RUNNING HEAD: CULTURAL BIOGRAPHY

Cultural Biography
Kristina Broussard
Georgia State University

RUNNING HEAD: CULTURAL BIOGRAPHY

Cultural Biography
Introduction
This cultural biography is about Kristina Broussard. Kristina was born on August 16,
1974 in Dallas, Texas to Dennis and Glenda Steinhour. She comes from a family with four
children and is the only girl. Dennis and Glenda are still married and share a forty two year
marriage. Kristina currently lives Sandy Springs, Georgia and attends Georgia State University
as an undergraduate student in the School of Social Work. Kristina works at the Salt Factory in
Alpharetta Georgia as a server and has worked there since the restaurant opened in October of
2013. She is an intern for Trinity Social Services in Dunwoody, Georgia.
Positionality/ Multiple Identities
Kristina holds many different positions in her life. In her family, she is known as the
stable and dependable one. She acts as sister, daughter, aunt, and friend to her family members.
She also acts as a family liaison to members that do not speak to each other. This is a role that
she has played for many years now and a role that led her to enroll in the social work program.
Kristinas older brother Michael is married with four children. Twelve years ago he broke his
back at work and later became addicted to OxyContin. This is a struggle for both him and for his
family. Neither he nor his wife hold down jobs with any consistency and they move about twice
a year. Seeing the pain that his addiction has caused his children is one of the main drivers of
Kristina going back to school and getting her degree. Watching the struggle of her nieces and
nephews led her to the realization that thousands of children are in the same or worse condition
and she wanted to be an advocate for them.
At the age of 17, Kristina was told that she had cervical cancer and has experienced
multiple problems with her female reproductive system since then. When she was 19, years old
she was told that she would never be able to have children. At the time it was not a big deal for
her but it became so shortly after when she was engaged to be married. Her and her husband
went to the doctor to find out if this could be changed and after surgery was told that she should
be able to get pregnant. After three years of trying Kristina was again told she would not be able
to conceive. This was one of the most heartbreaking things that happened to her as she had
always wanted to be a mother and it was hard to understand why the lord would curse her this
way. Through prayer and time Kristina came to the conclusion that this is the position that God
lead her to be in, and would always be a part of her identity. It was at this point that Kristina
knew she wanted to work with children, she just was not sure in what capacity.
Dilemmas of Americanization
Kristina grew up in Dallas, Texas and lived there until she was twelve years old. She did
not grow up in poverty or wanting for food or shelter, but her family did not have a lot of money.
When she was in elementary school her school district was involved with the desegregation of
the schools systems. She lived two blocks from an elementary school, but was bused 30 minutes
across town to a school that was surrounded by the projects. In 1975 approximately 17,000
students were bused across Dallas to improve the desegregation effort (Carmack, Freedman, &
B'nai B'rith, 1962). In her own area she was not accustomed to seeing people of color. At her
new school everybody but her and a couple of other kids in her class was a person of color.
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There were many African Americans and Latinos. This was a new environment for Kristina and
it took her awhile to feel comfortable in it. She attended this school for three years and made
many friends. One of her best friends to this day is an African American female that she became
friends with during this time.
When she was twelve her father, who worked for Panavision, got an offer to open up a
new office in Atlanta, Georgia. This meant a big pay raise for him and a move for our family.
Moving to Georgia was a good experience for her and her brothers. During middle and high
school most of her friends were Caucasians, but she also had friends with different cultural and
religious backgrounds.
After graduation, Kristina has visited and lived in many parts of the country. Her junior
year of high school was spent living in Utah and the summer before her senior year was spent
living in Brooklyn, NY working as a Nanny for a family friend. She moved to Fort Lauderdale,
FL for a year when she was twenty-eight and has lived in the greater Atlanta area since then.
Family Culture
Kristinas ethnic culture background is Dutch on her mothers side and Irish on her
fathers side. Her Father is adopted, but recently had blood tests run to find out about his
genealogic background. Her mothers family can trace their genealogy back fifteen generations
and have always resided in Texas. Glenda is one of the few members of her family that have
ever migrated to another area.
Glenda has always been the keeper of culture in her family. Kristinas grandparents on
both sides passed away when she was young and her mother taught her all of their family
traditions. Christmas has always been a very special time in their family and collecting
ornaments a pass time that Kristina and Glenda share and is special to them. Glenda has always
been the one to have Thanksgiving and Christmas at her house.
When Kristina was young she had friends from many races and diverse socioeconomic
backgrounds. During the rest of her teen years, most of her friends were Caucasian. As an adult
Kristina works with and goes to school with a very diverse group of people and is constantly
exposed to different cultures and religions.
Kristina feels that she is stereotyped by her income and also her career choice. Many of
her coworkers do not understand why she would want to be a social worker. Some perceptions
they hold are that she is going to take away children from their families and that she is never
going to make a comfortable living. She feels that her income separates her from many of her
friends who are professionals and also married which Kristina is not. Kristina finds herself in
situations all the time where she cannot participate in activates that her friends take part in
because she does not have the money.
Cultural Awareness of Other Inventory
Kristina was born in Dallas, Texas and her ethnic group is European American. As a
child her contact with African Americans and Latinos was frequent. Her interaction with Cuban,
Asian and First Nations people was rare and she had no impressions of this group. Her

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impressions of both Latinos and African Americans was favorable. She formulated these
opinions about people of color from her peer groups.
Kristinas adolescent and teens years were spent in Atlanta, GA except for her 16th year
which was spent in Logan, Utah. In both areas her neighborhood was predominantly Caucasian
as were her schools and peer groups. She also dated only Caucasian boys during this period.
Her impressions of people of color did not change in this period.
Kristina now is a senior at Georgia State University enrolled in the Social Work program
where she will graduate in May of 2015. She plans on attending the University of South
Carolina for her Masters degree which she plans on starting in June of 2015. Kristina has
people of all races, classes and cultures in her classes at Georgia State, and has formed positive
relationships with many of her classmates that have different backgrounds from her.
Intersectionality
As a forty-year old woman Kristina feels that she has been able to look back on life
experiences and learn from them. She feels that this gives her a sort of head start because she
will better be able to empathize with her clients. She has had many experiences either through
family or friends that have helped prepare her with problems that her clients may present.
American is Kristinas ethnicity, and she feels very proud to have the opportunities that
this country has provided her. She understands that single women of her age are not afforded
many of the freedoms and opportunities and understands that being a natural American citizen
provides her many chances that her counterparts around the world are not offered. She also
understands why people in other countries might come to this land of freedom.
English is the language that Kristina speaks and she is not literate in any other language.
Her gender is female and she is in the low income socioeconomic class. She does not have any
disabilities although her sight has worsened as she has aged and she now wears glasses.
According to The Center for Disease Controls Adult BMI Calculator, Kristina is of
average height at 55.5 and of average weight for her height at 135 (Cdc.gov, 2014). Her body
proportions are that she has a long torso and short legs. Her body proportions do fit into what is
seen as socially acceptable and she does not feel awkward. She feels that she has a neat and clean
appearance and does not feel like she is looked down upon about her appearance when she meets
new people. She is comfortable with herself and like to engage and meet new people.
Kristina is a straight woman that is currently in a six year relationship. Her sexual
orientation has not fluctuated over her life. She was previously married, but has been divorced
for fourteen years. She works as a server at the Salt Factory and as an intern at Trinity Social
Services.
Conclusion
There are many different faucets of Kristina that make her who she is today and she plays
many roles throughout her day. The places that she has lived and the people that she has met
have all impacted her in their own way. Not being able to have children has helped to shape her
in many ways and was a major factor in her wanting to be a social worker.
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Carmack, W. R., Freedman, T., & B'nai B'rith, N. L. (1962). Dallas, Texas, Factors Affecting
School Desegregation. Field Reports on Desegregation in the South, FR7.
Cdc.gov, (2014). Healthy Weight: Assessing Your Weight: BMI: Adult BMI Calculator: English |
DNPAO | CDC. [online] Available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_BMI/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calcul
ator.html [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014].