Struggle Archives - Page 36 of 46 - StoryCorps

Sarah Benko and Meliza Arellano

Meliza Arellano (R), is an 11th grader at a New York City charter school called Democracy Prep. When Meliza started there four years ago she was below grade level in both math and reading.

She was put in a class that helps students like her get up to speed. Her teacher was Sarah Benko (L).

The pair recently sat down for StoryCorps to look back on Meliza’s 7th grade year — the year she became a serious student.

Originally aired November 27, 2011 on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.

Sarah Littman and Joshua Littman

When Joshua Littman and his mother, Sarah, first came to StoryCorps in 2006, Joshua was a seventh-grade honors student who was having a tough time socially.

Joshua was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), formerly referred to as Asperger’s Syndrome. Kids with ASD can miss social cues and often have obsessions. For Joshua, it was animals.

Joshua started college in fall of 2011, and found himself struggling again. So Sarah brought him back to StoryCorps, where they talked about what it has been like for both of them since Joshua left for school.

Click here to watch our animated short based on the Littman’s first interview.

Originally aired November 8, 2011, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Ayodeji Ogunniyi

In 1990, Ayodeji Ogunniyi left Nigeria, along with his mother and brother, to come to the United States. They arrived in Chicago, joining Ayodeji’s father, Abimbola “Yinka” Ogunniyi, who had arrived a few years earlier, and was working as a cab driver.

Ayodeji with his father, Abimbola "Yinka" Ogunniyi, at home after church in 1993. Photo courtesy of Ayodeji Ogunniyi.Abimbola always wanted Ayodeji to be a doctor. But while Ayodeji was studying pre-med in college, his father was murdered on the job.

At StoryCorps, Ayodeji talked about how his father’s death changed the course of his life.

Originally aired October 30, 2011, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.

Above: Photo courtesy of Ayodeji Ogunniyi

A.P. Tureaud Jr. and Steven Walkley

A.P. Tureaud Jr. (R) tells his friend Steven Walkley (L) about becoming the first African-American undergraduate at Louisiana State University in 1953.

Joel Healy and Kelli Healy Salazar

Joel Healy joined the Army when he was 17 years old to help pay for college. He never imagined that he would witness the detonation of more than 20 atomic bombs.

Joel was a private first class when he was assigned to Camp Desert Rock, north of Las Vegas in 1957.

That’s where he took part in Operation Plumbbob, one of the largest nuclear tests series ever conducted on U.S. soil.

At StoryCorps, Joel told his daughter, Kelli Healy Salazar, about his time at the Nevada test site.

It’s hard to determine just how many became ill because they were present at these tests, but Joel and thousands of others have received compensation from the federal government as part of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990.

Originally aired October 12, 2012, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Lee Buono and Al Siedlecki

Al Siedlecki (right)—or “Mr. Sie,” as his students call him—has been teaching science at Medford Memorial Middle School in New Jersey for more than three decades.

But a few years back, as Sie was helping a group of students study for a test, something happened that in all his years of teaching had never happened before: he received an urgent phone call from a neurosurgeon.

As it turns out, the doctor on the phone was Lee Buono (left), who was one of Sie’s students back in the 1980s. Today, he’s a neurosurgeon. At StoryCorps, Lee and Al sat down to tell the rest of their story.

Originally aired September 25, 2011, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.

If you have an inspirational teacher in your life, let them know about The Great Thanksgiving Listen, our national oral history project that empowers students to preserve the stories all around them. 

Charles Maikish

John DiGiovanni, a dental salesman, was parking his car at the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993, when terrorists detonated a truck bomb in the garage. He was one of six people killed in the blast.

At StoryCorps, Former World Trade Center Director and CEO Charles Maikish (pictured above with Jan Ramirz, the curator of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum), remembers visiting John’s mother shortly after her son’s death.

Recorded April 10, 2008.

Jason Weems and his parents, Robin and Warren

Classes begin at Leith Walk elementary school in Baltimore this coming Monday. And Robin Weems will be there to greet her new first grade students.

Robin’s husband, Warren, a retired Marine, will also be there, because Warren is his wife’s classroom assistant.

This husband and wife teaching team sat down to speak with their son, Jason, for StoryCorps.

Originally aired August 26, 2011 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Ester DiNardo

dinardo_marisaMarisa DiNardo (pictured at left) worked in the World Trade Center, where she was killed on September 11, 2001.

Her mother, Ester DiNardo (pictured above), came to StoryCorps to remember the final night she and Marisa together. They celebrated Ester’s birthday at Windows on the World, the restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.

Marisa died in that same building the following morning.

Originally aired May 5, 2011 on NPR’s Talk of the Nation.

Photo courtesy of the DiNardo family

Walter Dean Myers and his son Christopher Myers

Walter Dean Myers grew up in Harlem as the son of a janitor. Today, he’s the author of nearly 100 books that are very popular with teenagers.

Growing up, there was always one person Myers struggled to impress with his writing – his father, Herbert Dean.

Here he talks about his father with his own son Christopher.

Walter and his son Christopher work on books together – as writer and illustrator.

Originally aired June 17, 2011 on NPR’s Morning Edition.