As an immigrant from Peru who has lived in numerous countries, Pablo Chignolli was inspired to create a project telling the stories of individuals with diverse backgrounds at Westerville Central High School.
Chignolli, a Spanish teacher at Central, worked with English for Speakers of Other Languages program (ESOL) teacher Deb Jones to recruit students for the memoir project titled “THE ONES AMONG US, Memoirs of Diverse High School Students in America.”
“In the last couple of years working as a teacher at Westerville Central, I have seen an increased number of students from diverse cultural backgrounds attending our school,” Chignolli says. “Because of that, as an immigrant and member of a minority group in this country, I created this book project … to provide diverse students with an opportunity to express their voices.”
A Tale of Their Own
Chignolli and Jones recruited 20 sophomores and juniors – eight boys and 12 girls – who originate from 14 different countries including Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Rwanda, Ukraine and the U.S. as subjects for the project.
To write their narratives, students were asked to answer about 90 questions bout everything from their favorite phrase in their native language to their school memories, their transition to life in the U.S. and their American Dream, after which the information was formatted into a story
“In some cases, I translated from and to English, Spanish and Portuguese. Many hours of work went into this project: writing, constantly reviewing the work, meetings, working out logistics, presentations, printing, traveling and communicating with different people throughout the community,” Chignolli says. “As complex as this process has been, it has been very nice getting to know the students and to read about them.”
Akriti with her artist, Emily Rogers, and parents, Gopal and Naina. By Jane Dimel.
The memoir project is not only about telling the students’ stories, but also about highlighting the rich diversity that defines the American high school experience. Chignolli plans to publish the book so current and future Westerville educators will receive a copy and feel encouraged to reflect on the importance of open cultural conversations and creating a more inclusive education system. He is also connecting with The Ohio State University to bring the project to immigration courses and encourage more students to tell their stories.
Chignolli’s project was supported by a grant from the Westerville Educators Foundation, and through the City of Westerville, he was able to partner with Louise Captein, an associate professor in Otterbein University’s art department and an immigrant from the Netherlands. Captein recruited her students to create portraits of the high schoolers in the artistic style of former President George W. Bush’s book, Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants, written about the lives of immigrants in pursuit of the American Dream.
In January, a gallery showcasing the Otterbein students’ hand-crafted portraits of the immigrant students opened at Taylor Lounge in Otterbein’s Campus Center. This event allowed some of the Central students to see their portraits for the first time.
The portraits are now on display in Central, where they premiered for the school’s Culture Day on Feb. 29.
“Everyone involved in this project has a special relationship with the Westerville community, therefore I can say that it is a ‘Made in Westerville’ product and we are very proud of that,” Chignolli says.
Meet the Students
Two of the students involved in the project, Ihor Cherednickenko and Akriti Kami, talked about their stories and involvement in the project
Cherednichenko is from Kyiv, Ukraine. He moved to Westerville with his mother, brother, aunt and grandparents from Ukraine in 2022, searching for a better life during the ongoing war with Russia. His father and other family members remain in Ukraine.
He has embraced American traditions, including holidays, and is passionate about remembering his Ukrainian culture. His mother emphasizes the importance of not forgetting his native languages, Russian and Ukrainian, or holidays such as Bacha and St. Nicholas Day.
“I am a proud Ukrainian,” Cherednichenko says. “We have a strong tradition of folk art, and our culture is strongly influenced by Ukrainian Greek Catholicism and traditions from Slavic mythology.”
He also loves fencing, and has been training in it for nine years. He started at age 7 and has acquired the highest ranks in both the United States (“A” rank) and Ukraine (“Master” rank).
He has competed internationally, taking first place in a competition in Kyiv at 9 years old, second place in Hungary at 12 years old, third in Poland at 13 and second in Dublin, Ohio in 2022. He aspires to compete professionally one day.
Cherednichenko hopes his story helps share the experiences of people from different countries and create conversations about different holidays and traditions to embrace diversity.
Portraits of Alejandro, Luana, Shaid, Kevin and Denia. By Jane Dimel.
Kami was born in Nepal, living in the refugee district of Jhapa with her parents and older brothers before moving to Oregon when she was 8. When she was 9, her family moved to Westerville to be closer to her uncle and cousins.
Kami was very excited to talk about her story. She wanted to express how far she has come from childhood, share the struggles she endured in Nepal and talk about the people she has connected with throughout her life. In her story, Kami writes:
“I hope that fellow students from different cultures adjusting to American schools don’t let fear control their actions. I encourage them to embrace their uniqueness, share it and trust their heart.”
Meet the Artists
Nia Horton, a senior studying art at Otterbein, painted Luana, a Central student originally from Brazil. Horton says she wanted to capture Luana’s powerful and commanding demeanor while emphasizing her love for pink and nature and also showcasing Horton’s own blocky and loud style as an artist.
Alina Baer, a junior art and journalism student at Otterbein, was similarly inspired by her assigned student. Divine, originally from Rwanda, inspired Baer with her name. Baer included stars and the colors pink and purple to capture some of Divine’s favorite things and bring her energy and personality to life in the painting.
Portraits of Ihor, Ronmel, Akiriti, Divine and Elton. By Jane Dimel.
Chloe Murphy is a senior art and art history student at Otterbein. She and her student subject, Kevin, were both shy during their meeting, she says, but she wanted to highlight hiss bright personality and his Latin-American background using her realistic, sometimes photorealistic, style, to create Costa Rican and Mexican flags.
Jane Dimel is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback is welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
