Justin Sandoval--Half Colombian, Half Italian

I am half Colombian, half Italian. My father was born and raised in Colombia. He is one of 9 siblings. My grandfather and grandmother were born and raised in Colombia as well. My father immigrated to the United States when he was 27. This is where he met my mother and they eventually got married. My dad lived with my grandfather who owned a huge piece of land and a farm in a small town called Machata. This town is in what they consider the country side, right outside the nation's capital of Bogota. The family would switch between their farm land house and the city house. Depending on what they needed to do, that's the house that they would stay at. My dad is the only one from his family to immigrate to the United States. All of his sisters, brothers, cousins, parents, nieces, nephews and so on still live in Colombia and never had made the attempt to make a life in the United States. Although, they don't live here, every other year or so, his sisters or brothers come with their families and his parents haven't been here in about 15 years or so. I met them when I was 5 and haven't seen them since. There are still many cousins, aunts and uncles that I have never met.

My mother's side is 100% Italian. My grandma and grandpa are both 100% italian and immigrated here. My grandma immigrated here when she was in 18 months old in the year 1923. Her family came here, and the family name, Buounafede, is on the wall at Ellis Island. My grandfather came in 1958. My grandma and grandfather met in Italy while my grandma was on vacation. She had gone back to her hometown Vizzini, which is in Sicily. This is where she met grandpa. They wed and then this is when my grandpa came to the United States. My grandmother was a seamstress and my grandfather was a tile worker. They had only one child, my mom, and lived in Brooklyn ever since. My grandma has been living in the same house since 1923 in Brooklyn.

Rich Mulry- Irish and German

My mother's side of the family has a unique blend of cultures. My maternal grandmother is 100% Irish. My grandfather's hertiage (now deceased) is a little blurry. He was adopted as an infant and was not sure of his heritage. He does know that he was born to a Russian. Jewish, woman who was married, but he was not born in Russia. He was never able to find out his original birth parents heritage fully.

My father's mother was 100% Irish as well. Her family originates from Count Rosscommon in Ireland. They moved to America after the famine and relocated in South Boston, Massachusetts because they had had friends who previously moved there. Also, South Boston (from then until now) has a very strong Irish, Catholic residency. My grandfathers family is half Irish and half German. A good majority of his family moved to Ireland from Germany after the first World War. They as well moved to Boston, Massachusetts where most of my family currently resides.

Over the past year I made it a point to visit these countries while studying abroad in Italy. I knew these countries are part of who I am today so I made it a point to see different aspects of the countries. I am very proud of where I am from and proud of the people that shaped my life today. Although I do not know my entire heritage due to circumstances beyond my control, I am comfortable and extremely satisfied with what I do know.

Sicilian Hertiage - Julia Nuara

My mother’s side of the family is mainly Irish, and my father’s side of the family is 100% Sicilian. However, I could not find any specific information relating to my mother’s side of the family. So, I will be discussing my Sicilian heritage.
Just for a background of Sicily, it is located off the tip of the Italian peninsula. Sicily is comprised of nine provinces: Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Catania, Enna, Messina, Palermo, Ragusa, Siracusa, and Trapani. The major ethnic groups include native Sicilians, Arabs, Greeks, Spanish, and northern Italians. Although the vast majority of Sicilians are Roman Catholics, there are smaller numbers of Greek Orthodox Christians. My family is Roman Catholics. My great grandparents were the ones who came here from Sicily. My great grandfather’s name was Gaetano Nuara. They did not change our last name when they came here but they changed his first name to Charles, which is now my current grandfather’s name. Sicily suffered a series of agricultural crises, which made a sharp drop in the grain and citrus markets, which is why my family immigrated here. The main areas of Sicilian settlement in the United States included the major industrial centers of the country including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Illinois, and some parts of the South. My family was originally in New York, but moved to New Jersey.
Sicilians are known for their food. The food is hot and spicy, and eggplants, olives, pine nuts, and capers are common, along with pasta and tomatoes. Sicilians are also known for their desserts, including their gelato Sicilian (Sicilian ice cream) and cannoli, a fried pastry stuffed with ricotta cheese and candied fruit. All of these dishes are still very common at our big family parties because everyone in my family carries on the tradition.

Taylor Roberts-Irish

My mother’s side of the family is from Ireland. My father’s side of the family is a mix of many nationalities, nothing too prominent. My mother’s family name is Kileen, they lived in Galway in Ireland.

They immigrate to the United States in the late 1850s. Their reason for coming to the United States was related to the poor conditions in Ireland created by the potato famine. They came into the United States through New York City and lived there for a number of years. Future generations that were

more economically

successful and educated then moved out to Long Island.

My mother grew up on Long Island and then moved upstate while in high school. My fathers family lives on the west coast where he was brought up in California. They have extended family in Canada, Great Britain and France.

Sophia Diakoloukas

Mom & Dads side of the family: Last name:Kalfas, Diakoloukas. Immigrated from: Rhodes, Greece. Both of my parents are 100% Greek and from the same island in Greece. My mom was born in Missouri and my dad was born in Australia. They both traveled to Connecticut in 1974. My grandparents were both born in Rhodes, Greece also. My Mom's side came to the U.S in the late 50's. My grandparents landed in Canada(grandmother) and Missouri (grandfather). My grandfather then married my grandmother Liberty in St. Louis Missouri. Soon after my mom was born. Dad's side were both born in Rhodes, Greece and immigrated to Australia in the 50's also. That's were my dad was then born.

I have strong family ties in Canada, Missouri, Greece, and Australia. I've visited all these places and it makes me proud of my heritage. Being !00% Greek makes me very proud my parents made me fluent in the language. Rhodes, Greece is somewhere my family and i try to visit every summer so we can stay in touch with the family.

Katie Mortimore

My heritage is predominantly Irish and Italian. However I am also Czech and Native American, even though I don't look it.

My family is from Calabria Italy, which is the southern most point of Italy (right before Sicily).

In Ireland my family is from Galway- I was lucky enough to visit Galway when i studied abroad.

The Native American tribe my family is from is the Choctaw tribe which was located in the southern states of the U.S. (Alabama, Tennessee and Louisiana).

My family is also part Czech. I actually studied abroad last semester in Prague and it was very cool. I learned to speak some of the language and the culture.

Heritage-Jessi Young

My heritage is predominantly Spanish. My mother is 100% Spanish, as all of my great-grandparents on her side were born in spain. Her mother (my grandmother) was born in Galicia, the most northern Spanish province, in 1935, and moved to Pawling, NY with her parents and older brother in 1941. Galicia has strong Portuguese ties, with Irish infusions as there are large settlements of both in the province. My grandfather’s parents hail from Barcelona, Spain far before it was the 2nd largest city in Spain. They immigrated to upstate New York in 1933 just months before my grandfather was born. My mother’s maiden name is Daniels, the Americanized version of the family name Danihel from the Latin bible that my great-grandfather legally changed upon entrance to the US in 1933.

My father, is 50% Spanish and 50% German. On this side of the family, my grandmother’s family hails from the Bay of Cadiz, in Spain. Her parents came to the US in 1930, where they found their way to Tennessee and in 1933 my grandmother was born. In 1935, my grandmother and her younger sister and older brother moved back to Spain, residing in Madrid, where she grew up for most of her childhood, only returning to the United States in 1950 where she met my grandfather before moving to Germany after my father was born. My grandfather, was born in 1933 in Dresden, Germany, but his parents sent him and his younger sisters to America in 1939 at the onset of World War II. They cam to live with extended family in Kentucky and then Tennessee. Sometime either before or during their voyage to America, the German family name was changed to Young, the name the family holds today. My grandparents returned to Germany living and raising their children from 1958-1969.