In partnership with the
National Endowment for the Humanities
VOICES OF DIVERSITY
The total Hispanic population for Elkhart County in 2006 was listed by the Bureau of Census as 26,493, placing it third among the Indiana’s 92 counties in the state’s total share of Latino population and No. 2 behind Lake County in percent of its total population. Between 2000 and 2005 more than 8,000 moved to Elkhart County, second only to Marion County (Indianapolis) in growth during these five years. According to Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman, “By 1990, we had diversified to where about 5% of us were minorities. In the next ten years, the minority population had grown to 20%. In the past six years this number has nearly doubled to anywhere from 36-40%. We are indeed a cosmopolitan community.” Goshen Community Schools enrollment of minority students has grown from 9.2% in 1993-94 to 44% in 2006-07. Elkhart Community Schools has seen similar demographic shifts. The vast majority are of Hispanic backgrounds; 2,676 students in Elkhart are English as a New Language students.
These dramatic changes have occurred so rapidly that many in the community have expressed concerns. The following statements are among those gathered by Philip Thomas for his study in 2007, A Report on the Impact of Changing Demographics and Diversity in the City of Goshen: Issues, Challenges & Opportunities:
“Goshen is a very welcoming community. . .but the pace of this change is really pushing people. Most of these folks feel like they woke up one day and their whole community changed.”
“We’re on the brink of crisis with these issues, and the window of opportunity is going to be pretty short.”
“Where is the tipping point? We have been able to handle this situation so far because our value base has been strong enough to support a culture of tolerance, but how is it shifting? We are at a crux: Which way are we going to go?”
We know we are at a critical juncture in our Elkhart County community. Furthermore, we know that many of these new residents can provide valuable resources within our community, in work, family values, and cultural diversity. Clearly more understanding is needed of what benefits accrue to our community from the development of links between the larger community and those immigrants who demonstrate success and leadership qualities, building upon their cultural heritage, while moving into what has become for them a new world and a larger community.
In this project Voices of Diversity provides interviews with six people of various ages living in the Elkhart-Goshen region who are examples of Latino immigrants that have become successful bridging their native cultures and that of Elkhart County. These are persons who are part of the larger community and yet have retained their own cultural identities. They broaden the tapestry of Elkhart County’s culture and at the same time contribute to its economic base.
Why have these Latinos been successful? Here are their reasons for success, as stated or inferred from their interviews:
- Recognition of the very strong importance of education, both formal education and learning from lifelong experiences, i.e., the “college of hard knocks”;
- Hard work, goal setting, and establishing a vision of what they want to accomplish;
- Unwillingness to become bitter in the face of bigotry. In fact, they became even more determined to prove that they could achieve success.
Who are the ‘selected six’?
Here is what they are: Each represents a Latino immigrant (immigrants to Indiana – a couple were technically born in the United States) who is demonstrating a successful life. They are a diverse group, representing people all the way from a high school senior to a PhD.
Paulina Gomez
Interview No. 1 Paulina Gomez is a senior at Central High School, an honor student and a major contributor to our community. She was selected as an outstanding young woman of the year by the Elkhart YWCA and has the following record at the Elkhart Area Career Center, according to Director Steve Barkdull:
“State of Indiana Award for Excellence in Career and Technical Education” (recognizes top 10 CTE students in state)
Inducted into the National Technical Honor Society (sister organization to National Honor Society)
Gold Medal winner in State SkillsUSA competitions as a member of the three (3) person Health Knowledge Bowl Team. The team will be competing on the national level in Kansas City, MO this coming June.”
Paulina is quiet, almost to the point of seeming shy. But what a record and what aspirations she has! She is planning to enter college as a pre-med student.
Yvette Martinez
Interview No. 2 U. S. Marine Lance Corporal Yvette Martinez is a Central graduate, class of 2004. She was a leader in school, is a veteran of Iraq, and is currently stationed at Camp Lejeune. Her goal? To be a commissioned officer after graduating from college.
Yvette celebrating her Quinceañera
Lupe Martinez
Interview No. 3 Lupe Martinez, Hispanic Services Specialist at Farm Bureau Credit Union. Lupe is a single mother with three daughters, Yvette being the oldest. She was two years old when she arrived in Arizona, literally on the shoulders of her mother crossing the border. She’s worked in the fields in Arizona and has worked her way up as a respected mother (listen to what Yvette has to say about her!), businesswoman, and community leader.
Lupe as a five year old
Lupe’s mother picking onions
Miguel Millan
Interview No. 4 Miguel Millan, community leader. Miguel is a member of the Goshen Community Relations Commission and head of the Apan Community Center of Goshen, along with many other responsibilities. His commitment to education as a way of growing is evident in his children, one a Ball State graduate, two presently in college, and one in Goshen High School.
Miguel with his mother in Mexico.
Miguel and his son in Mexico
Juan (Johnnie) Cruz
Interview No. 5 Juan (Johnnie) Cruz, HR Manager for Cequent Towing, Inc. Johnnie is a native of Puerto Rico. He has responsibility for 636 employees who represent 50 different countries. Johnnie serves on several boards and advisory committees in Goshen and Elkhart.
Francisco Avila
Francisco’s vivid art work
Interview No. 6 Francisco Avila, PhD, a native of Venezuela and a micro biologist and artist in Elkhart. Francisco has a great story to tell of his moving to the United States and ultimately to Elkhart. Not only is he a micro biologist specializing in plant pathogens, he is an accomplished artist. His paintings have won prizes in regional art shows, and he has had individual showings in galleries around the area.
In a rural town in Venezuela
Bringing presents to children in a rural hospital
Francisco Avila’s family in Venezuela
PART TWO: Ideas for ways to use these podcasts
At first we thought that we should create several activities in this section illustrating ways to use the podcasts and related information. However, as we thought about it we realized that you, the targeted audiences, would be better than us to provide these kinds of resources. After all, this is the era of Web 2.0. Let’s join the crowd!
Speaking of crowds, this idea comes straight from the ideas presented by James Surowiecki, author of the best seller The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wisdom_of_Crowds Why can’t you, the readers and users of these podcasts and related information, provide a collection of ideas regarding how to use them better than one or two of us sitting in our cloistered cubicles waiting for an epiphany to occur?
We hope you and other participants will enjoy these materials and will gain new insights and a greater understanding of our new residents, both here in Indiana and elsewhere in our country.
A special thank you must be given to the organizations and people who have made this project possible:
- The Indiana Humanities Council for its Leadership Indiana grant;
- The Media Center at Elkhart Central High School, its Director Nico Valentijn and his students for their technical assistance;
- Robert Borrelli, for his excellent moderating of the interviews. Robert is eTruth (www.etruth.com) reporter with the online edition of The TRUTH, Elkhart County’s daily newspaper;
- The six people who agreed to be interviewed. Without their cooperation this project would not have been possible, and
- The Planning Committee for Voices of Diversity who gave their time to suggest participants, review materials, and who will form vital connections for its use both within Elkhart County and elsewhere around the world.
- We especially want to thank Gayle Davis, Eye2theWorld’s Vice President and Executive Vice President of Interlink Companies, and Chris Graham, Interlink Web Designer, for their assistance in creating both this general Web site and the linked wiki.
Below is a template that you can access because it is in wiki format. Fill in the necessary information so that everyone interested in this Web site can learn from your ideas. Leave comments, suggest follow-up activities, or suggest what we might add to make the site more complete. Perhaps others will then find new ways to incorporate these interviews into their activities. Some may even replicate the ideas they find here within other communities. Be sure to check with your employer’s technology policies to see if there are any restrictions regarding social networking sites. If so, enter from your personal source for access. http://www.eye2theworld.net/wiki/
The structure for activities is an adaptation of the format included in the Indiana Department of Education’s SMARTDesktop( http://www.smartdesktop.org ).
Good listening!
Joe Rueff, President, Eye2theWorld, Inc.