2. I’m passionate about dancing and danced off and on for some of my life.
3. I have a little brother.
4. I’m 5’10.
5. I have a teen mom.
Yazmin Wilkins
Bonner 9
1) I was born in India, Gujarat on August 16, 2003 and just turned 17 this August. I came to the USA on October 15, 2015, when I was in 8th grade because of a bright future as well as better education. I have a sister who is 21 years old and she attends MCC too and it is her last year. I am the youngest amongst my family.
2) My family and I spent 3 years at my aunt’s house at Sayreville so my parents could earn money and we could know about lifestyle from the USA. Then we moved to Middlesex town in 2018 and bought our own house. So it has been almost 4 ½ years since I have been in the USA.
3) During weekends, I love to hang out with my friends, and sometimes we even go outside for dinner or to any parks especially in summer. It feels very exciting and fun to meet my friends after working all week.
4) I love all kinds of chocolate flavor food such as chocolate ice-cream, the cookies that include chocolate chips, and chocolate cake. Additionally, I love chocolates too like M&M, Hershey, Musketeers, and Lindor. Overall, I am a huge fan of chocolates. I am a vegetarian, however, I do eat eggs and food relating to eggs. I love Mexican and American food, also Indian since I am from India.
5) My future goal is to get an associate degree in Criminal Justice and transfer to Rutgers University for my bachelor’s in Psychology or Human Resource. Afterward, I am planning to do my masters too, I haven’t yet decided what I want to do exactly.
Diya Patel
Bonner 18
1. I was born in Kuwait.
2. I attempted to learn a language for five years.
3. By the time I was eight I read 5 of the 7 Harry Potter books.
4. I have a hard time in admitting I'm wrong, but I'm learning that being wrong doesn't necessarily mean that I'm stupid. I used to believe that if you changed your mind that meant you were not confident in your decision making. Now that I'm older I realize that if new information is available it is possible to change your stance on something.
5. I can tolerate and even be friends with someone with differing political views but not with someone who thinks its perfectly acceptable to give or take away rights based on how 'human' I am.
Balma Abdulrazak
Bonner 4
1. I'm very helpful and friendly if it comes to the people who need me.
2. I'm good at Bollywood dancing as I have learned different types of dance forms for 5 years in my school life.
3. I'm a reader. I can read anything which interests me be it science or fiction books, or even an article on why coffee scrub is great for exfoliation.
4. I'm a loner at times, who likes to spend time working on herself.
5. I'm a nature lover.
Riya
Bonner 7
1. I came to United States when I was 24 years old
2. I am passionate about reading self-help books, motivation books and literature, psychology books. I love reading. Some of the book that I have read are: "Codependent, No More", "The Four Agreements"... I am also passionate about doing things with my hands (crochet, knitting, etc.). I am very agile with my hands.
3. I am a perfectionist. I believe that this is because of a trauma, which I always call it "a good trauma" from my childhood. When I was a little girl, in 2nd. grade of primary school, my teacher was teaching me how to write the letter "O"; and, I remember, that my teacher demanded that it needed to be perfectly neat and not sloppy and not out of the line. I think I didn't do it perfectly and He grabbed me from the back of my dress collar and screamed: "WHAT HAPPENED GLENDY!!! WHY YOU DON'T WRITE THE LETTER AS I TOLD YOU!!!" From there up to know I always want things to come out in a perfect way.
4. I was a bank teller for about 5 years
5. My father is a very successful business man in my country. He is an autodidact, he did not even finish primary school
Glendy Lopez
Bonner 1 *Trigger Warning* Suicide and Self-Harm
1. When I was 14, DYFS decided I was not allowed to live at home, and they sent me away to live in a group home for a year. The experience taught me a lot and affects me constantly, even now, 10 years later. I was very negative about the situation at the time, but looking back, I am super grateful for the experience & related lessons.
2.) I am very passionate about the beauty of diversity. I frequently try to challenge any prejudice I see around me, whether it is in strangers, or friends, or family. We are all a part of one human race!!! And seeing as I am a white woman in an interracial relationship with a dark-skinned Jamaican man, there unfortunately seems to be a never-ending supply of situations in which challenging others' prejudice is necessary, even now in 2020...
3.) I think all religions are interconnected and valid, simply different names for the same things, but I personally identify as Pagan and consider myself very spiritual.
4.) Relatedly, I care a lot about our planet, Mother Earth. Do not litter out your car window; save it for a trash can. Recycling recyclable materials is important. To go even further with it, we can do things like bring trash bags into parks and help clean up after others! That is a lot of effort, but it is something I've done with my boyfriend a few times this past year. You feel really good after, I swear!
5.) When I was 14, I almost succeeded in killing myself, and yet now, every day I wake up extremely grateful that I was unsuccessful. It is a beautiful life. I feel so, so far removed from that version of myself, and yet I stay open and honest about the fact that she once existed, because you never know who needs to hear that they aren't alone, and that one day, life can be better for them, too.
Victoria Buffalino