Finding their niche: Emigrants make their homes in Northland

By Molly Ovenden

Whatdoes it feel like to leave your family, your home country and your native language to live in America? Are the streets really paved with gold? For immigrant Laura Muus, 28, of Grand Marais, and Joanna Kuperus, 44, of Cloquet, educational pursuits and learning English brought them to America, and even to northern Minnesota.

Maybe the streets aren’t paved with gold, but they are paved with opportunity for these two women. Both have found empowerment through community, motherhood and their own photography businesses while they’ve made their home up north.

Laura Muus

From the oceanside region of Callao outside Peru’s capital, Lima, Laura Muus’ mother was a teacher and her father served in the Navy. Their hard work made private education possible. Healthcare was available, too, through the Navy’s provision for their enlisted service people and families.

Muus’ parents opened doors “to be able to have a better quality of life,” she said.

One key, Muus said, “was the opportunity to learn a second language, which was learning

Laura Muus, a South American native from Peru, has adapted well to Minnesota and loves calling Grand Marais home, along with her husband, Jacob, and son, Matteo.

English,” something Peruvian schools emphasize in kindergarten through college.

With Lima’s centralized government and commerce, Muus’ family’s story is like many others in Peru. Accessing opportunities for a good education and future with job security causes people to move to Lima from outlying cities and makes everyone highly competitive.

In 2013, Muus ventured to America to work in Lutsen, like her cousin and brother had done. As an international student, earning money and improving English were her goals. She returned two more winters, ultimately moving to Grand Marais for love.

She met Jacob who took her ice fishing and showed her “a side of Minnesota that I had not been able to see or experience because I was just too busy,” Muus said.

They got married in 2017.

Long-distance immigrant relationships leading to marriage are complicated, expensive and laden with paperwork, waiting and uncertainty. Before engagement, crossing the borders were scary for Muus, not knowing whether she’d be allowed back to be with her boyfriend.

People don’t understand the visa and residency process for immigration or ”what it takes, how long it takes, how much it costs,” Muus said.

Wishing people knew what it felt like to be an immigrant and unable to speak her native language, Muus said, “I have had people who get offended or get annoyed when I speak Spanish to other people. And that is sad.”

Muus has noticed an increase in the Latino population in Cook County since she first visited. She loves speaking Spanish with native speakers or anyone willing to practice it.

After her son was born, Muus adjusted her career to pursue photography as a business. A wedding and lifestyle photographer, she loves it all: business’ behind-the-scenes photographs or marriage proposals.

“It’s just amazing,” she said, “all the opportunities that photography is offering to me today.”

Paired with her marketing and communications education, she also manages social media accounts for local businesses, and continues to educate herself.

“Starting next year…I want those two to be my full-time jobs,” she explained.

Muus misses Peru’s fresh ocean fish for ceviche and her favorite drink, chicha morada, made from purple corn. While she teaches her son Peruvian culture and celebrates traditions with Latino friends, Muus is proud to call Grand Marais her home.

Joanna Kuperus

When Joanna Kuperus was in school, she received pivotal advice: study English and finances to find success. While neither subject thrilled her, she followed the advice.

She attended English camps.

“I did my master’s degree in finances and banking and that definitely opened lots of doors for me,” she said. “Polish people are humble.”

When Kuperus received her degree, she collected the documents and returned to work, never expecting accolades. Educational achievements are accepted and expected, but not celebrated like in America.

In 2007, Kuperus left her job at Jagiellonian University, in Cracow, Poland. Moving to Ireland, she hoped to improve her English. She reconnected with her friend Matt, now husband, who was in the military. Long-distance dating was expensive with travel costs until they got engaged. Applying for a fiancé visa, she moved to Nevada, where he was stationed, and they got married in 2010.

Emigrating to America meant Kuperus couldn’t work right away.

“It was kind of (a) shock and it hurt,” she said. “I remember that it hurt.”

The immigration process involved months of waiting for paperwork before receiving authorization for a work visa, a driving license, and immunization.

Kuperus found a job at the Las Vegas Polish consulate and loved working with Polish people, but it was short-lived. The military transferred her husband’s job to New Mexico.

Preparing for the move, she realized the job market was poor. She wanted to redefine herself and her work. An online course for photography allowed the learning journey to continue. The technical language would have challenged her, even if it wasn’t in English, yet she persevered, learning to capture beauty in photographs.

“It was good for me,” Kuperus said, “because it stretched my capability of doing more.”

In 2013, the Kuperus family moved to Cloquet.

Loving motherhood, when her 9-year-old daughter said, “I want to be like you, Mommy.” Kuperus was flattered.

When her daughter continued to say that she wanted a husband to pay for everything so she could drive around and do whatever she liked, Kuperus laughed. “It freaked me out!” she said.

She changed how she modeled womanhood to her 6- and 9-year-old girls, showing them that their mommy has a master’s degree, speaks multiple languages and actually enjoys working.

Because of her English and finance education, Kuperus said she found a job within a week.

While living in America with widespread empowerment and self-belief, Kuperus has grown in confidence.

It’s satisfying to work in finance, having a creative outlet of her photography business open on the side. She has watched longtime clients grow and change. It’s a privilege and personal experience for Kuperus, the photographer.

While she misses aspects of Poland, like the anticipation of gathering for Christmas and singing centuries-old carols, Kuperus shares traditions with her children. She is proud to be Polish and grateful for the childhood advice that brought her to America, allowing her to meet so many different people. D Molly Ovenden is a