The Journey Continues
A Story About My Work with Unaccompanied Children for Katunemo's Exhibit We Are America Too. Opening September 5th!
Dina Gregory is a 4th-generation Italian-American artist, author, speaker, teacher, and host of the La Befana’s Table. She uses the power of storytelling to foster healing, human connection, and cultural change
After the private elementary school on West 52nd Street where I worked throughout the height of the pandemic chose not to invite me back the following year, I swore my days of classroom teaching were over.
That was until one sleepless night led me to a job posting for an ESL teaching position with unaccompanied migrant children living in transitional foster care. Though I was still hurting from not being asked back, something nudged me to update my resume and apply.
In a daring act to see if there might be a school where I could bring my whole, & authentic self to work, I added a few bullet points describing my forays into bringing a puppet of Italy’s legendary La Befana to life in the streets of New York.
Before pressing send, I took a deep breath and whispered the prayer I always offer when sending anything out into the universe:
“God/Creator/That Which is Beyond All Names—bless it or block it for the highest good of all involved.”
The very next day, I received an email inviting me to an interview.
When I entered the Zoom room for our interview, I was greeted by a warm, compassionate face whose very first question was: “Tell me more about this puppetry project you’ve been doing in the streets of Harlem.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. So I told the story of how a string of serendipitous coincidences led me to become the puppet lady of 141st Street.
“Well!” she said. “The kind of joy you’re bringing to people with that puppet is exactly the kind of joy these kids need here.”
Though I had worked with immigrant populations my entire professional career as an ESL teacher, this was different.
In this transitional education environment—where students were in my classroom anywhere from a few days to several months—it quickly became clear that language learning was simply a vehicle. What truly mattered was offering welcome, care, and a sense of belonging to children who had endured so much.
To keep attendance and encourage participation, I had each child write their name on a craft stick. Soon, a ritual emerged. Whenever a student was preparing to leave and reunite with their sponsor, I’d invite them to stand at the center of the class. We would encircle them for what I called a “magic blessing.”
We rubbed our hands together, generating warmth and love, then opened our palms wide. At the count of three, we clapped, wiggled our fingers, and sent them off with a blessing for their journey.
Since photos weren’t permitted, I saved each name stick as a memory of our time together.
When I later heard about Katunemo’s exhibit We are America Too: The Journey Continues, I reached out to Founder Maru Dominguez and asked if they could help me create a collaborative piece using the name sticks to symbolize the years I was blessed to work with this incredible population of children.
The star felt like the most fitting symbol.
Unlike the stars in the sky—composed of hydrogen, helium, and other elements—this star is made of craft sticks, each bearing the name of a child I was blessed to accompany.
This piece honors my students’ courage to keep moving forward in the face of great uncertainty, the sense of belonging we briefly—and wondrously—created in our classroom, and the light that connects us all.
May this star remind you that our journeys not only continue but are interwoven and ever unfolding.
Deep thanks to Maru Dominguez and Katunemo for giving me the space to share a small piece of both my journey and my students’ journeys with the Pittsfield community.
If you live in or around the Berkshires, be sure to check out We Are America Too: The Journey Continues, on display from September 5–26.
For more information pertaining to unaccompanied children please see the resource list below.
About UC’s
Unaccompanied Children – 2025 Update
Organizations Supporting Unaccompanied Children
Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project
Unaccompanied Children in the News
Trump officials launch ICE effort to deport unaccompanied migrant children
Judge blocks Trump administration move to deport Guatemalan children
ICE is showing up to interview parents hoping to reunite with their children who entered US alone
County supervisor wants to extend legal representation to unaccompanied minors
Books About Unaccompanied Children
Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions
If you have more resources or books about unaccompanied children, please share in the comments.