Maria Carrion

Partial Transcript: My name is Zoe Jasper, I'm a fourth year student at Oberlin College, and I'm here today interviewing Maria Carrion for the Latino Lorain oral history project, which is a collaboration between the Lorain Historical Society, El Centro, and Oberlin College. Thank you Maria for taking the time to speak with me and for contributing to this archive. Could you please state your full name and age?

Segment Synopsis: Interviewer and Carrion introduce themselves and establish that this interview is part of a collaboration between Oberlin College, El Centro de Servicios Sociales and the Lorain Historical Society, conducted online through Zoom due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; El Centro; El Centro de Servicios Sociales; Latino Lorain; Lorain Historical Society; Oberlin; Oberlin College; Zoom

Partial Transcript: Could you tell me a little bit about your family and where you grew up?

Segment Synopsis: Carrion shares the story of how her parents met, when her father was working at the steel mill in Lorain and her mother was living in Mexico. She also talks about her six siblings, where they have each ended up, and what it was like growing up in a big family.

Keywords: Lorain; Mexico; U.S. Steel plant; big family; family; growing up; parents; seven children; siblings

Partial Transcript: Last time we talked, you spoke a little bit about how your dad being Puerto Rican and your mom being Mexican had a big impact on you growing up and sort of your sense of yourself. Would you want to talk more about that?

Segment Synopsis: Carrion talks about how her Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage impacted her growing up. She also talks about balancing Latino and American cultural differences. She then delves into her parents' respective families and experiences of migration.

Keywords: American culture; English; Ford Motor Company; Hispanic; Latino; Latino ethnic groups; Mexican; Mexico; Puerto Rican; Puerto Rico; Spanish; assimilation; brother; cultural differences; culture; culture at home; diversity; early life; ethnicity; family; food; grandparents; identity issues; language; migration; parents; school; siblings; tradition

Partial Transcript: So, speaking of jobs actually, what kinds of jobs did you have, or where did you work when you were growing up?

Segment Synopsis: Carrion recalls working her first jobs as a high schooler and in her college years switching schools a few times because she was passionate about teaching but also interested in being able to make more money through secretarial and corporate jobs. Carrion talks about ultimately getting her degree in business, finding success in corporate jobs, but feeling unfulfilled. She discusses going to graduate school for a degree in health and human services before ending up at El Centro. She feels now that the stepping stones of her life have led her to a rewarding second career where she gets to teach and work with people of her ethnic background.

Keywords: 1970s; BSBA; Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Baldwin Wallace; Baldwin Wallace University; Boston; Bristol Myers Squibb; Caribbean; El Centro; El Centro de Servicios Sociales; Ford Motor Company; LCCC; Lorain County Community College; Northeastern; Northeastern University; business; career; college; corporate jobs; executive assistant program; fulfillment; graduate school; health and human services; helping people; hospital towel supply company; jobs; making own money; money; pharmaceuticals; secretary; social services; switched career path; teacher; thinking about retiring; women's careers; work

Partial Transcript: Could you tell me more about the work you're doing at El Centro and how you got this job specifically?

Segment Synopsis: Carrion talks about returning to Lorain to care for her mother before she passed away and realizing she wanted to give back to her community through work in health and human services. Growing up, Carrion says that she had fewer interactions with the clients and community of El Centro because she did not go to high school in South Lorain. However, she says that church was the most important community institution for her during her early life. Since she felt limited by her family's religious lifestyle, religion is no longer a major part of Carrion's life.

Keywords: Catholic; Clearview High School; El Centro; El Centro de Servicios Sociales; Housing and Physical Development Manager; Princeton, NJ; Sacred Heart Chapel; South Lorain; adding value; church; community; community development; faith; family; giving back; health and human services; high school; mortality; mother passed away; religion; spirituality

Partial Transcript: This is sort of an unrelated question, but if you were to sort of think back to Lorain as a city more generally when you were growing up, how do you think you would describe it to young people today?

Segment Synopsis: Carrion describes how Lorain has changed since she grew up there and the core values that are still important to the city. She also talks about how perspectives on race and ethnicity have changed.

Keywords: Lorain; Lorain, OH; The International City; community feeling; core values; early life; education; family; helping each other; industry; kids; melting pot; public transportation; race; racism; respect

Partial Transcript: Could you share with me your proudest moment growing up in Lorain that you can think of?

Segment Synopsis: Carrion shares her proudest and most challenging moments growing up in Lorain. She also recalls moments and transitions she witnessed that were historically significant to the city.

Keywords: Cleveland; Ford Motor Company; Lorain; Northeastern; Northeastern University; challenges; changes; college; degree; education; expectations for women; family ties; first gen; first generation; graduation; high school; independent; industry; industry moving out; jobs; leaving Lorain; neighborhoods; proudest moment; revenue; self sufficient; shipbuilding company; transition

Partial Transcript: Could you talk more about your experience first going to Boston and how that was different than what you might have been used to and what it was like to come home and see how things had changed?

Segment Synopsis: Carrion talks about her many positive experiences living in cities outside of Lorain, including Boston, Chicago, and San Juan. She also discusses the challenge of transitioning from life in Puerto Rico to Princeton.

Keywords: Boston; Caribbean; Chicago; Princeton; Puerto Rican; Puerto Rico; San Juan; career driven moves; college; expatriate; international experience; job opportunities; network; new experiences; positive experiences; returning to US; transitions

Partial Transcript: So now that you are back in Lorain, what do you see as the greatest challenge facing people in the city right now?

Segment Synopsis: Carrion shares what she sees as the greatest challenging facing Lorain today as well as the city's greatest strengths. She then talks about her plans to live outside the US again in the future and the value of her international travels over the years.

Keywords: Barcelona; Europe; Lorain; Spain; adding value; adventure; community; consulting; culture; dreaming; human race; independent; learning; making a difference; motivation; narrow minded; open minded; outside the US; pride in your city; race; retirement; travel

Partial Transcript: I was thinking back to earlier, about how you said there were sort of really different cultural differences between your Puerto Rican and Mexican sides and I was wondering if you had any specific foods from either side of the family that you remember fondly from your childhood.

Segment Synopsis: Carrion describes her favorite foods that she ate growing up, as well as her favorite places to eat in and outside of Lorain today. She dispels stereotypes and misconceptions about the foods of different Latino cultures. At the close of the interview, she expresses gratitude for the opportunities she has gotten in life and for her own work ethic and drive to succeed.

Keywords: Caribbean; Creole; Latino; Lorain; Mexican; Puerto Rican; South American; Tex Mex; Thai food; West Lake; bakery; blessings; childhood; food; giving back; hard work; mother; opportunities in life; pastries; restaurants; rice and beans; school; seasoning; spicy food; stereotypes; success; tortillas; tostadas