Teresa Gomez and Dr. Matthew Shumway, Department of Geography
Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met
The results of our research were presented on April 14th at the Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers in the “Immigrants in the USA” session. The presentation was successful. Afterward presenting, we had the opportunity to talk with other professors studying migration that were interested in our research.
Evaluation of the mentoring environment
Dr. Shumway was great to have as a mentor. He gave us enough freedom to expand our ideas and theories as well as provided support to give us needed direction. He is very knowledgeable in the field of migration and has done research in the subject previously which helped us when discussing and developing our ideas on Salvadoran migration. He also expanded our view of what opportunities we had available to us as geographers.
List of students who participated and what academic deliverables they have produced or it is anticipated they will produce
- Teresa Gomez. Presented findings of research at AAG Annual meeting. Working on academic paper based on research findings.
- Thalassa Jones. Present at AAG Annual meeting. Working on academic paper based on research findings.
Description of the results/findings of the project
The results of our research can be summarized by four main findings (found below) and by an updated transnational migration diagram (next page) based on J. Carling diagram from his paper The human dynamics of migrants transnationalism (2008)
- Family dynamics between transnational families are unique/particular
- Families don’t view themselves as transnational, they see themselves as temporarily separated
- Family members don’t always agree on the decision to migrate
- Migrants and family members of migrants view migration differently
Description of how the budget was spent
Our funds helped to offset our travel expenses we incurred while conducting our interviews in El Salvador, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City.
