“It’s a blessing because I'm a part of such a beautiful community that I would not trade for the world”

Story 33, Rachel Cabral, first-generation Portuguese-American

Interview conducted and written by Veronica Deckard

Rachel Cabral, a freshman at Boston University, grew up in Rhode Island, surrounded by Portuguese culture. A first-generation student, Cabral is active in her Portuguese folk dance group back home and on-campus organizations like the Newbury Center, a support hub for first-gen students, and the Global House: a specialty housing experience for students passionate about languages and cultures. 

She said her family’s migration drives her passion for and involvement in Portuguese communities at home and BU. 

“It’s a blessing because I'm a part of such a beautiful community that I would not trade for the world,” Cabral said. “I love being Portuguese.” 

Due to mandatory military requirements in Portugal, her parents both immigrated separately to the U.S. Her mom immigrated from Faial, an island in Portugal, to Massachusetts. Her dad immigrated from mainland Portugal to Rhode Island. 

Despite living in different states, her parents met at a Portugese feast. “I think that goes to show how strong the Portuguese community here is,” Cabral said. 

Her parents' migration has always been a fact of life for Cabral. As she grows older, though, her parents have begun to share more of the harsh realities of their migration. 

“Just the other day, I was having dinner with my dad,” Cabral said. “He was telling me about this story about how a train he was on basically fell over, but the basis of it was he had to travel across Portugal to get documentation to move to America. So, the older I get, the more traumatic the stories get. And something that I realized with immigrant communities is they will never admit how traumatic it is because, to them, it was just a fact of life.” 

Their migration shapes Cabral’s experience as a second-generation immigrant and first-generation student. Though she is endlessly proud of her Portuguese heritage, “it comes with a price,” she said. 

“When I go back to Portugal to visit, I don't feel like I fit there because to them, I'm too American,” Cabral said. “But here, I'm not American enough. So just growing up with that middle ground is so weird because I never feel like I don't fit in.”

Applying to colleges was also an isolating challenge for her family. 

“Applications were rough because my parents didn't go through it,” said Cabral. “They don't know what to do. They're not alumni of the school I'm trying to get into. So that in itself is hard. 

Cabral hopes to see more resources for students, and the parents of students, like herself. 

“We're the first ones to figure it out, and that's no discredit to my parents. They do so much to help me, and I wouldn't be here if it weren't for them. I'm sure they feel they can't help me enough,” she said. 

At college, her parents’ migration shapes the direction of her studies: political science. Cabral hopes to help immigrant communities – her community – to navigate the challenging systems of the U.S.  

“I feel like I owe it to them to give back because they raised me. They brought me up,” she said. 

Away from Rhode Island, Cabral seeks out a sense of home in the first-generation and Portuguese communities of Boston. For Cabral, it’s crucial to make identities like hers more visible. 

“You do belong. Take it easy,” Cabral said. “Take a deep breath and just enjoy the ride. Sometimes I feel like there's so much pressure on us, and we feel like we don't belong, but we do. This is our country. It’s for us.”