First October Post

Since I've been in soccer season since September, I haven't been able to get to RISSE yet this year. (However, tomorrow, November 1, will be my first visit!) Therefore, my Signature work thus far has consisted of preparation.

Firstly, since I anticipate that minors will be my primary subjects for interviews, I have written up consent forms for them and their parents to sign, which I will distribute when I get to RISSE. My off-campus mentor and a journalist at the Times Union both helped me with the writing process for these forms, and I am so grateful for their help!

I have also been writing interview questions to ask the children at RISSE. So far, they mostly concern the emotional impact of fleeing your home country. I plan to ask questions like, "What do you miss about your old home?", "How often do you think about it?", "What's the biggest difference between America and your home country?" I am really interested in refugees' thoughts about their life before their move and how that impacts their new life in America. I'm also thinking I'll ask about the childrens' parents--for example, I might ask if the children have noticed changes in their parents' moods or behaviors or transparency in terms of what they talk about with their kids. We'll see; this line of questioning would be contingent on a really observant, mature kid, I imagine, so I don't foresee that I'll be pursuing it with everyone.

So that's what I've been working on thus far; I'm really excited to get going at RISSE tomorrow, and I think all my preparation will really pay off.

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