There was a lot to “unpack” as students in the Global & Environmental Studies Certificate (GESC) program took a road trip to the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History in Hartford in early November to learn about the various groups who have immigrated to and live in Connecticut. 

There were four segments to the visit. Divided into smaller groups, the students learned about the stories of people who came to Connecticut from other countries; they looked through trunks containing items immigrants might have carried in their suitcases; they acted out jobs that many immigrants have done in Connecticut, from harvesting tobacco to working on assembly lines; and they examined primary sources, such as newspaper articles, about Puerto Rican immigration to Hartford, one of the largest populations to do so. 

Each fall, students go into the community as part of a GESC seminar to experience how the Hartford area fits into the world, said Richard Karrat, an associate director of the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies. There is preparation before such trips — in this case a video with questions to answer — and each student writes a post-visit reflection.  

In her reflection, senior Rachel Budd wrote, “Toward the beginning of the time spent at the museum, I participated in a primary source workshop focused on the Puerto Rican community in Hartford and the challenges and issues that affected them during the 1950s–1970s. To list a few, there was a lack of Spanish churches, lack of housing, lack of job opportunities, socioeconomic challenges, lack of representation in officials, lack of access to education, voting rights issues, discrimination, and police brutality.” Students also learned about the establishment of the Greater Hartford Puerto Rican Parade, which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year. 

The trip brought to life three learning pillars of the GESC program: seek knowledge, enhance understanding, and develop skills. 

“The activity in which we were all given a suitcase of a family that immigrated to Connecticut allowed me to gain empathy for the various circumstances these families were in that prompted them to move from their place of origin,” senior Nina Cushman wrote in her reflection.  

Nina said that by seeing “postcards, family photos, and keepsakes inside these suitcases,” she was able to better understand the perspectives of the families. She also said the job stations that allowed students to try such things as “brick laying, factory work, and hanging tobacco leaves” furthered her understanding of the immigrant experience “as I was envisioning myself doing this work in real life and on a daily basis.” 

Nina also read an oral history “of a young girl who emigrated from Puerto Rico and had to learn how to navigate school and a social life in a language she barely knew.” That, she said, only increased her empathy “by forcing me to imagine this young girl’s helplessness and lack of agency she had in this entirely new environment. By being able to learn substantially more about the reality of life for immigrants in Connecticut, I’m left wondering how these conditions are different or similar and better or worse than immigrants of other countries and other regions of the U.S.” 

Senior Sydney Hallowell’s suitcase activity involved an immigrant who had experienced the Irish potato famine. “Though I knew of it, the suitcase activity really shed light on how desperate times were,” Sydney wrote in her reflection. 

A small taste of the labor involved in making a living as an immigrant made a strong impression on senior Maya Bell. “I picked up the stack of bricks that was much smaller than what these people had to do, and I could barely pick it up, let alone lift it over my head like they had to do,” Maya said. 

Senior Michaela Howe said her group “focused on a program in which Chinese students participated in an exchange program throughout the U.S. This helped me understand the students' situations as they were a similar age to me. Another activity that I found interesting was a primary source study in which we analyzed migration trends through a census from the early 20th century. In both these activities, I connected previous information gathered from classes and my trip to France to comprehend the material better. For example, in Marseilles, we learned a lot about how immigrants bring culture to their new homes.” Michaela was part of an International Educational Program trip in June coordinated by the Alvord Center. 

On its website, the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History notes that it was established in 1825 and “houses exhibitions, a library, a research center, and a collection that includes more than 4 million manuscripts, graphics, objects, and artifacts.” 

One exhibition, which Richard had not known the students would see, was an ofrenda, which is an offering placed in an altar setting during the annual Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration. An ofrenda generally is created by family members of someone who has died and welcomes the deceased to the altar. 

“This was the little cherry on top,” Richard said. “Not only were we learning about immigration, but a tradition was showcased.”