Building community is a major priority in my personal and professional life. I believe we all need our community to support, inspire, and motivate us in all facets of our lives. This month my personal and professional communities absolutely showed up for me as I legally turned 50 and completed a half-marathon. I celebrated both of these life accomplishments with a pizza party in my backyard. 

Thank you to the people who showed up by joining me on training runs leading up to race day, cheering for me on the course, running with me during the race, tracking my progress with the race app. Thank you to the people who showed up by helping me make 26 pizzas for the party, by attending the party, and/or singing me a karaoke song. The synergy and support was overwhelming. I could not have crossed the finish line and so happily celebrated the big 5-0 without my community. 

My original plan was to run the full marathon then four months ago I fractured my ankle and I had to reset my goal. I decided to train for and complete the half-marathon. Even though my marathon dream did not turn out how I originally envisioned it, the reality that replaced my original vision allowed my community to show more support and encouragement than I would have ever dreamed of. 

Thank you to all who honored me and my birthday through a contribution to the following. Of course, it’s not too late to make a contribution on my behalf! Our community appreciates your support. 

1. Adoptees United: https://adopteesunited.org/ (a national adoptee rights organization)
2. National Association of Adoptees & Parents: https://naapunited.org/contact
3. Spoon Foundation: https://www.spoonfoundation.org/
4. Adoption Mosaic's Adoptee Scholarship Fund:
Venmo: @adoptionmosaic, PayPal: @astridcastro1396, Zelle: events@adoptionmosaic.com

Plans may change unexpectedly, dreams may have to be reformed and challenges and changes are easier and more fun to celebrate with community. Thank you for being a part of my community!
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Megan Hammerschimdt
2nd Generation Adoptee
"I’m hoping to work collaboratively with other adult children of adoptees and build a community that can provide resources and support. As more and more children of adoptees are becoming adults, the importance of a dedicated space is becoming more clear."
Hello! My name is Megan Hammerschmidt. My mother is a Korean adoptee and my father is German American; I am half Korean and half white. I grew up in Utah, where my mom was adopted into a white Mormon family, but I left the church and moved to Southern California when I turned 18. After graduating with my degree in Environmental Studies from California State University San Marcos, where I focused on sustainability and inclusive environmentalism, I decided that I was not quite done with school and wanted to pursue environmental justice and environmental racism as my focus for graduate school. I began my Master’s in Social Innovation and Sustainability at Goddard College in Vermont focusing on including the lived experiences of people of color in the traditional environmental movement. As I have worked through my program, I realize that Asian Americans are often not included in environmental or social justice conversations and have shifted my focus slightly toward decolonizing the Asian American identity and the ability to practice inclusive activism. 

As I’ve explored this topic and really taken the time to look inward at my own identity, the impact my mother’s adoption has had on me has begun to unravel. I wondered if there were other children of adoptees out there who had similar experiences and feelings that I had. It’s something that is hard to explain - While I myself am not adopted, I still feel the implications of growing up as a racialized “other” in a white family, especially in Utah, and the impact of not knowing my mother’s birth family. Furthermore, as a mixed race child, I often find myself in an identity limbo. This led me to Adoption Mosaic, who have been leaders in the conversation about “second-generation adoptees” in their We the Experts panel series, and inspired me to reach out.
Please help us spread the word about our community building for second generation adoptees! Please have interested second generation adoptees contact hello@adoptionmosaic.com.
Adoption Mosaic offers individual consultations with Astrid Castro. Consultations are not therapeutic services. However, these one-on-one sessions with Astrid offer:

  • Empathetic, experience, and education based listening
  • Time to talk about you/your family’s challenges and successes
  • Individualized advice based on you/your family’s situation
  • One-on-one time with a caring, knowledgeable, open-minded adoption professional

ADOPTION MOSAIC
www.adoptionmosaic.com | hello@adoptionmosaic.com | 971.231.7184