This research was inspired by History in the Making, an open educational resource blog at Montgomery College in Maryland, which showcases interviews with first-generation immigrant American students. We want to create a similar resource but also include faculty and staff at NorQuest. Given its diversity, NorQuest is a perfect place to conduct these interviews. According to NorQuest by the Numbers, our students come from 84 different countries of birth and there are 77 first languages spoken on campus. We are using the term first generation immigrant instead of newcomer because we want to include interview subjects who may have arrived some years ago.
The project has three major goals
1. Like Montgomery College, we want to create a standalone public resource that people worldwide can access for free to learn about the settlement experiences of first-generation immigrants at NorQuest. This resource will complement an existing open educational resource textbook we published in 2021 called Canadian Settlement in Action: History and Future.
2. Though we are focusing on NorQuest, we feel this study will provide tremendous insight into the Canadian settlement and immigration experience in general. It is a great way to celebrate the resilience and diversity of NorQuesters and those experiencing settlement challenges across Canada.
3. This resource will promote equity, diversity, and inclusion by showcasing the achievements and challenges of new Canadians, highlighting their tremendous contributions to our college and our society more broadly. In this way, the resource contributes significantly to NorQuest’s and the City of Edmonton’s anti-racism goals.
