Celebrating our heritage was never a point of emphasis in my family. My grandparents believed that we were identified as Americans, and our German and Irish roots were never valued or stressed. This does not mean that I am not proud of my family. My grandfather was stationed in Alaska following the Korean War. His sense of humor in what many would view as an unfavorable situation is something I'm proud of. The newspaper and its misleading headline remind me of the wild stories he would tell about his time there and of everything else he told me. Enclosed in the envelope is his senior year report card. I chose to leave it in the envelope because it contains what many would consider "bad" grades, and I did not want to be responsible for any scholars experiencing a look at this for the first time. I know it would be too heavy a burden for most scholars to see more than one B on a major report card, so I saved them the troubles. His grades are important to me because he taught me that success is not determined by your school performance, but rather who you are, how you treat people, and how you make people feel. This is a lesson I plan on passing down to my children and grandchildren.

– CF

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more