Sara Quintal
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My name is Sarah da Silva Quintel and I am a first generation Azorean American born and raised in New Bedford. My story really starts with my parents who were born in the Azores, my mom on the island of Pico, my dad on the island of Faial. They met in high school, because at that time, Pico didn't have a high school, and my mom was the youngest of 11 kids, so she had to go to high school on the island of Faial, which is where she met my dad. They got married, moved to the island of Terceira, and that's where my three older brothers were born.
In the '60s, they immigrated here to the U.S., the reasons why they immigrated, still a little unclear in my mind, but they both had successful jobs in the Azores. My mom was a teacher and my dad worked first for the Portuguese Air Force and then he was a civilian for the American Air Force on Lajes Air Force Base.
