“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 […]
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 […]
Code-Switching
“And so they had to negotiate both of those worlds. That’s what black people have always done.” Recorded over Zoom. Edited by Rebecca Warner. Transcript for Code-Switching The journey of my parents to South Bend, Indiana is—to me, it’s very interesting. They both went to Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis. They were both born […]
Watching Fires
“No other part of their humanity could be seen beyond the color of their skin.” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · Watching Fires This interview was recorded over Zoom. Transcript for Watching Fires I grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts. It’s right in the City of Boston. My family was the second African American—Afro-Caribbean family to […]
I Wanted More for My Kid
“As a parent, sometimes you just overthink things.” Edited by Welcome Project Intern Ella Speckhard Transcript for I Wanted More for My Kid The reason why I originally moved to Schererville is because, one reason was that, you know, I wanted the better schools for my son. Just when you start thinking about, you know, […]
In Thy Light, We See Light
“No light, no engagement; no light, no understanding.” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · In Thy Light, We See Light Transcript for In Thy Light, We See Light I’ve always been the kind of person “get in where you fit in.” I was a black student leader on the campus when I got here, and […]