EZ21 Struggles to Lawful Residency

With her ailing mother’s encouragement, she packed her two suitcases and moved from Colombia to an empty apartment in North Carolina. She struggled to gather her life before her daughters arrived, but she learned to dry her tears and move on with her life. My guest this week is Maria Isabel Monsalve, who left her life as the dean of the school of education to live in her dream country. She faced many struggles during her citizenship journey, and finally, after 13 years she received her green card. In this episode, not only she talks about her journey, the struggles she and her daughters faced, the lessons she learned during her immigration journey, and the values she taught her daughters who are a diplomat and a Harvard student. As a kindergarten teacher to minority students, Maria has valuable insight for immigrant parents and teachers in these trying times regarding teacher, student, parent triangle, and the importance of parent involvement in a virtual setting while helping teachers understand a valuable lesson.