America can be a fractured place -- society splintered by skin color, religion, country of origin, native tongue, immigrant versus native, citizen versus non-citizen. One of our great preoccupations has been to mend these fissures while defining our uniquely American cultural identity. "My Journey Home" probes America's diversity through four Americans' personal histories of buried pasts, mixed heritages, missing fathers and broken dreams.

My Journey Home - Local Outreach

Local Outreach from WSIU and SIUC College of Mass Communication and Media Arts

WSIU partnered with Southern Illinois University's College of Mass Communication and Media Arts (MCMA) to produce a diversity outreach pilot project with Mt. Vernon Township High School and Rend Lake College. This pilot project allows students to tell stories about the minority experience through a variety of media in the form of multimedia essays. WSIU and MCMA staff and faculty helped these students develop their multimedia essays, which are exhibited below.

Essay 1 - Sejal Patel, a 16 year old student from Mt. Vernon Township High School, in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, writes about her life in America in essay America, My Home.

Essay 2 - Eric Jones and Melissa Karnes, two Rend Lake College students from Bluford, Illinois, documented the story of Kim Hong Won and his family, who live in Benton, Illinois.

Essay 3 - Larry Williams, a Rend Lake College instructor and student, photographed a 90-year old Eastern Orthodox church in Royalton, Illinois.

Sejal Patel's essay was selected by public broadcasting judges to be a national winner in the audio category! Sejal was one of three winners from essays submitted by students from across the United States. Click here to see photos of Sejal and her award presentation.