Señora Ibarra
Culturally Identifies as Mexican American

Who has influenced how you express your culture?

“I come from a very large family. I have a lot of aunts. My mom is one of 18 kids. My dad is one of nine. I have six siblings, so we have a very large family.It’s just kind of been everybody, not one like particular person that stands out. Living [in the United States] has also influenced our tradition. Even though we’ve kind of– I’m not sure if adapted is the right word– but kind of combined [with American culture]. [We] celebrate American holidays like Thanksgiving, you know, we still celebrate with turkey and stuffing, not necessarily Mexican food, or anything like that. We still do kind of a combination. We just like to celebrate anything [and] everything, so [we] just use everything as an excuse to celebrate and get together.”

Ashlyn Forde
Culturally Identifies as African American/Black

Is there any element of your culture to which you feel particularly connected?

“I think what I feel the most connected to would probably be music and food because I love African American food and Caribbean food…Any chance that I have to eat it I will definitely take. And I love music made by African American artists or Black artists because I feel like they’ve contributed a lot to music today. And so listening to…new innovations that they’re bringing to music, I think it’s really interesting to hear the different flavor that they have, compared to artists of other cultures. For Afro Caribbean artists, I like Michelle Montano. Another big one that a lot of people know is Popcaan…And then for African American artists I really like Tyler the Creator, Frank Ocean, Bent Bayaz, Kanye [and] Drake.”

Jenny Gibson
Culturally Identifies as Multicultural

What is your favorite part of your culture?

“I identify as being multicultural because of my mixed background of being half Korean, a quarter Anglo-Saxon, 12.5% Peruvian, 6.25% Russian and 6.25% Jewish. I feel the strongest connection to my Korean and Anglo-Saxon cultures. [My favorite part of my culture is] Korean and Peruvian [or] Latin American food. And I like how, in Korean culture, showing respect towards elders and being polite in public is a fundamental part of it…I also love traditional Peruvian clothing for their extremely elaborate designs and striking colors.”