"I understand firsthand the challenges of moving to a new country and adapting to a new culture...If I can make even a small difference in easing that transition, one family at a time, all my efforts are worthwhile. At CRIS, I see our impact daily."

“The concept of home has always been an abstract one for me. Growing up as a young girl in the Democratic Republic of Congo, people often made comments about my family heritage as if it were foreign….I am sure there is a connection between my lived experience of never feeling quite at home and the work I now do at CRIS.”

“Every time I meet an arrival at the airport, I feel like it is December 12, 2000. The memory is always fresh. I always become emotional, and I feel that I have a special connection with them because I came here in the same way.”

“I started teaching English to refugees in 1986 and never stopped…”

“Working for CRIS now and helping others in a situation similar to what I experienced a few years ago gives me joy, peace, and purpose.”

“I feel like I am in the right place at the right time to be here in Columbus, working for CRIS, providing real help, and caring for others’ needs. I only wish I could’ve started [this work] earlier.”

“I sometimes share parts of my own story with families I serve—relocating to the U.S. as a teen, struggling to learn English and navigate the culture. I explain that though there were challenges, my adoptive parents were there to support me through it all. Now I can offer this same kind of support to others.”

“I do not see [my work at CRIS] simply as a job. I see it as an opportunity…to offer hope to others. I want to live as a person of hope.”

“I filed for asylum once I arrived in Miami in 1993, and my application was accepted within two weeks. I felt such relief at being granted asylum, but I was not really sure what to do next.”

"As a mother, I know that the relationship between a parent and child is perhaps the most impactful one in life, and it is gratifying to help those relationships blossom through my work."

“At 17 years of age, I applied to become a student at the University of Minnesota. After being accepted, I left my home country of Palestine—and all that I knew until that point in my life—and moved to Minneapolis.”

“I went from being well-known and well-established in my home to being in a place where I was just another face in the crowd and name on a page. It was an absolute shock to my being.”

“I realized when I started working in this position that I had already done similar work for years as a friend, neighbor, and community member. I love helping others. I hold in my mind a question that continues to motivate me, ‘What if I was in their shoes?’”

“Growing up as a middle-class child in Tanzania was a formative experience for me…Watching children my age live in completely different circumstances sparked my drive to help others and pushed me to study Public Administration at the University of Dar es Salaam.”

"My favorite moments are when I introduce mentors to families for the first time—seeing the beginnings of a meaningful relationship for both the mentor and mentee is a special experience."

“When my parents resettled to the United States in 1988, they had no support. They arrived with two young children—both born in a refugee camp in Pakistan—no higher education, and no formal assistance.”