Welcome Gosia Labno, co-founder of @kulturamag, here to talk about her personal story of being a “White” DACA recipient from Poland, to the Immigration MIC Podcast! Gosia is from Chicago, Illinois, is a historian, works in communications, is a photographer, videographer, a writer, and a dog mom. Her family moved from Poland when she was nine years old; she describes her early years in Poland as a “simple and sheltered” - she went to a private school where she learned English early on. Her grandparents had moved to Illinois because of the spread of communism in Europe, she talks about how her grandfather pursued the American dream, but held problematic views on race. She describes her family’s decision/process to stay in the US, and talks about her older brother’s suicide (when she was in 5th grade) and how being unable to attend his funeral was a major moment in her life. She talks about the second major moment she experienced with immigration which was the heartbreaking moment she experienced being unable to go on a class trip to Paris, France. Gosia talks about being aware of the privilege her skin color brings, and refers to it as a “mask” of sorts and talks about having seen other “white” members of her community targeted by ICE. The 2012 announcement of DACA and how she was able to attend her “dream internship” and how it fueled a lot of passion, but at the same time was unable to ignore the Obama Administration’s deportation efforts. She talks about her experience with sharing her story, from being discouraged, to receiving a lot of hate her first tweet after the 2016 election -- to questioning if she would stay in the US. “Now is not the time to be quiet … this is not just a Mexican issue, a Latin American issue” -- Gosia talks about the importance of other “white” DACA recipients supporting the fight for immigration reform and using “privilege” to contribute. … and much more in the very personal telling of her story. Gosia, speaking with you was very impactful and moving and we’re gonna do great work together, and like I said, “Paris awaits you”.