Resource Type

[Interview with Juliann and Jencie Tomasek] transcript

[Interview with Juliann and Jencie Tomasek]

Interview with Jencie and Juliann Tomasek regarding their adoptions from Hubei Province (Jencie) and Guangdong Province (Juliann), China. Both Jencie and Juliann share their interest in Chinese culture and language, and speak about the questions they get asked about being adopted or Chinese.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Tomasek, Juliann & Tomasek, Jencie
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Lily Selvaggi] transcript

[Interview With Lily Selvaggi]

Interview with Lily Selvaggi regarding her adoption from the Guigang City SWI, Guangxi Province, China. Lily speaks about seeing videos of herself as a baby in China and her trip to China when she was ten years old, where she met her foster mother. She states that she's not given much though to finding her biological family and that she's more interested in meeting biological siblings than learning about her origins. She also speaks about the casual racism she's experienced due to being Asian American.
Date: unknown
Creator: Selvaggi, Lily
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Lily Stafeil] transcript

[Interview With Lily Stafeil]

Interview with Lily Stafeil regarding her adoption from Guangdong Province, China. This interview took place when Lily was nine years old and she speaks about her friends and favorite activities at school. Lily shares what she knows about her adoption story, China in general, and that she'd like to visit China when she's older.
Date: 2016~
Creator: Stafeil, Lily
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview with Lizzie Sterner] transcript

[Interview with Lizzie Sterner]

Interview with Lizzie Sterner regarding her adoption from the Bengbu SWI in Anhui Province, China. Lizzie speaks about visiting China where she was interviewed about searching for her birth parents and visited her orphanage.
Date: unknown
Creator: Sterner, Lizzie
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Lori Hall] transcript

[Interview With Lori Hall]

Interview with Lori Hall regarding the adoption of Audrey Copeland from the Maogang Social Welfare Institute in Maoming, Guagdong Province, China. She discusses her and her husband's decision to adopt from China and the possibility of searching for Audrey's birth parents. She also comments on her concerns with the lack of transparency in the adoption process.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Hall, Lori
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview with Mary Ann and Anthony Tomasek] transcript

[Interview with Mary Ann and Anthony Tomasek]

Interview with Mary Ann and Anthony Tomasek regarding the adoptions of Jencie and Juliann Tomasek from Hubei Province (Jencie) and Guangdong Province (Juliann), China. They speak about how they decided to adopt from China, what the adoption process entailed, and their trips of China to get their children. They also share their efforts to teach the girls about Chinese culture and their daughters' interest in their birth families.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Tomasek, Mary Ann & Tomasek, Anthony
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview with Meigon Stuy] transcript

[Interview with Meigon Stuy]

Interview with Meigon Stuy regarding her adoption from Guangdong Province, China. She shares her opinions about finding her birth family and her parent's work helping other adoptees locate birth families.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Stuy, Meigon
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Meikina Stuy] transcript

[Interview With Meikina Stuy]

Interview with Meikina Stuy regarding her adoption from Guangdong Province, China, discussing her parents' search for her birth parents and her thoughts about her adoption.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Stuy, Meikina
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Meilan Stuy] transcript

[Interview With Meilan Stuy]

Interview with Meilan Stuy regarding her adoption from Henan Province, China. She shares what information she knows about her birth family and the circumstances surrounding her adoption. She also speaks about learning that Longlan was not her biological mother and how she deals with questions about her family.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Stuy, Meilan
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Myra] transcript

[Interview With Myra]

Interview with Myra regarding the adoption of her younger sister, Lena, from China and their relationship with Lena's birth family in China. Myra speaks about meeting Lena's birth family and visiting their village.
Date: 2016~
Creator: Myra
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Paul Kimberlin] transcript

[Interview With Paul Kimberlin]

Interview with Paul Kimberlin regarding the adoption of Avery Kimberlin from Jiangsu China, discussing his and his wife's decision to adopt from China, and their family and friend's reactions to their decision.
Date: 2016~
Creator: Kimberlin, Paul
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview with Tina Fletcher] transcript

[Interview with Tina Fletcher]

Interview with Tina Fletcher regarding the adoption of Lily Selvaggi from the Guigang City SWI, Guangxi Province, China, speaking about her motivations for adopting from China and how she and her family made the decision to adopt. She also speaks about the experiences of raising an Asian child in a predominantly white area and her experiences regarding her own adoption.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Fletcher, Tina
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Willa Mei Kurland and Charlotte Cotter, 2016] transcript

[Interview With Willa Mei Kurland and Charlotte Cotter, 2016]

Interview of Willa Mei Kurland and Charlotte Cotter (they interview each other), discussing their upcoming trip to China to search for their birth parents. They shares their first steps posting on social media and that Willa had begun contact with her foster family and that Charlotte has had a family step forward as her birth family. Both Willa and Charlotte shares their thoughts on searching with another person and the possibility of having different outcomes. They concurrently maintained a blog where they each shared their experiences regarding the trip and birth parent search and this interview took place after they began their search but before their trip to China.
Date: July 15, 2016
Creator: Kurland, Willa Mei & Cotter, Charlotte
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview with Zoe, Grace, and Kai Purtell] transcript

[Interview with Zoe, Grace, and Kai Purtell]

Interview with Grace, Zoe, and Kai Purtell regarding their adoptions from Guangdong Province (Grace and Zoe) and Yunnan Province (Kai), China. At the time of the interview, Grace and Zoe (twins) were nine years old and Kai was five years old. Kai shares his adoption story and the surgeries he's had to correct his cleft palate. Zoe speaks about her desire to visit China when she's older and Grace speaks about her skill with drawing.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Purtell, Zoe; Purtell, Grace & Purtell, Kai
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Zoi Kunkle and Pat Jacobs-Kunkle] transcript

[Interview With Zoi Kunkle and Pat Jacobs-Kunkle]

Interview with Zoi Kunkle and her mother, Pat Jacobs-Kunkle, regarding Zoi's adoption from Chenzhou City in Hunan Province, China. Zoi describes her future aspirations and her interests in her birth family and early life in China. Her mother shares her and her husband's decision to adopt and from China in particular, and their thoughts on searching for Zoi's birth family.
Date: 2016~
Creator: Kunkle, Zoi Yi Xing & Jacobs-Kunkle, Pat
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History Interview with Jian Rzeszewicz] transcript

[Oral History Interview with Jian Rzeszewicz]

Oral history with Jian Rzeszewicz regarding her adoption to Washington from Zhan-Jian, Guadong Province, China. She shares what her childhood was like, particularly that the diversity of the general population in Washington helped her feel more accepted, and her parents' efforts to connect her to Chinese culture and other adoptees. She also discusses her connections to the other girls adopted at the same time as her and her trip to China where she visited the orphanage where she lived as a baby. She also shares the emotional impact of meeting her foster mother and her advocacy for adopted children in the United States.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Rzeszewicz, Jian
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History With Amy and Robert] transcript

[Oral History With Amy and Robert]

Oral history with Lena, Amy, and Robert regarding the adoption of Lena from Southern China. Robert and Amy discuss their successful search for Lena's birth family and the factors that contributed to their success. They also speak about the cultural differences between the United States and China and how they chose to maintain the relationship between their families. Robert and Amy also discuss the challenges of raising Lena in an international open adoption and the complex issues that can arise from maintaining relationship with birth families.
Date: 2016~
Creator: Lena; Amy & Robert
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History with Bai Yi Min Foxweldon] transcript

[Oral History with Bai Yi Min Foxweldon]

Oral history interview with Bai Yi Min Foxweldon regarding her adoption from Kunming, China, describing her experiences as an adoptee growing up in the United States, her thoughts on international adoption, and the general issues surrounding adoption.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Foxweldon, Bai Yi Ming Mershon Blasek (Ming)
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History With Brian Stuy] transcript

[Oral History With Brian Stuy]

Oral History with Brian Stuy regarding the adoption of his children, Meikina, Meigon, and Meilan Stuy from Guangdong Province (Meikina and Meigon) and Henan Province (Meilan) in China. He discusses how he arrived at his decision to adopt from China, his leaving of the Mormon Church, about meeting is wife, Longlan Stuy, and their experience adopting Meilan. He also shares his views on China's One Child Policy and his disillusionment with international adoption.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Stuy, Brian
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History with Camille Davis] transcript

[Oral History with Camille Davis]

Oral history of Camille regarding her adoption by Kathryn Thompson and Scott Davis from Chongqinq Municipality, China. She describes her experiences as an adopted child, and interactions with other children adopted from China.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Davis, Camille
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History with Carmelle Maldonado] transcript

[Oral History with Carmelle Maldonado]

Oral history with Carmelle Maldonado regarding the adoption of Ivy Maldonado from Yiwu, China, speaking about their decision to adopt and adjusting to life with Ivy. She describes finding out Ivy is autistic, the journey to discovering her diagnoses, and how they all learned to manage her disability. She also discusses Ivy's commitment to searching for her birth parents.
Date: unknown
Creator: Maldonado, Carmelle
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History with Darrell and Betsey Isley] transcript

[Oral History with Darrell and Betsey Isley]

Oral history with Darrell and Betsey Isley regarding the adoption of Delaney Isley from Chongqing Province, discussing their decision to adopt from China and the adoption process. They also speak about their efforts to connect their daughter to other Chinese adoptees and Chinese culture.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Isley, Darrell
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History with Deborah Amazon] transcript

[Oral History with Deborah Amazon]

Oral history with Deborah Amazon regarding the adoption of Leah Amazon from China, describing how she arrived at the decision to adopt her daughter and her experiences raising her in Vermont. She speaks about Leah's challenges with being adopted and growing up in a majority white community.
Date: unknown
Creator: Amazon, Deborah
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History with Gao] transcript

[Oral History with Gao]

Oral History with Gao (last name not given) regarding her adoption of from Xi'an, China to the Netherlands. She discusses her childhood growing up in the Netherlands and the racism and bullying she experienced. She also shares her desire to learn about her own history, speaks about a trip to China where she visited the village where she was abandoned, and hopes that DNA testing might help her find her birth parents.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Gao
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History