Hi! I'm Maya Aguirre.

For my capstone at Newhouse, I took MND505: Multimedia Projects with Professor Lauren Bavis. Our class contributed to a larger, multi-university reporting endeavor about immigration and immigrant communities in the United States in 2026. Students in MND505 were assigned to make a 10-minute, narrative non-narrated podcast episode featuring the story of an immigrant or refugee in the Syracuse community. We were also assigned to write a 1,000 word written feature about an "issue" related to the immigrant experience. 

I took the lead on the written feature. I decided to write on how immigrant communities who celebrate holidays of the Lunar calendar must balance these traditions with daily life in the U.S., which often does not account for holidays or practices outside of the Gregorian calendar. At university, this balancing act can be challenging, but international students and immigrants find community and solace in maintaining cultural practices.

I interviewed over 20 sources for the story, attended cultural and religious events at SU for Lunar New Year and Ramadan, and contributed my own photography for publication. I wrote the story, but worked alongside Olivia Boyer, Kira Desai who contributed data and visualizations. Aidan Tseng also  contributed reporting and fact-checked the story. 

Click the image to read the full story.