The Host of Feels Like You Belong Alan Headbloom and interculturalist Christian Höferle will present the topic “The Culture Talk: Finding Belonging of Separation” at 2 p.m. today, live on The Culture Mastery Facebook Page.
In these challenging times of working from home or in physical distance from coworkers and customers, it an be even harder to develop a sense of belonging.
Today, Höferle and Headbloom will talk about what it means to belong during lockdowns, shutdowns, and isolation, as well as the stresses of being far form one’s cultural “home.”
An estimated 11 million residents of the United States do not have formal authorization to live there. Some overstayed visas. Others crossed the border illegally in search of work, safety, or family members.
Over the years, they have become contributing members of their respective communities: from Savannah to Spokane, from Albany to Albuquerque. They clean our hotel rooms, pick our produce, construct buildings, and even start businesses in their adopted cities.
Born of the farmworker movement, Cosecha (Spanish for “harvest”) is advocating for life with dignity for all immigrants. Sergio Cira Reyes explains how.
WKTV’s Joanne Bailey-Boorsma gets the scoop about SpringGR from Arlene Campbell, chief creator of opportunities and Attah Obande, director of dream fulfillment
SpringGR is a 12-week training experience to help entrepreneurs develop their business idea or business. This Thursday, Dec. 5, SpringGR will host its fall graduation at 6pm at 818 Butterworth St. SW. Valet parking is complimentary and available for the event. Six SpringGR entrepreneurs will pitch their businesses to a group of judges. Go here for the details.
The true spirit of giving
A group of Grand Valley State University engineering students recently delivered a custom-built electric swing to an area family to help their daughter with special needs. The students built the specialized swing for Alexis Truax after her mother, Sarah Truax, contacted the School of Engineering after seeing a story on the local news about a similar project. More about this project here.
Have coffee with this guy
Alan Headbloom tapes his show here at WKTV
‘Feel Like You Belong’ producer and host Alan Headbloom will be the featured guest at Mr. Sid’s Wednesday Afternoon Video Series Wednesday,Dec. 4, at Marge’s Donut Den, 1751 28th St. SW, in Wyoming. Headbloom, who has 30 years of experience in cross cultural communication on six continents, will be discussing ‘Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them’ at 2pm. Read all about it here.
Fun fact:
The Beatles song ‘A Day in the Life’ has a frequency only dogs can hear
In an interview in 2013, Paul McCartney said that he added a frequency only dogs can hear to the end of the Beatles song ‘A Day in the Life’.
A 5-cent, hour-long phone call from a pay phone convinced a young Dominican immigrant that West Michigan was a place she could live. Fast-forward several decades, Ana Jose is boldly transforming the local business climate for Latino-owned enterprises one conversation, one seminar at a time. Join us to be inspired by this ever-humble, ever-aspiring young woman!
As lifelong educators and parents of biracial children, Melissa Giraud & Andrew Grant-Thomas are uniquely qualified to examine the country’s most skittish conversation: race. Together they share personal observations as well as tips for parenting while Embracing Race.
On his return visit to our studio, orphaned refugee Phillip Nguyen expresses gratitude for the country that took him in. With pride, he talks about his company’s new charity app, EZsamaritan. With an investment of 45,000 work hours, this app is a free resource to the 1.7 million non-profits across the United States. According to entrepreneur Nguyen, it’s all about giving back.
Michigan-born Carla Canales is a child of immigrant parents who uses her multi-cultural and multi-lingual upbringing in her day job as a world-traveling soprano. When she lands long enough in her current hometown of New York, she’s busy singing the praises of famous women, from Malala to Michelle Obama. Join us for this fascinating interview!
Fridah Kanini talks about the journey that led her to Michigan from her native Kenya: hardships, tenacity, and the drive to create community. An entrepreneur at heart, she talks about founding the first-ever African Festival coming to Grand Rapids on Aug. 10.
Swithina Mboko is a professor at the Seidman college of business at Grand Valley State University. In this interview, she discusses the culture differences between Zimbabwe and the US, the trials of teaching in a foreign country, and her qualitative research surrounding refugee entrepreneurs.
Vishavjit Singh is a first-generation South Asian-American cartoonist, writer, and performance artist. He joins us to talk about growing up Sikh in North America, living in New York after the 9-11 terrorist attack, and using one’s superpowers for good.
Growing up in southwest Grand Rapids, young Israel Ledesma knew both good times and bad. Using his personal experiences from the hard times – including brushes with the law — this local Latino leader fashioned his own view on kids, community, and the importance of mentoring.
From jobs in hospitality to car sales to organizational leadership, Carlos Sanchez has shown a bent for business. He joins us to tell of his own professional trajectory, including falling in love with an American along the way. Today, he uses his passion for talent development to share his vision for creating Latinx opportunities in his adopted West Michigan home.
Frank Wu joins us to discuss growing up Asian American in very-white suburban Detroit. He shares the chilling impact of the 1982 Detroit murder of Vincent Chin on the Asian-American community. Finally, he calls for strengthened coalition building across the diverse Asian populations of the U.S.
Reyna Orellana Masko shares some of the unspeakable horrors of life, violence, and death in her native El Salvador. A U.S. citizen today, she calls for the national administration to reinstate Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for the 200,000 Salvadorans at risk of being sent back to a land of estrangement and danger. Relatedly, she calls for Ottawa County residents to create a more welcoming community that is able to attract and retain diverse workers who are the global doers of tomorrow.
[Parental Warning: May not be suitable for younger children.]
Just looking at his name, one can tell that Marcelo Lehninger was destined to be a citizen of the world. The child of a Brazilian violinist and German pianist, young Marcelo grew up with two constants in his life: global fluidity and music. Today, he unites his passions on a third continent as music director for the Grand Rapids Symphony. Join us for an uplifting conversation about life, love, and music!
From Grand Rapids to Sundance. A young man finds his passion in digital storymaking. In the process, Shane McSauby discovers his Native American roots and a drive to empower others.
Marcel “Fable” Price talks of his challenging youth, a teacher who saw promise in him, and the redemptive power of poetry. As Poet Laureate of Grand Rapids, Michigan, he uses his platform to empower area youth, call out public policies that marginalize brown and black people, and advocate for mental health services.
Lucia Rios was born with spina bifida but also with a family who urged her to try to do anything she wanted to. That included trying roller-skating on crutches and attending university in an era when the U.S. was still working to become handicap-accessible. She joins colleague Stacey Trowbridge to talk about stigmas, accommodation, and common-sense tips around disability.
Herself the child of itinerant parents, Olivia Sprinkel finds herself transplanted across the Atlantic to New York City. There she guides Fortune 500 companies in achieving big visions for sustainability. Join us for a conversation on expat life, innovation, and charting one’s North Star.
Back in Mexico, Mercedes Lopez-Duran got important advice when she started as a restaurant dishwasher: You are the one responsible for your own career trajectory. Taking that guidance to heart, she worked her way up to cook and moved with daughter Paola to the United States. When a Mexican restaurant came up for sale, the intrepid duo took a deep breath, leapt into the void, and never looked back. Today, El Granjero Mexican Grill celebrates 10 years of good cooking in the Bridge Street neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the process, they created a place for locals to feel like they belong.
At its best, America is a place of welcome for the oppressed and homeless of the world. A great example of this welcome is the vocational English program for Bhutanese refugees in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Krishna Bista, a Bhutanese volunteer educator, joins Minnie Morey, President of the West Michigan Asian American Association, to share the details.
Amer Ahmed grew up in the United States in the awkward brown immigrant space between black and white. Hear how one Muslim boy’s diverse upbringing influenced a career of bridging differences and teaching others to work more inclusively.
In his native Congo, Kyezie Bwanangela found himself running for his life ahead of armed militias. Luckily, the young man found safety and eventual refugee status in the United States. The criminal justice major joins us to talk about corruption, leadership, and what is needed to regain democracy.
From Grand Rapids to Sundance. A young man finds his passion in digital storymaking. In the process, Shane McSauby discovers his Native American roots and a drive to empower others.
Reyna Orellana Masko shares some of the unspeakable horrors of life, violence, and death in her native El Salvador. A U.S. citizen today, she calls for the national administration to reinstate Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for the 200,000 Salvadorans at risk of being sent back to a land of estrangement and danger. Relatedly, she calls for Ottawa County residents to create a more welcoming community that is able to attract and retain diverse workers who are the global doers of tomorrow.
What would you do if you were a farmer thrown out of your native land? Listen as Kharka Turung tells of losing both his birth country and his ethnic homeland. With the aid of Bethany Christian Services, Kharka finds friendship through Hope Farms manager Scott Townley and meaningful work as he regains his agrarian past in the midst of a bewildering new language and culture.
Reouhidi Ndjerareou has an imposing name and a matching vision for leadership across the continent of his native Africa. Join us in the studio where this itinerant son of a preacher man talks of navigating the tricky issues of geography and ethnic identity. Caught between the U.S. and birth country of Chad, Reouhidi shares with viewers his take on colonialism, cross-cultural relationships, and national empowerment. Be ready to be inspired.
Metta Anongdeth knew something was wrong when her grandmother came to bathe and dress her and her young siblings with tears in her eyes. It turned out to be the day her parents would smuggle their family out of Communist Laos, leaving extended family behind–perhaps forever. Don’t miss this inspiring story of danger, courage, and embracing a new life in a distant land.
Seeking asylum from the Ethiopian civil war, Nardos Osterhart settled in the U.S. with her parents and siblings. If this child of a diplomat learned one thing, it was adaptation. That hard-earned determination got her through college, landed her a job in healthcare, and propelled her onto — of all places — a comedy stage! Stay tuned. After our conversation, Nardos shares some of her home-grown humor with Feel Like You Belong viewers.
Moving to her third country nets Juane Odendaal a national collegiate championship. Tune in as Alan invites this South African-born soccer defender to talk of sisterhood, cross-border etiquette, and what it takes to balance a passion for sport and people.
“How do I buck the expectations of my parents and a billion people back home?” Chinese students in the U.S. ask this question this every day. “Do I listen to the counsel of my family, as tradition dictates? Or do I follow the passions of my heart?” Creative business strategist Ning Liu talks about her life journey in the context of this cultural conundrum.
When the Mexican peso devalued, Juan Daniel Castro found he owed more money than he earned. So, he did what any optimist would do: summoned his courage, applied for a visa, and moved to the U.S. Twenty years later, he is an American citizen, the leader of a salsa band, and an advocate for healthcare in the Latino community.
On a cold blustery winter Friday, Feel Like You Belong made a road trip to the Sikh gurdwara (temple) in Ada, Michigan. The members of the Sikh Society of West Michigan greeted us warmly and staged a special worship service with instrumental music and singing–even though their normal worship falls on Sunday. Afterwards, we were treated to a delicious lunch and gracious conversation in their dining hall. Join us for a special edition when we talk with temple priest Bhai Baljeet Singh and temple member Veenu Suri. In a later installment, we will share an absolutely charming interview with octogenarian temple member Kashmir Singh.
