The European Migration crisis saw the deadliest mass exodus of people in the 21st century. The crisis impacted and is still impacting Morocco politically, socially, and its economic landscape. American media focused heavily on the Syrian refugee migration from the Middle East through the Balkans to European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and France but failed to show the complex migration issues in North Africa, specifically Morocco. In continuum with the refugee crisis in Syria, push factors like economic disparity, human rights violations and civil unrest has forced thousands of Sub Saharan Africans to search for a new life somewhere else. This multimedia project serves to highlight the experiences of transit migrants in Morocco as they wait to make the journey across the Mediterranean Sea. This creative project utilized photojournalism to tell four distinct stories: Immigration Policies between Morocco and Spain, Migrants and the church, a profile on a migrant, and a photo collection of unaccompanied migrant youth. The purpose of this creative project was to show a different perspective of migrants and their experiences.

Immigration policy in the United States today is complex and far-encompassing. This project aims to present it in an easily accessible way: Through the eyes of those who have experienced its effects in a deeply personal manner. This online project, housed at http://immigrant-experience.com/, includes profiles of four people who have immigrated to the United States from other countries. The website includes graphics and multimedia elements, that help to tell their stories. It also provides information about immigration statistics, research and policy. The DREAMer who came to the country as a child, the young Mexican man on a seasonal visa, and the Eritrean refugee share in the immigrant experience, but the effects of U.S. policy on their lives are vastly different. Factors at play include age, education, country of origin and socioeconomic status. These factors are what shape the policy that dictates whether an immigrant can become an American citizen. They are also what make Gloria, Adrian and Azarya's stories so unique. It is a multitude of personal stories that collectively define the immigrant experience. These stories may be drastically different, depending on the country of origin and circumstances of each individual, but some aspects of the experience are shared. The difficulties inherent in uprooting oneself from a familiar community are common to "immigrants" of all shapes and sizes: students moving out of state for college, new hires moving to a new city, parents moving their children into a better neighborhood, etc. Through in-depth profiles of immigrants from a wide variety of backgrounds, this project highlights those shared experiences while showing the diversity of personal stories, challenging contemporary stereotypes about immigrant populations.

Understanding transborder relations is becoming more important than ever to understand as the possibility of legislation of a border wall is causing an international debate. The communities along the more than 1,900 mile-long U.S.-Mexico border are complex and unique in their cultures, governance and economies. Many of the border's micro issues are directly related to their geographic location that are often unheard of in the rest of the country. Border cities face certain public education issues not faced elsewhere. Overcrowded schools is not unheard of along the border, but in the city of San Luis, Arizona, the debate is hotter than before. Thousands of students, many of which are U.S. citizens, are living in Mexico and going to school in the border city of San Luis. In my in-depth story "Children cross the border daily for school - and how that's changing," I focus on one student, Eduardo, 14. I present his motives, efforts and obstacles of going to school in Southwest Junior High School in San Luis, Arizona while living in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora in Mexico. As he prepares to transition into secondary school, he is trying to decide with his mother what is his best high school option as attending a school in the U.S. is becoming more and more difficult for students like him. Crossing the Port of Entry as a pedestrian is becoming more dangerous, the only high school in the city is overcrowded, and the new superintendent seeks to have students residing in Mexico pay tuition, which Emiliano's single mother cannot afford. In the following subsections of this essay I will describe my thought process behind narrowing my topic, the process of executing my research and narrative, and the obstacles and ethical dilemmas of reporting in San Luis, my hometown.

The U.S. Census Bureau's 2014 American Community Survey reports there are approximately 884,000 immigrants living in Arizona. Of these, 64 percent (around 570,000 people) come from Latin America. However, 73 percent (over 390,000) of these Latino immigrants are not U.S. citizens. They fall under four categories as designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security: permanent residents, refugees and asylees, temporary visa holders and unauthorized residents. The link to the website where the thesis is located is: americandreamaz.wordpress.com This study looks into the struggles immigrant Latino students have faced growing up in the United States based on each of these categories, especially now that they are nearing high school graduation and applying for college.The first segment of this study explains the types of Latino immigrants living in Arizona, a synopsis of the struggles immigrant families face and an explanation of legislation that has given the undocumented students a chance for a better future. The second segment is the testimonies of six high school students from San Tan Valley, Arizona who have faced challenges growing up in the United States as immigrants. Each of these students come from different backgrounds and countries, but have many similarities in the obstacles they have had to overcome since moving to the United States. The final segment of this study is an explanation to the use of a Cannon DSLR camera for the filming of the interviews, instead of the larger Sony NX video camera that is typically used by journalists in the field.

https://mendotadrought.wordpress.com/

Beginning in 2011, California’s most recent drought has brought four years of some of the warmest and driest seasons on record. Mendota, California in the San Joaquin Valley is a microcosm of the struggles many agriculture communities face when water resources are scarce. Known as the “cantaloupe capital of the world,” agriculture represents over half of Mendota’s economy, making unemployment one of the many challenges they face. However, community members are working to move forward and preserve the place they call home.

Medota has a population of about eleven thousand people with over 96 percent of them being Hispanic. The stories of elected officials, field workers, farmers, police, school leaders and local business owners give testament to a mounting fear for future water allocation. But their voices also give way to a shared belief—the community’s resilience will persevere through California’s drought. Mendota is presented through a multi-media piece that uses photos, videos and descriptive articles to showcase both their hardship and hope.

Arizona's English Language Learners have the lowest graduation rate in the nation at 18 percent in the 2013-2014 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. There is no federal standard for how to teach English Language Learners. Arizona mandates that all English Language Learners be enrolled in a four-hour model for quick language acquisition, a system that went into effect in 2009. It is the only program of its kind in the country. Graduation rates dropped from 48 percent, the year before the model was implemented, to 19 percent in 2014, according to data from the Arizona Department of Education. Advocates have argued that the model creates a barrier to graduation and segregates students by language while the state and immersion advocates maintain that the model is working. The model was the focus of a federal civil rights appeal that eventually ruled in favor of the state. But educators say problems persist. The difference in opinions stem from conflicting philosophies about the best method for language acquisition \u2014 bilingual or immersion. The debate is heated and rightfully so - Hispanic and Latino students make up a majority of the school-aged population meaning the education of their community can have lasting impacts on Arizona's economy. With a growing Hispanic and Latino population nationally, Arizona's education system is put in the national spotlight. If Arizona can get ahold of its education system, one advocate said, the impacts would ripple across the nation.

Voices of the Past, Voice of the Future is project created by Christopher Silavong. This is a personal story where I delve into my parents' past and a country of which I knew nothing. As a child, I never learned about my parents' country, nor did I ask about their childhood and what Laos was like. I'm sure they spoke about their past in passing, but I didn't pay attention or asked further questions. I was young and time seemed forever. And then in 2012, the realization that one day they'll die became real. My father suffered a stroke nine days before my birthday. I wanted to know who my parents were and what brought them to America. My parents' stories will be incomplete. They've lived in America much longer than they'd lived in Laos, and it's difficult for them to remember what happened to them at 10 years old, especially for my father. It also doesn't help that I don't know how to speak Lao. This is a working project, and I'll continue asking them about their lives until I no longer can. But for now, here's what I've pieced together.