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Crosscurrents

IMMIGRATION STORIES: Mahade Wanjihar and Leslie Spillane

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Many Californians have come here from somewhere else. In fact, the state has more immigrants than any other in the country. This week, we’re running a series of profiles of immigrants in the Bay Area. Today we meet a medical professional from India and a young woman from Ireland.

Mahade Wanjihar is from India but now lives in San Francisco. While he got a medical diploma in 2007 and practiced for a couple of years, he then moved out here. He wanted to get into a residency program but it has been tougher than he thought it would be.

MAHADE WANJIHAR: So I’ve been doing odd jobs. I work at a blood bank. I also work at a pathology lab, taking tissue samples and things like that. Right now I’m a cab driver, I drive with this community rent sharing program called Lyft.

Leslie Spillane left her home of Ireland in September but has been living in the Bay Area since January.

LESLIE SPILLANE: Finding a job was hard because I have no idea how to write a resume, like it’s different than at home. Or where to look for a job, what websites to look at, where to go for a job. And I have no idea about what to do if I don’t have a job, if I don’t find a job, if I run out of money, what resources are available, who to turn to for help. At home I would know where to go, or who to ask, but here I didn’t have a clue.

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Crosscurrents Immigration