This dissertation study explores how a student creative artifact, (a book, developed by a Korean bilingual student, named Jinwoo) in an U.S. elementary school made a lasting contribution within and beyond the school community. Jinwoo's book offers creative insights into Korean emergent bilingual students' learning experiences in the U.S English-only classrooms. This study explores and documents how a student generated artifact can be used to illustrate and scaffold intense emotional learning experiences, serve as a vehicle for creative expressions, and provide a lens for understanding of Korean emergent bilingual students' learning experiences in English-only U.S. school contexts. A theoretical process model resulted from this study, which can be used to describe various emotional trajectories involved in the learning experiences of emergent bilingual students. The process model was developed and refined from a combination of interpretive analysis of Jinwoo's book, empirical observations and interviews of three Korean students' in the same school setting where Jinwoo developed his book, and connections to relevant literatures. Implications for future research and instructional practice are also discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]