Quinn Shapiro

Kumu Liana

HIST 151

9 October 2020

Quinn Shapiro’s Genogram Reflection

Both of my families, maternal and paternal, emigrated from Europe in the late 1800s.

They came to the United States with very little. Both sides have small, connected families. From

my great grandparents on, no one has more than two siblings. They usually stay close, both

geographically and socially, to their immediate family. They both worked hard, but in different

ways, to establish themselves into society.

My mother’s father’s side, the Gutknechts, came from Switzerland. My great great

grandparents, Jackob and Lina Gutknecht, emigrated from Switzerland in the late 1800s to

Coroico, Bolivia in search of wealth and opportunity. They bought a cocaina plantation in 1911

and worked it until they had a kid, John. In 1914, in the wake of monetary loss and a mysterious

murder connected to a territorial, indigenous tribe, Jackob, Lina, and John moved to the midwest

of the United States. There, John grew up and worked a factory job to provide for his wife,

Marion, and two sons, Glenn and Raymond.

On my mother’s mother’s side, the Fraisers, education seemed to be highly valued, with

everyone up to my great great grandfather obtaining at least a bachelor's degree. I believe that

this is due to them living in the United States since the Revolutionary war, which allowed them

to initiate themselves into the education system earlier than my other relatives. The Fraisers

settled in the midwest in the mid 1800s and stayed there.

 My grandfather, Glenn Gutknecht, met my grandmother, Patricia Fraiser, in 1962.

Because of the influence of the Fraiser family, Glenn decided to go to college with Patricia.

Patricia received a bachelor’s degree in social work and Glenn received a masters degree in

biomedical research. Using their degrees, they were able to create a solid economic foundation

for their kids.

My father’s side of the family, the Shapiros, had a different approach to establishing

themselves. All of my great great grandparents on that side emigrated from eastern Europe,

specifically Poland and Russia, in the late 1800s. They were all Jewish, a culture which heavily

influenced their occupations once they arrived in the northeastern United States. Everyone up to

my great grandparents owned some sort of business. My grandmother’s father, Wilfred

Goodman, opened the Goodman Wiping Cloth Company in the economic boom of the 1920s.

Then, in 1948, Wilfred died of a heart attack. Elsie, his wife, was forced to take over the

business. Being a woman business owner in the early 1950s made it especially hard for her.

However, she persevered and was able to create an opportunity for her daughter, Barbara, to go

to college. While attending Boston University in the late 1950s, Barbara met my grandfather,

Neil Shapiro. They moved to Maine together, where Neil started Shapiro Hearing Aid Company.

My family has worked hard to provide opportunities to their future generations. My

paternal family’s Jewish background influenced them to migrate to New England and open

businesses. My maternal family’s American background and failed cocaina enterprise

encouraged them to take an educational approach to economic gain. Both families persevered

through difficult jobs and endeavors to help their families.

My Focus 2 assessments showed me that my interests are mainly STEM related. I believe

that many occupations in the STEM field satisfy both the educational and scientific background
of my maternal family and the business background of my paternal family. Many engineering

jobs were recommended, such as software engineering and energy engineering. I believe that

these types of jobs could fulfill my goals such as providing opportunities for my family and

solving global issues, like the lack of sustainable energy.