Barrier Number One

“If we can communicate with people then, you know, I think some of these other fears and reservations may subside a little bit.” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · Barrier Number One from an interview with Michael Brickner, City of Valparaiso Chief of Police, 2013 Transcript for Barrier Number One Michael Brickner, City of Valparaiso […]

“Us/Them” Mentality

“If you’re such a tight part of a certain community, you are more likely to see everyone else as the other.” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · "Us/Them" Mentality Transcript for “Us/Them” Mentality I consider my home country to be the Netherlands. I grew up in what we call a row-house: it’s basically a street […]

You Have Hair on Your Arms

“It’s those kinda questions that people are asking and…you have to have a little patience…because they don’t know.” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · You Have Hair On Your Arms Transcript for You Have Hair on Your Arms So, Valpo was kind of like a mirror image of a lot of places in the United […]

Valpo Fit the Bill

“The premise of the academic environment made it worth considering.” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · Valpo Fit The Bill Transcript for Valpo Fit the Bill I had competed for the military service academies, and I had a stack of scholarship offers all across the United States as a National Merit Scholar, but I also […]

Standing on Shoulders

“I was very fortunate because…people had gone through it already, you know, my brothers.” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · Standing On Shoulders Warning: story contains racial slurs. Find a bleeped version below. Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · Standing On Shoulders – Bleeped Version Recorded over Zoom. Edited by Rebecca Warner. Transcript for Standing […]

Connective Tissue

“…that was fascinating, having a process where I feel I really met those actors and that creative team and really shared something with them. But I’ve never met them in real life.” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · Connective Tissue The Coronavirus pandemic has clearly thrown up barriers to our ability to gather physically together, […]

War Zone

“…there’s a legacy around the capacity to stand one’s own ground and say, ‘No, this is who we are. And this is what we stand for. And this is what we can do.’” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · War Zone This interview was recorded using Zoom. Transcript for War Zone I grew up in […]

The Neighborhood

“Nobody ever said, ‘Hey, you’re a Mexican,’ or ‘Hey, you’re an Italian’ or anything like that.” Edited by Nick Ladeau. Transcript for The Neighborhood Did he ever suffer any discrimination? I don’t know. Because I was a kid and he was working in the mill. My mom definitely did not suffer any, I don’t think, […]

Where Is Everybody Running Away To?

“The potential in Gary was and still is tremendous.” Edited by Welcome Project Intern Ella Speckhard Transcript for Where Is Everyone Running Away To? Everything was changing so fast. It was changing too fast. Everybody can adjust to change, but it just seemed like it happened overnight. But the physical town changed. And then, when […]