My great-great grandfather, Henrik came to America from Germany
as a mischievous young boy. On his last day of school, the
teacher asked him to hold out his hand and struck it with a
ruler, yelling, "Take that to America with you." On the voyage
over the Atlantic true tragedy occurred; his sister died and had
to be buried at sea. Upon leaving Ellis Island, Henrik headed
west, settled in Iowa and started a new life as an American
farmer. Since then, three generations of my family grew up
farming over 320 acres of land. The land was recently sold and I
returned to New York, where my ancestor first arrived over a
hundred years ago. As I set out on my own journey, I keep in mind
the opportunities that were created for me through my family's
hard work and special connection to Ellis Island.