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First-Generation Texans Navigate A New World In KERA ‘Generation One’ Series

Mark Birnbaum
David Kapuku on his way to Conrad High School in Northeast Dallas.

One in three Texas kids is either an immigrant or the child of immigrants. They’re the subject of a new KERA American Graduate series called Generation One.

Explore the interactive series here.

Starting Tuesday, and over the next several weeks, KERA will explore the challenges these kids face and the ways North Texas schools are trying to weave them into the American tapestry.

These kids have to learn a new language, adapt to a different culture and try to fit into a community that may not embrace newcomers.

The first story features David Kapuku. Just two weeks after arriving from Africa, David enrolled at Conrad High School in Northeast Dallas. He started school in a new country where students speak a different language. It can be overwhelming. Now, a year and a half later, David is helping other refugee kids making the transition.

Each Tuesday, stories will air on KERA 90.1 FM. Explore the stories in KERA’s digital storytelling project, which features videos and an interactive graphic showing where Texas’ foreign-born population comes from.  

Read the series here.

Generation One is part of KERA's American Graduate initiative.

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Stella M. Chávez is KERA’s immigration/demographics reporter/blogger. Her journalism roots run deep: She spent a decade and a half in newspapers – including seven years at The Dallas Morning News, where she covered education and won the Livingston Award for National Reporting, which is given annually to the best journalists across the country under age 35.