VOYAGELA MAGAZINE – LA’S MOST INSPIRING STORIES
Interview with Sarah Katrina
Hi Sarah Katrina, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Looking back, I can genuinely say – That, WOW, I’m the American dream!
My parents are immigrants from former Yugoslavia, now Montenegro.
They escaped their homeland via Greece and Italy for a better life in America. They arrived in Manhattan, New York, in the late 60s with no financial support, no fundamental job skills, and less than a high school education. While living in NYC, they worked numerous jobs, including building suppers, garment workers, and cleaning people. They settled in Los Angeles, CA, roughly ten years later.
They often speak of their “starving days” and what life was like living in a studio apartment with my older brother, who was quickly born after arriving in the States. About nine years later, I was born in Manhattan, New York, and my family was more established, and we lived in a one-bedroom apartment. After moving to Los Angeles, my father worked at General Mills, the factory, for almost 35 years, and my mother worked as a cleaning lady and then a homemaker. Overall, I had a very humble childhood. My parent saved every penny to purchase their first home, which was apartment units. We lived in the apartment units until I was 18 and finally moved to our first single-family home. It took them almost 25 years to buy their first single-family home.
As a first-generation American, part of your role with your parents is to be part of a big team working hard to establish yourself in a new land. Growing up, my parents relied on my English skills to translate documents or fill out official forms. I had to become a reader fast, but I struggled and had a massive disconnect with reading. As I began school, it was assumed for many years that I struggled to become a reader because English was my second language.
Read more: http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-sarah-katrina-maruani-of-kids-on-the-yard/
