Interview with Ella
Date30 October 2025
Mediumborn digital audio file
DimensionsDuration: 46 Minutes, 44 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineCommunity History Project Collection
DescriptionAudio file of interview with Ella. She was interviewed by Bethzy Mejia on 30 October 2025 in Middletown, CT.
Ella was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in her life.
Ella shared her deeply emotional story about migration, perseverance, and transformation. She came from Honduras to the United States alone at the age of 21 after a hurricane devastated her hometown and limited job opportunities for women in her country. She described the challenges of arriving without family, money, or English skills, saying “It’s hard for somebody coming, especially when you come with no family here.” Despite facing deportation and years without legal status, she worked tirelessly to support her two daughters, later remarrying and raising four children. Her life changed dramatically when, after more than a decade of effort and rejection from several lawyers, a church connection helped her finally obtain her U.S. residency.
Ella's story is marked by resilience and constant self-motivation. She often drew strength from her children, explaining, “Maybe I don’t have a perfect life, but I try to make it better.” Even while raising a family and working physically demanding jobs, she earned her GED and pursued CNA training, now working in assisted living with people with dementia and Alzheimer’s. She remains proud of keeping her Honduran culture alive through language and food, ensuring her children speak Spanish and understand their roots.
Reflecting on her journey, Ella identified one of the turning points in her life as moving from living in fear without papers to finally gaining legal status. “When you don’t have documents, you live with fear all the time,” she said. “When you finally do, doors open.” Returning to Honduras after 25 years brought both closure and pain, as she reunited with her aging mother and siblings but soon lost her sister to Leukemia. Now, she focuses on studying further, possibly becoming a nurse, and inspiring her children to pursue education and independence. As she put it, “We can’t teach our children education if we aren’t educated ourselves. The most important thing is to feed your mind.”
Ella was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in her life.
Ella shared her deeply emotional story about migration, perseverance, and transformation. She came from Honduras to the United States alone at the age of 21 after a hurricane devastated her hometown and limited job opportunities for women in her country. She described the challenges of arriving without family, money, or English skills, saying “It’s hard for somebody coming, especially when you come with no family here.” Despite facing deportation and years without legal status, she worked tirelessly to support her two daughters, later remarrying and raising four children. Her life changed dramatically when, after more than a decade of effort and rejection from several lawyers, a church connection helped her finally obtain her U.S. residency.
Ella's story is marked by resilience and constant self-motivation. She often drew strength from her children, explaining, “Maybe I don’t have a perfect life, but I try to make it better.” Even while raising a family and working physically demanding jobs, she earned her GED and pursued CNA training, now working in assisted living with people with dementia and Alzheimer’s. She remains proud of keeping her Honduran culture alive through language and food, ensuring her children speak Spanish and understand their roots.
Reflecting on her journey, Ella identified one of the turning points in her life as moving from living in fear without papers to finally gaining legal status. “When you don’t have documents, you live with fear all the time,” she said. “When you finally do, doors open.” Returning to Honduras after 25 years brought both closure and pain, as she reunited with her aging mother and siblings but soon lost her sister to Leukemia. Now, she focuses on studying further, possibly becoming a nurse, and inspiring her children to pursue education and independence. As she put it, “We can’t teach our children education if we aren’t educated ourselves. The most important thing is to feed your mind.”
Object number2024.79.89
NotesSubject Note: The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History’s Community History Project (CHP) is a public-facing initiative, focused on contemporary collecting, gathering items of the recent past as well as from events happening today. This program developed community historians to identify, document, and preserve their experiences as residents of Connecticut, and to share these experiences during a series of community presentations. The project focused on the theme "Redefining Moments of Change." Conneticans share stories of people or events who have changed their lives or how they have sparked change in the lives of others.Cataloging Note: Digitization and access to this collection is supported by a Congressionally Directed grant through the U.S. Department of Education.
Subject Terms
- Middletown
- People of color
- Oral history
- Interviews
- Oral narratives
- Women
- Motherhood
- Immigrants
- Immigration
- Family
- Lawyers
- Relationships
- Education
- Honduran people
- Employment
- Interviews and Oral Histories
- Born Digital Audio
- Community History Project U.S. Department of Education grant
- Redefining Moments of Change Collection
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