Two weeks ago I was the keynote speaker for Green Card Voices first anniversary event. When I asked Tea Rozman-Clark, Executive Director, what she wanted me to speak about, she said, “tell them why you decided to share your immigrant story with the world.” So today I want to share with you a summary of my keynote speech.
Green Card Voices’ vision is to give us, immigrants, a voice in the U.S. and to show that we are contributors to society, that we start businesses, employ people, are interesting, fun people (with many funny accents) with various backgrounds, and different flavors and cultures. We bring spice to life and are hard-working people who want to succeed in life.
So why did I want to share my story through Green Card Voices? For four main reasons:
To help change the perception of immigrants. Most of the time, the words associated with immigrants are negative: illegal, undocumented, poor, burden, uneducated, factory workers, etc. We need to change that perspective to positive thoughts like: interesting, smart people, educated, hard-working, successful, role models, inspiring, encouraging…
To remind Americans that we are all immigrants, unless you are a Native American. Our families came from immigrants from all parts of the world. We just happen to be first generation. The United States of America was formed and created out of immigrants from many countries.
To share about our contributions to America. When I first came here, I came with no expectations of anyone helping me with anything yet Americans are generous at heart and they are welcoming people too.
The fourth reason why I shared my story is because I want to encourage others to help people, whether they are immigrants or not. We will all have opportunities to help others succeed by believing in them and giving them opportunities to succeed. In my life, I’ve had a couple of people that did that for me. The first one is Reid Evenson, he hired me from the teller line to work with him in Cash Management at Marquette Bank Minneapolis. He gave me the opportunity to flourish, learn, and develop as a banker. Because of a merger, we had to part ways but not for long. He then connected me to Jeanne Crain, who became our boss for the next 7 years at a new formed bank, Marquette Capital Bank. Jeanne Crain gave me several opportunities as well. She believed that I could lead and promoted me to Branch Manager when I had no previous supervisory experience. I will never forget that. She opened new doors of opportunity for me. In 1999, I left banking to work for a non-profit and five years later in 2005 Reid hired me back to start Tradition Capital Bank. He gave me the opportunity of a lifetime –to start a new bank from scratch. That is something that not all bankers get to do. Now, over 9 years later, the bank is doing great and continues to grow.
During the last five years, the bank helped me financially to finish my 4 year degree through the tuition reimbursement program. (I shared my college degree story that night but it was too long for this blog.) And most recently, I was given the opportunity to attend the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, WI, which I just graduated from on August 15, 2014.
Last but definitely not least, my beloved husband. I am thankful to him for marrying me. He fell in love with me, the girl from Nicaragua, a foreign girl that came here with nothing. We have been married now for 26 years and I told him the other day that I would still pick him if I met him today. He liked that! He gave me the opportunity to become an American.
I am thankful to God for bringing these people into my life, who believed in me and gave me opportunities to succeed in America.
There are some things that I find all of us immigrants need to succeed:
We need to be survivors! No matter what life has thrown at us, we get through it. Life is life. It’s not fair and bad things do happen to good people regardless of who we are.
We need to have a strong faith. I believe in God and it is evident how He cares about me and my family. I owe it all to Him.
We need to have strong family ties. My family stuck together through the earthquake, the war, the hurricane, the exile, and then moving here to the U.S. as our last stop. If there is one area we can help America is by demonstrating and keeping strong family ties.
We also need someone who believes in us, regardless of where we’re from.
I find that many of the immigrants, if not all, have these things in their lives and that’s why we are here. We are successful people. We are hard-working, smart, strong people. We are survivors!
I want to leave you with three things to inspire you, motivate you, and encourage you going forward:
Be visible: People need to know you. America needs to know that we, immigrants, are valuable, that we contribute to society by making it a better place to live, that we are important because of what we bring to the table, and that we love this country of America. America is still the land of opportunity and we are blessed to be here in this land. I love America!
Help others be successful, pay it forward. Mentor the younger generation, connect people to others, open doors of opportunity for others to go through.
Share your story. People need to know your story –whether you call it of “success” or “survival” it doesn’t matter, I believe we live our lives and go through experiences so we can share our stories. That is what we pass on from generation to generation. They are part of the legacy we leave behind.
So, I encourage you all to support Green Card Voices and encourage Tea and her team to continue the vision she has in her heart. She has an amazing story of her own. I told her she better get it recorded too and soon! She promised me she would after this event. Her vision is to have all the stories they can so each country of origin is represented and their voices heard throughout the United States of America.
Below are the links to my immigrant story through Green Card Voices and my keynote speech in YouTube. It is 15 minutes but they broke it down into three sections. Enjoy!
Immigrant story:
http://www.greencardvoices.com/speakers/marci-malzahn/
Keynote Speech: (15 minutes broken down in 3 sections) YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKxjjG_czBw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F1SEZHgIVU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYhyn9wrsC4
Until next time!