E76: Maroro Zinyemba on identity, heritage, and language

To celebrate #IWD2025, The Newcomers Podcast will be publishing daily episodes between March 2nd - 8th celebrating a female immigrant. Come celebrate with us as we tell the stories of some of the many amazing immigrant heroines.

Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.

In our first #IWD2025 episode, I’m speaking with Maroro Zinyemba, Zimbabwean-Canadian, and Dean, Faculty of Skills & Foundational Learning, NorQuest College, Edmonton, Alberta.

"Home to me is where your roots are. So no matter where in the world you end up... you are rooted somewhere in something."

As an immigrant, the concept of identity, home, language, and heritage can be a challenging conversation, especially if you have kids.

How do you pass on your cultural values, nuances and all the subtleties of your identity to your kids? How do you keep your mother tongue going strong within the family?

Remember, the kids are only interested in surviving playground politics and will learn the language and cultural nuances that help them make friends.

In this conversation, Maroro and I explore the concept of home and how context influences her identity. We also chat about:

* The challenges of passing on our language to our kids

* Why ecosystems or community structures are key to passing on the language

* Language as a form of identity

* The fluidity of the immigrant identity, and more good stuff.

Official Links

👋🏽 Follow Maroro on LinkedIn

♀️Get involved in #IWD2025

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewcomerspod.com