WHAT IS YOUR IMMIGRATION STORY?

So, my parents were part of a group of refugees called Vietnamese Boat People. They fled Vietnam after the war and as the name says, it's perfect description. They fled on small fishing vessels heading directly out to open sea in hopes of finding freedom and opportunities. And really just fleeing the challenges that we're going to come after the Vietnam War, they survived a couple years in refugee camps and Malaysia. And then they were sponsored to the United States. Many Vietnamese arrived and made their way to Orange County, California appropriately, the Little Saigon. And that's where they met and started our family.

My mom was sponsored by a family into Denver Colorado. A random family through a church was able to select her and her younger brother to be sponsored into Denver Colorado and through their graciousness and their support they gave him jobs early on as they were settling into the United States. And after a number of years and making contact with other family members who are out west, they were then able to, save up enough money and resources to venture off and start their lives in California.

And then for my dad, he was grateful his older sister was able to sponsor him and take him straight into California. My parents met each other in California and shortly after got married. Coming into Vietnam and in Little, Saigon California through mutual friends, they were able to meet each other date and then of course, get married. That's where they had my brother and I. We're both second generation Vietnamese Americans and very proud of our heritage. I think one of the advantages we have is the opportunity to balance our Vietnamese roots traditions but also the opportunity to really embrace the American culture. And the way I look at it, it's a perfect blend of two things versus it being a disadvantage.

WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT JOURNEY LOOK LIKE?

Being born and raised in California, I think to me it's the biggest story of passing down grit and resilience from my parents and understanding their sacrifices and their struggles has really helped motivate me in life and more particularly my career. And so, I started in a role with Mobility Enterprise Rent-A-Car in, Southern California built my career up into 2017 and then had the opportunity to get promoted out to our corporate office in the Midwest and Saint Louis. And so, it was not an easy decision with Vietnamese culture. As in many cultures, it's hard to leave your parents but where I bring up that story of great and resilience knowing the sacrifices, the reasons it made it that much more obvious for me to pick up move, my family out to St Louis.

My wife and her family also fled Vietnam in the 90s. And so, we met in Southern California. We moved and started our family out here in the Midwest. One of the things we talked about often is the fact that our kids now have the opportunity to do piano and play intramural sports, and all these activities at a young age. And so, when I look back, I said, Boy, I didn't do any of that. I've never played soccer at six years old, I never played volleyball, and it can be taken as no opportunity. It was in fact because of them working hard. All their efforts to save money to take care of our family that has now put us in a position where we're able to achieve things that they weren't able to and so it's been really eye opening the last couple years. My wife and I look at each other and gosh, we're really busy. We didn't do any of these things. I wish we could have but the truth is we weren't in position to do that because our parents are really busy working hard, getting accustomed to American culture and giving us the position we are in now to be able to do these things.

My wife makes it a constant effort to make sure our kids are educated. Whether it's continued to learn the language, food, and culture. Things that we've done here in St. Louis, as we have found our community of AANHPI professionals, where we can go out there and really teach them the different aspects to culture, not only Vietnamese, but all with culture within the AAPI community and so through that we are feeling good that they will have a dual sense of Vietnamese and American. Full, knowing that some of it will certainly, go away as we pass it down from generation to generation.

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