Voices

From DIGITIZE (by Emma) – Before February 2022, people didn’t really understand my Ukrainian background. They’d ask, “Why do you speak Russian if you’re Ukrainian?” For me, it was never really worth explaining it. But when the Ukraine War took over every headline in the country all of a sudden everybody cared.

From DIGITIZE (by Taya) – As I stroll along the streets of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a vibrant palette of cultures greets me. From Uzbek to Korean to Russian appearances, the vast array of ethnicities is astounding. It’s just one country, but everywhere I go, different dialects are spoken and different clothes greet me. I had only ever imagined my family being the “different” one in this scenario, but I was proven wrong.

From DIGITIZE (by Finn) – I have light brown wavy hair that used to be white-blond when I was a baby. My eyes are green. I’m tall and pretty skinny. I wear glasses. Those are all clearly visible things about me. What’s less clear is that I’m also a quarter Chinese. 

From DIGITIZE (by Lilian) – I see the world as an opportunity of what it can be. Through nationality, politics, our fears, and our hopes, my family has brought together their experiences to create how I interact with my everyday life in public and at home.

From EchoX’s DIGITIZE (by Jehan) – Recognition without true representation can be a complex discussion and something that is difficult to clock. On one hand, seeing your community on the big screen is exciting. Familiar faces, traditions, and even language, are shown to the world and add a watchful thrill. However, what happens when your community falls victim to continuous inaccurate portrayals? I’m often left with a headache, wondering why this occurs and about the harm it causes to my own Somali community.

From DIGITIZE (by Jada) – Whenever I tell someone I’m half Fijian they look at me confused, not knowing what that is. Not until I say “you know, like the bottled water” do they understand what I mean by Fiji. For those who still don’t know, I explain that Fiji is a small island country in the South Pacific Ocean. Anyone can agree that it has the most beautiful scenery from its luscious green palm trees to its crystal clear blue waters. 

From DIGITIZE (by Isabel) – Alex Zúñiga is a Project Manager for Azure Integration Services at Microsoft, graduating from the University of Washington (UW) Paul G Allen School of Computer Science with a bachelor’s in computer science in the summer of 2022. However, the experience of getting to this position was a long, tedious road.

From DIGITIZE (by Gabby) – My sister once said that our home, the land of our ancestors, looked just like heaven. She was showing me a photo of a beautiful river with the sunlight beaming perfectly on the branches and trees, the rocks formed on the river to make smoothly balanced bumps in the water.

From DIGITIZE (by Emily) – Grades are important to many students, but due to cultural pressures, Asian American students in particular can be more susceptible to basing their self-esteem on academic validation.