Sasha: A Narrative of a Learning Journey of an Instructor

Contribution: The American dream leads many immigrants to transfer from many countries to the United States of America in hopes of better education, jobs, and resources. United States of America is known for its opportunities, ambitions, and adventurous possibilities. However, besides the American dream, the land poses many challenges to all international immigrants, specifically students and faculty members, who work hard to find their place in society and culture. Background: This research paper contributes to understanding the immigrant experience through Sasha's story. This is worth telling and reading as her perspectives are unique due to her identity as a Christian minority from India, a woman of color, a first-generation engineering student, and an international student, teacher, and researcher with no existing connection or community support in the United States. Besides the unique aspects, these experiences may provide many accounts shared in many other journeys that often remain unheard and unseen. This paper presents a story highlighting some aspects of this journey using a lived narrative experience of a South-Asian girl, Sasha (pseudonym). This paper is an inspirational story of a young girl who journeys from a large south-Asian country to the United States to find opportunities and her place. This narrative describes her ambitions, resilience, and perseverance in three roles: student, teaching track professor, and researcher. The story weaves her inspirations, motivations, challenges, and mitigation in all these roles. Research Questions: The paper addresses two research questions: 1) What are Sasha's main challenges as a woman of color, graduate student, instructor, researcher, and professor? 2) From Sasha's perspective, what has helped Sasha overcome these challenges? Methodology: The paper uses Sasha's recorded self-reflections as the main accounts of her story. She maintained regular journals of her journey, and they will be the primary source of data for this study. In her journals, Sasha expressed her emotions, struggles, issues, mitigation, and coping strategies. She also expressed and celebrated her successes during the entire journey. Findings: Using Sasha's reflections and the following narrative inquiry, we will present this journey to new faculty and researchers so they can relate to and adapt to her success, struggles, and emotions.