Tell us some background about your upbringing.
Because of my upbringing, I’m proud to be an Asian American and a USA citizen. I was born in Vietnam in a war-ridden country where my dad and family fought with the United States and French military against the North Vietnam Communist regime. Being Catholic, we would not have the freedom to practice our faith nor live freely along with the threat of my dad being imprisoned by the Communist government. So in 1975 after the fall of Saigon, when I was 2 ½ years old, my parents fled Vietnam with my 5 siblings and me, along with only the possessions that they could carry. We were able to escape to the Wake Islands on fishing boats, and from there we were transported to the Philippines sheltering in refugee camps. After several months, we were able to be relocated to the U.S. We flew into Harrisburg, PA and stayed in a refugee camp at Fort Indiantown Gap until the First Lutheran Church sponsored us and helped us get reestablished in Altoona, PA. My memory of those times are a blur now, but the feelings remain of being scared, excited and grateful for a new beginning in a new world with my family. We didn’t have much, but we had each other unlike a lot of other families.
It was rough at first getting acclimated to a new country, people, language, food and the weather! Coming from a tropical country to northeastern America was a big climate shock for us after never having experienced the cold and snow, but we adapted quickly. My younger brother was born in America in 1976 and Altoona was where we continued to live and grow up. With the support of our Catholic parish and local community, we were able to attend Catholic grade school and Bishop Guilfoyle High School. Being raised in a strict Catholic household with a military dad, faith, family and education were always (and still are) our top priorities.
Having three brothers close in age, competition and sports were our favorite past-time as well as going fishing with our dad in the summers. During the school year, we all played sports for our schools but I dedicated my athletics to football and boys volleyball throughout high school. As we were learning English growing up, we also learned about Steelers football and the Steel Curtain of the 70’s. My senior year, I was selected as an all-state running back (see picture below from the Altoona Mirror newspaper) and was awarded the Student Athlete Award for varsity football and being in the National Honor Society. After high school, I attended the University of Pittsburgh for Industrial Engineering and played club volleyball. Four of my siblings also graduated from Pitt and now my oldest daughter is there. I moved to the Philly area in 1996 for work opportunities and have been here ever since.
Did you have any special traditions growing up?
Growing up, we loved nature and being in the outdoors and would go fishing in the mountains or vacationing to the remote areas of the Outer Banks, NC as a family. We still hold the same summer vacation traditions by going to the OBX with my family, my siblings and their families, but now in a much bigger beach house with a lot more people.
What are some of your favorite traditional meals?
Being Asian-American, we adopted a lot of the customary American holiday meals such as turkey for Thanksgiving, ham for Easter, and BBQ for the 4th of July, but we still have traditional Vietnamese dishes to celebrate the Lunar New Year such as banh chung (Vietnamese square sticky rice cake) and banh tet (tet cake or Vietnamese round glutinous rice cake). We’re so happy that Pho (beef noodle soup) is now mainstream with a lot of Vietnamese restaurants around and enjoy that on a regular basis as well as Vietnamese spring rolls and summer rolls.
What is something about your culture that people may not know?
Modern Vietnamese written language uses Romance characters but does not have the following letters – F, J, W, Z. One Vietnamese word spelled the same way can have different meanings depending on the accent mark.
What challenges have you faced as an Asian American?
When we first came to America, I had to learn the nuances of American English, such as to not to take everything literally. I needed to adapt to slang, sarcasm and day-to-day conversation language. As I grew older, it also came apparent that a lot of Americans did not understand that there are many different countries in Asia with different languages and customs. Just because I speak Vietnamese, that does not mean that I would also understand languages from other Asian countries. This is a misconception that has been placed on a lot of Asian Americans.
What makes you the most proud about being Asian American?
I am proud of being an Asian American because I get to live in a country that allows for anyone of any background the opportunity to succeed through hard work and dedication with a great support system. Here in the U.S., I am free to practice my Vietnamese traditions and faith without fear of reprisal. I am also grateful for all the people and communities that have helped my family and me throughout my personal and professional journey from Vietnam to now. That is what America is about!
How has your heritage influenced who you are today?
My heritage is always about honoring our ancestors, elders, family and respecting others. By having these family values ingrained in me, I strive to instill the same in my day-to day life with my children, interaction within my community, friends and colleagues. I try to give back by coaching my son’s soccer team, daughter’s volleyball team, volunteer at church, have an open-door policy at work and mentor those that pursue my input. I enjoy being a member of the LACE, EEC and the DEILC to foster a positive and fun work environment for everyone at eMoney.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Glad to hear your story and learn about you and your background. Thanks!
Love the food, culture, and overall, how you became a Shining Star from overcoming all the challenges that came along your way! Thanks for sharing!