Trying to Forget the Crushing Defeats since 2009

Silvia Stantcheva, Junior at Morris Hills High School in Rockaway, New Jersey. (Photo courtesy of Facebook)

Boston—At first glance, Silvia Stantcheva is a common American teenage girl, juggling schoolwork, a humming social life, and extra-curricular activities. It is only when you press her that she shows how she is different from many of her peers: while Stantcheva is currently a Junior at Morris Hills High School in Rockaway, New Jersey, she is originally from Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria, and was naturalized just two years ago.

Stantcheva is one of nearly 38 million immigrants currently living in the United States, according to the American Community Survey. Her family, like many others before her, came to the U.S. in the pursuit of more opportunities: “I talked to my Dad, and he said that we had money issues [in Bulgaria],” she said. “He wouldn’t have as much money there as he does here, and I’ve been to Bulgaria—there are more opportunities here.”

Silvia’s first move was in 1996, at age four. In pursuit of a job as a Computer Programmer, her father Stantcho moved the family to Tujunga, a northern District of Los Angeles, California. Following her father’s job again, Stantcheva moved back to Bulgaria at age six, and then moved to her current home, Rockaway, New Jersey, just one year later.

Stantcheva says that the toughest part of moving internationally was the difference in language. “When I was four, I didn’t know much English, so I had to take English classes in California,” she said. “When we moved back to Bulgaria, we changed languages again—it was hard for a six-year-old.” Making friends, however, was no issue: “I’m always outgoing,” she said. “That was never a problem.”

Stantcheva’s naturalization—as well as the naturalization of her brother, Mihail—was automatic once her parents took the oath of citizenship in 2007, as she was under 18 at the time. Still, she recalls watching her parents go through the process of becoming dual citizens of Bulgaria and the United States.

While the test is easy—“the questions aren’t that hard if you’re educated,” she said—Stantcheva says the length of time to become a citizen is quite long. “It took us about 12 years before becoming citizens, and it should be at least half of that time frame,” she said. “You can learn the appropriate material in that six years—six years is time enough to know all the rules and be a true citizen.”

Stantcheva also believes that the process should more closely include a language requirement. “If you want to immigrate to the U.S. you should make an attempt to learn the English Language,” she says. “I’m personally not a big fan of everything being translated into Spanish, because you should make an effort to learn English. There should be classes offered to new immigrants.”

This spirit of helping immigrants shows Stantcheva’s approach to legal immigration—she unequivocally supports it, and when asked about anti-immigrant groups, she rebukes them. “Their ancestors were immigrants—if they didn’t immigrate and get jobs, they wouldn’t be there at all,” she says. “People shouldn’t be against immigrants because they’re coming in later in American history.”

Today, Stantcheva is indistinguishable from her peers at Morris Hills: like her fellow high school juniors she has wavy hair and a permanent tan, and manages to stay energetic, even when running from class to tennis practice, or telling her life story on the phone while Instant Messaging teammates. Stantcheva says she is happy with the move to New Jersey, which is not surprising at all. After going back to Bulgaria (she tries to visit every other year but has not gone since 2006), she finds the U.S. to be a good home. “Bulgaria is a beautiful place, but you feel more comfortable living here,” she says. “I’m not sure I could live there permanently.”