Kao Kalia Yang presents stories from "Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from a Minneapolis High School"

Kao Kalia Yang and students from Wellstone International High School tell their stories of immigration to Minnesota.

Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from a Minneapolis High School is a unique collection of thirty personal essays written by students from all-immigrant, Wellstone International High School. Coming from thirteen different countries, the authors share stories of family, school, change, and dreams.

One student’s story speaks about walking through the desert without food or water. Another student writes about seeing snow during his first winter in Minnesota. Many write about childhoods lived away from one or both parents. Within these pages, there are stories of lost loved ones, life in refugee camps, travel on the tops of trains, attempts at suicide, and tuberculosis. Their reasons for immigrating are vast, but a common thread unites them; despite tremendous tribulation, these young people continue to work toward the future.

Green Card Youth Voices includes 30 personal essays, 30 color portraits, links to the students' video narratives, study guide, glossary, with a foreword by Kao Kalia Yang.