The Globe for Good Podcast

Why push outside the comfort zone? Jorge Ramirez takes us from his joyful childhood in Colombia, the simple pleasures of small town living and his fond memories around sports, to how and why he decided to turn his passion for sports into his vocation. A recent grad from Columbia University's Masters program in Sports Management, Jorge shared with me the important elements he wants to focus on within the sports industry - gender, fairness, social impact, growth -  and how he sees himself translating them to the sports space in Latin America.

From Norway to NYC to London to Stockholm, Maren Eline Markussen’s story is one that is - like her - in constant forward motion. From her safe and cold childhood in Norway, Maren told me all about her dreams of becoming an actress, and how even through visa struggles and work challenges, she has never lost sight of her goals and how important they are to her. This is a story that will make you laugh and inspire you to take a chance on yourself, just like Maren has time and time again. To fail and pick yourself up, re-invent yourself and re-define what success really means to you.

Álvaro García Maldonado grew up in Marbella, Spain, playing sports outside in the sunshine with his twin brother and younger brother, waking up every morning looking accross at the African continent. They grew up knowing, quite directly that there was a huge world out there, that there were hundreds of different ways of understanding life, exposed very early to multiculuralism. It's no surprise they all ended up abroad, and in Álvaro's case specifically: in Africa. Listen to find out what took him there and how it was a turning point for him and also how he ended up here, in NY, studying Sports Management at Columbia University?

How did a Bosnian learn to speak Spanish? In one of the most unbelievable stories of hardship and success, this week Enisa shared with me all about her journey immigrating to the US to work as an Au Pair Nanny for a wealthy family in the Hamptons, and why she stayed here. She recounts the memories she has of growing up in the Bosnian war and how it shaped her as a person and goes into the shock and joy it was to come to New York as a young Muslim in her early twenties. Her story is one of heartache, determination, courage and hope. 

Between his unusually supportive family and the unique grassroots sport he picked as an obsession, Nishaad's story is nothing short of impressive. Growing up in India, we get to hear about how untraditional his upbringing was within his culture, very un-academic and immersed at an early age in Table Tennis - or Ping-pong as some know it. Nishaad's obsession soon became a career in the sport and his talent at it took him far, even as much as to represent his country, all with a value system at home that encouraged a mantra of "do whatever you love, but do it 100%". Find out what happened to the table-tennis career, what advice Nishaad would give to young peers and what it was like for him to immigrate to NYC. 

What used to be NYIT International is now The Globe for Good Podcast: A journey to highlight the incredible and courageous stories of immigrants to the US from all walks of life and hailing from all corners of the planet. Join me, Emily Tafur - your host - as I dig curiously into the stories of athletes, students, parents, artists, laborers and more to find out what the "American Dream" really looks like in the 21st Century and to learn about international cultures from all over the globe! In this re-launch episode we learn how the transition came about, the main goals and backstory of the podcast and get a quick teaser into some of the exciting characters we'll get to meet in this first season. Welcome all!  

With some tropical fruit, relaxation and island vibes, Sasha Duff closes out the second season of NYIT International for us. A PR and Advertising student at NYIT’s Manhattan campus, Sasha shares her memories of warmer times, fine sandy beaches and climbing fruit trees. Learn about her home country Trinidad and Tobago with me, its geography, cuisine and culture. Not making any promises but you may be personally invited to island carnival by the end of it, just saying - stick around! 

The COVID 19 pandemic has affected all areas of life and society, of that there is no doubt. With NY Tech being shut down (including the dorms) I couldn’t help but wonder how international students are handling all of this? Where are they settled in for the quarantine? Are they able to return to their home country and if not, for whatever reason, how are they dealing with isolation, loneliness and uncertainty? In this special edition Episode, I share the experiences of 4 of my past podcast guests who all are enduring this crisis differently: Ofentse Kwenaite from South Africa, Puja Rani Das from India, Anne-Sophie Ducloux from France and Lucie Delrue from Italy/France.

“I can’t believe you have ______ *Insert standard, global phenomenon here* (High school musical, the Disney channel, Nickelodeon, malls) in your country!” As international students, we’ve all gotten some insane statement like this at some point. Leanisa Paulino from the Dominican Republic actually began her venture into the English language with the help of pop culture sensations like High School Musical and Justin Bieber. She immigrated to the US with her family when she was just a teen and it changed the course of her education and her life. Join us for a quarantined, transatlantic chat, where we cover what it’s like being a High School Student in NYC, accents, picking a college major and more!

Yup, just as you read it, "THE" Gambia, make sure not to call her country plain 'Gambia' or to call it 'small' or Adam Lee Bah - our resident Gambian student -  will be correcting you. In this episode of NYIT International, Lee tries to explain some of the deep-rooted West African practices she grew up with, while reminiscing on all the good, the bad and the ugly parts of her childhood there. She shares courageously on difficult topics like feminism and female genital mutilation, as well as sheds some knowledge, hope and light on what it means to be an ambitious African female leader and media-maker. 

**Warning, explicit content - may not be appropriate for younger audiences. 

Last semester we talked about my African safari experience in Kenya, now we turn to a new kind: Tiger safari, in West Bengal India! Just kidding, this episode is about so much more than tigers, meet Puja Rani Das - also from West Bengal, India: a graduate Communication Arts student at NYIT's Long Island campus. Puja is bright, funny and ambitious, I hope in listening to our interview you'll be inspired by her wit, joy and passion for life and media. Stay spicy NYIT International listeners! 

Is Paris calmer than New York? Is our subway confusing? What’s the big deal with French romance and how does one venture into a career in cinema? Parisian NYIT Student at the Manhattan campus Anne-Sophie Ducloux joined me in chatting about all of this and more. Major plot twist, she hopes to make it eventually to Korea for an internship, why? Join us, take a listen and find out.

Back to Asia for this episode, we meet Prem Naresh Sanghvi, an undergraduate business student from Mumbai, India. We chat about everything from dreams of being a pilot to growing up in India to finance and the initial shock of a first time arrival to the US. 

Welcome back NYIT International listeners! To start off the second season we have Lucie Delrue, a graduate Communications student who attends the Manhattan campus of NYIT. Lucie is from both Italy and France, yes you read that right, from both! That's what makes this episode super interesting, she's a hybrid of two (and even more) cultures and aren't we all in some way? We chat about how that multiculturalism has shaped who she is and where she sees herself going in the future. 

At a loss for Latin American students, I decided to end the first season with a country and story I know pretty well: my own. Growing up in Colombia was amazing, I honestly have no complaints. But when I moved to the US it seemed anyone I spoke to I had to convince that my country is actually a great place. So here's my chance with you, hear the reality about Colombia and learn what a great first visit might be! 

Graduate students have a little bit of a different background and student experience, so I decided to interview one of the most unique ones I've met so far: Xiaoyan Zhang or 'Zoe' her chosen English-language name. With her daughter at the forefront of her choice to come to New York to get an MA in Comm arts, her experience is practical, realistic and inspiring. With her business back in Shanghai, her family and entire life, she made a huge sacrifice in coming here, but her reasons are well founded and admirable. 

In this episode we meet Victoire Chapin, a communications student at NYIT's Manhattan campus from Paris, France. Victoire grew up in a multi-cultural home and dreamed of working on Broadway. She also grew up traveling constantly and couldn't believe how unusual her nomadic lifestyle seemed to Americans. With her story its inevitable to wonder, what distinctions do we make in American culture between vacation and travel? Are they the same? Does traveling have to be a luxury expense that only qualifies as "vacationing"? Or can it be a part of ones life meant to enrich and challenge and make us grow? Meet Victoire and decide for yourself.

Dumplings and start-ups take over this time when we meet a talented Slovakian communicator: Veronika Nemcová. She relates how growing up in Europe is more of a fluid experience, a little bit all-over-the-place more so really than a single nationality, and how that has changed the way she sees the world. She loves the practicality of her NYIT education and has a unique and admirable point of view regarding her future. 

In Part 2 of NYIT International's Africa feature, we meet Ofentse Kwenaite, a senior Communications major and soccer player on the Long Island Campus. He's originally from South Africa and has a lot to say about his unique childhood, his arrival to the US and lots more! 

This week, a reverse international experience. I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in East Africa and in this episode I share a little of what it was like to go from the US to Kenya and Tanzania. Hint: There's a whole lot more than animals and plains! 

When I first thought of European International students, I never imagined they would have came from rural communities. To my pleasant surprise, when I met Bernd, from Germany, I got to learn about his childhood on the family farm, and the journey he underwent to get where he is now: on his way to an MBA and a key player on NYIT's soccer team. 

What is this show all about? Hear it for yourselves. Ever wondered what its like to come to the US as an international student? The challenges and joys, the language barrier and more.