The Goals and Production of The Voices of Italian Immigration:
Together, Professor Teresa Sanhueza and Wake Forest University student Abby Bermeo have assembled an archive of photos, documents, and letters that have illustrated the events and dynamics of 19th and 20th Century immigrant families. They are the only two permanent members of the team working to the project but have brought in outside help to assist with translations, web development, and project planning from the Z. Smith Reynolds Digital Humanities Team. With the help of individuals both within and outside of Wake Forest University, the two have been able to string along the stories of these families. Located in New Jersey and North Carolina, they worked through the summer and school year to learn and share these stories.
Professor Teresa Sanhueza
Professor Sanhueza has been at Wake Forest University since 1996, teaching Spanish Language and culture classes along with freshman seminars. Her doctorate from the University of Michigan is in the Spanish language but her focus and passion lies specifically in Spanish theater. The Voices of Italian Immigration project has recently taken her even further. Professor Sanhueza, is the primary researcher, starter, and leader of the project, has gone to Biella, Italy to see and be in touch with the history she has researched and written about. Teresa Sanhueza, before and after traveling to see the legacy of her subjects, has written three books, and countless scholarly articles and given presentations on the Sola family and that of the Racca. Her work on the subject has been published in academic Journals in the United States, Spain, Chile and Argentina The project has been in action since 2020. Teresa Sanhueza lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and is originally from Chile.
Abby Bermeo
Abby Bermeo is an undergraduate student at Wake Forest University who is going to major in Political Science and is looking to minor in Creative Writing. At Wake Forest, Abby has been involved with a series of extracurriculars including the Club Rowing team, the Old Gold and Black, the DASH Corps, and campus Greek Life. Having been introduced to Professor Sanhueza through a freshman year Spanish class, she was welcomed into the project as a translator, website designer, and secondary researcher. Abby graduated from Verona High School in New Jersey in 2020 and works remotely from New Jersey when the Wake Forest Campus is closed for breaks. The New Jersey location has been primary for researching the American immigrant families. Abby grew up in Verona, New Jersey and is of Ecuadorian, Irish, and Scottish descent.