Born and raised in south-central Kansas, Kylee Schunn has now made her way from one coast of the country to the other.
Schunn, who lives in Fresno, Calif., will give the annual Ada Schmidt-Tieszen Lecture at Bethel College March 24 at 11 a.m. in Krehbiel Auditorium in Luyken Fine Arts Center.
Schunn grew up near Whitewater and graduated from Remington High School before coming to Bethel in 2014, where she majored in social work while also playing basketball and singing in the Bethel College Concert Choir.
Schunn’s lecture topic is “Immigration 101.” She has just completed her first year as an immigration advocate at Centro La Familia in Fresno, but it isn’t her first experience working with immigrants.
After graduating from Bethel, Schunn moved to New York City, where she spent one year working in guidance and teaching at a school in Queens, and another as a legal assistant with Catholic Migration Services in Brooklyn.
From 2020-23, Schunn was a case manager for the Center for Urban Community Services in New York City, before moving to Fresno. She began with Centro La Familia in early 2024.
“I believe there are significant misconceptions about immigration, especially what benefits are available, the barriers to obtaining them, and how long these processes take,” Schunn said.
“My intention with this lecture is to share real-life examples and provide a background on different types of immigration benefits so that listeners can connect with what it might be like to try and obtain lawful status in the United States today.
“Immigration is a hotly debated subject right now, but we are talking about real people [and] real families, and these neighbors are an integral part of our community.
“I hope that [lecture] attendees will learn something new about immigration and take a moment to ponder their own families’ immigration stories.”
The March 24 event at Bethel is free and open to the public.
The Ada Schmidt-Tieszen Lectureship was endowed by former students, friends and family to honor longtime Bethel Professor of Social Work Ada Schmidt-Tieszen, who retired in 2020. Lectures are held on campus each March in recognition of National Social Work Month.
Since 1972, Centro La Familia Advocacy Services has been working with low-income, marginalized and underserved communities, particularly Spanish- and Hmong-speaking, in Fresno County, Calif.
This Latinx-founded and -directed organization helps people overcome barriers like language and lack of transportation to be able to access health, nutrition, education and other social services.
Bethel is a four-year liberal arts college founded in 1887 and is the oldest Mennonite college in North America. Bethel was the first Kansas college or university to be named a Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center, in 2021. For more information, see https://www.bethelks.edu
