For many kids, moving to a different city or state can be a difficult process.
SLXLM
Moving countries can be even harder, and Michelle Artzberger learned that firsthand when his family moved from Venezuela to Lawton in 2006.
Artzberger, a senior football and baseball player at MacArthur, spent most of his early childhood years as a citizen of the South American country living with his mother, Cindy. He never thought he’d end up in the United States.
However, Ron — Artzberger’s future stepdad — was working in the oil fields of Aruba, a small island off the coast of Venezuela, when he just so happened to meet Cindy.
Despite the language barrier between them, their fondness of each other quickly blossomed into a loving relationship.
“My dad didn’t speak Spanish, so he had his coworker talk to my mom for him, and that’s how they met,” Artzberger said. “My dad’s friend translated for them, and they just started talking to each other little by little.”
It wasn’t long after that when the new family made the move to Lawton. Ron, who was originally from Lawton, adopted Artzberger and his brother, taking care of all the paperwork — including Visas and passports — to officially make them Artzbergers.
Artzberger said he has been back to his home country to visit family since his departure, but doing so nowadays is harder than ever with the rise of Venezuela’s socialist government.
“We went when I was in middle school and the Christmas break of my freshman year,” Artzberger said. “We went back to visit my grandpa and all of my relatives that were there. Since everything was starting to get bad, we wanted to go before we probably wouldn’t be able to go again.”
Ron still doesn’t know much Spanish, but that was never a problem for Artzberger, given he spent the first few years of his life in the Spanish-speaking country.
“I’m pretty fluent,” Artzberger said. “I’ve been talking English since I moved here, except at home — I speak Spanish with my mom. My mom usually speaks to me in Spanish most of the time, and depending on how it comes out, I’ll either answer it in English or Spanish.
“Being able to know both languages is good for me, and being able to carry that attribute in life will really help me.”
There is no denying becoming bilingual at a young age has its benefits.
Learning and maintaining his knowledge of English and Spanish has helped Artzberger a great deal in the classroom, leading him to a 4.0 GPA.
Artzberger credits his studious mind for the success he’s experienced thus far in his life.
“Everything I did, I had to be extra focused,” Artzberger said. “I didn’t know English growing up, so I had to really focus on that. I also had to keep up with my Spanish to make sure I stayed fluent in that.”
Although Artzberger picked up English rather quickly, it wasn’t easy at first, especially when he enrolled at Sullivan Village Elementary School.
It was a major change for Artzberger, who was only 7 years old at the time. After all, it was hard making friends with fellow students when they spoke a language he hadn’t quite mastered yet.
And while Artzberger was adjusting to his American peers, they were adjusting to his first name.
In Spanish-speaking countries like Venezuela, Michelle is a common name for males. In the United States, however, it is the feminine form of Michael, which led to him being teased.
“Teachers would get confused, and when they’d call roll, they’d look at me pretty funny,” Artzberger said. “They were like in shock and asking me if it’s pronounced Michael or Michelle.”
Although the teasing has greatly diminished for Artzberger since his middle school years, he still experiences mispronunciations on a regular basis. Even the announcers at Cameron Stadium have trouble with that, calling him Michael on first reference on occasion.
“I heard it once during the Eisenhower game,” Artzberger said. “Then they corrected it after they realized.”
One person in the stands who certainly knows how to correctly pronounce his name is his mother.
Cindy can often be seen standing close to field with her phone in hand, filming every moment Artzberger is in action. She does that so Ron, who often works away from home, and other family members who can’t watch Artzberger live can keep up with athletic endeavors.
Cindy’s pride in her son in undeniable, and Artzberger said having his mother there filming him and cheering him on gives him the confidence he needs to do great things.
“It makes me feel great because I know that pretty much every game, unless something serious comes up, she’ll be there supporting me,” Artzberger said. “It gives me that much more confidence to perform. Knowing she’ll be there whether we win or lose or if I do good or bad, it’s comforting.”