Calla

Growing up in a small, predominantly Caucasian village in New York, Calla "became more sensitive to the lack of Asian American representation in media, and as a result, had a greater desire to find characters with stories like [her] own”

Filmmaking is Calla’s dream, but equal representation in media is her passion. As a Film & Television Production major at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Calla is working to pursue both. Growing up in a small, predominantly Caucasian village in New York, Calla "became more sensitive to the lack of Asian American representation in media, and as a result, had a greater desire to find characters with stories like [her] own”. Working to promote more Asian Americans on and off-screen, she emphasizes, “I really want to tell stories of people without a voice”. While this group includes Asian Americans, she is also interested in documenting other peoples and cultures whose narratives have been excluded from popular media. Calla hopes that her films will one day “show young Asian boys and girls that their stories matter” and “make audiences see others in a new light”. She firmly believes that greater and equal media representation will lead to wider acceptance and understanding of minority groups.

Adopted from Huanggang, Hubei in 1999, Calla found CCI in middle school and enjoys being on the Board because of the community support and dialogue. Her advice for younger Chinese adoptees? “It is okay to have mixed feelings regarding your adoption. Your feelings are valid. You don't have to go through it alone.”

Humans of CCI profiled on Facebook in 2017.

Zoey

Zoey's Chinese name means “quiet clang.” But otherwise, Zoey is far from quiet, always using their voice to correct wrongs.

Zoey Kapusinski’s Chinese name means “quiet clang.” They were found by the road in a Zhejiang Province village with a little piece of red paper stating their Chinese name and their birthday. Zoey recalls a time that the “quiet” in their name seemed to fit, remarking, “There is a photo of three babies in the orphanage sitting on a couch, and I’m looking at the crying one with a face like, “Shhh!’”

But otherwise, Zoey is far from quiet, always using their voice to correct wrongs. For instance, when Zoey was very young, they came to their mom having heard someone claim that he was born from his mother’s tummy. They told their mom that they had corrected him, saying, “No you don’t. You come from China!” All joking aside, Zoey’s voice really is an amazing presence in their community. Having grown up doing a lot of community service, they are super passionate about social justice and community service. Working with a group of local Chinese adoptees, they have raised over $9,000 dollars for charities serving children in China. This group of Seattle-area Chinese adoptees calls themselves the Dinner Bunch, and pre-college they would come together each month for dinners and sleepovers. But to Zoey, the Dinner Bunch isn’t just a cool name. In fact, they credit having this core group as being instrumental in helping to normalize adoption.

Inspired by the lush greenery of the Pacific Northwest suburb in which they grew up as an only child, Zoey also uses their voice to speak on behalf of the environment. Today, they're just two weeks away from graduating from Whitman College with a degree in biology and environmental studies with a sociology minor. No matter where they go, I’m confident that Zoey will make their voice heard.

Humans of CCI published on Facebook in 2017.

Katie

"My passion in life is simple. Being there for one another."

"My passion in life is simple. Being there for one another." As a strong Christian, Katie Pinkston believes that it is her job to spread God's love to everyone around her. However her love doesn't stop at people, she also loves every imaginable type of vegetable - cabbage, green beans, broccoli, etc. Although she could eat vegetables day and night, shockingly, she has never enjoyed any kind of sweets and cannot stand the taste of chocolate! Growing up a Southern girl in the homey state of Alabama, Katie could never live in a bustling city. Instead, she'd rather admire the natural beauty of God's creation even though the weather is absolutely crazy, from tornadoes, snow, rain and sun in a span of a week. Katie is literally an old soul trapped in a little body filled with inspiring wisdom. "Be you," she says, "the only person stopping you is you."Adopted from Huanggang, Hubei in 1999, Calla found CCI in middle school and enjoys being on the Board because of the community support and dialogue. Her advice for younger Chinese adoptees? “It is okay to have mixed feelings regarding your adoption. Your feelings are valid. You don't have to go through it alone.”

Humans of CCI profiled on Facebook in 2017.