May Thaw is a Karen from Mae La Refugee Camp in Thailand. Both of her parents are from Burma but fled to Thailand for safety and security in the 1980s. Her family came to America in August 2008 when she was eight years old. She has been working with the Karen Organization of San Diego (KOSD) since 2014 as a part of the First Generation Club. She also contributes her talents as a dancer for the KOSD community. She is currently on the path to becoming a teacher and is working on obtaining a degree in Liberal Studies at San Diego Southwestern College. In the future, May Thaw desires to use her teaching education to make better opportunities for Karen youth living in Thailand and Burma. By bringing her teaching skills to Burma and Thailand, she hopes to improve the current education system which is expensive and often inconsistent. Her own parents were denied the opportunity to go to school due to the hardships of war and the constant need for relocation. By becoming a teacher to refugee youth, May Thaw hopes to be an example to others and to inspire them to achieve their dreams.
Growing up, the only stories told to me as a child were the ones of how my dad came to Canada from Vietnam. But at age 5, or even 15, I didn't really care. It wasn't until well into my university career that I discovered the power of story-telling, and that the stories I had grown up hearing were ones that epitomized hard-work, resilience, and hope. To the over 1 million Vietnamese refugees who lost their lives trying to do what my dad accomplished, I hope we made you proud.
Written by Jaime Nguyen and republished with permission. Click here to see the original piece on Medium.
Minh-Hoa Ta, Ed. D. began her career at Ohlone College as the Vice President of Student Services in May 2016. She has 28 years working experiences in the California higher education system and the private sector. Prior to Ohlone, she served as Director of the Asian Pacific American Student Success Center (APASS), Dean of Instruction, Dean of the CCSF Chinatown North Beach campus, Dean of International Education, ESL, and Transitional Studies. She also served as the Principal Investigator for a U.S. Department of Educational AANAPISI Grant focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, (STEM). Minh-Hoa was a faculty member and the co-founder of the Vietnamese American Studies Center at San Francisco State University. Born and raised in Vietnam and a first generation college student, her passions are education and socio-economic equity. She currently serves as the Chair of the University of California in San Francisco’s Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project and as the honorable Principal of the Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine USA campus.
Tao Nguyen was born in the Hung Yen province in 1946 and fled to the South with his family in 1954. He graduated from the College of Political Warfare in Da Lat and served as a Lieutenant during the Vietnam Civil War. After the fall of Saigon, Tao spent seven years in a re-education camp until his release in 1982 and reunited with his wife. He went on to have three children in Saigon before moving to Virginia, U.S., in June, 1991, where he currently resides. Today Tao is retired after working for 25 years at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Crystal City, and enjoys his days going to church, reading, spending time with his four grandchildren, leading Bible study groups, and catching up with old friends.
Alexandria Hien McCombs is the Assistant General Counsel for Humana Inc. and Chair-Elect of the American Bar Association Health Law Section. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she graduated with Distinction in History and a minor in Contemporary French Studies from The Colorado College. She earned her law degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. Alexandria and her husband live in Dallas, Texas with their three children, and enjoy running and volunteering at 5K races.
Lynne is a former Vietnamese Boat Person who fled Vietnam in 1979. In this interview, she talks about her escape, how she arrived in the United States, and her connection with a Malaysian naval officer who saved her life. Lynne currently resides in San Francisco with her family.
If anyone has any connections or information about how we could potentially locate and contact this naval officer, please email us at projectyellowdress@gmail.com. Lynne was in Malaysia around May 8-28, 1979, and docked side by side with the Malaysian naval ship for about 7-10 days before being towed to Indonesia. The naval officer in question has a picture of Lynne that was taken when she was 17 years old.
Jonathan Castanien is a Brooklyn based stage manager born and raised in Southern California. Outside of production work, his experience includes public relations and writing for the arts. He is a proud member of the Asian American Theatre community and has a bad habit of writing novels in response to misguided facebook statuses. You can see this piece and others on his blog, https://mixedupthoughtsblog.wordpress.com
About Thuy Nguyen:
Former "boat-person" refugee. Grateful to be alive from the kindness of strangers. Born in Vietnam. Refugee in Thailand. Grew up in Canada. Married a lovely Greek woman and was welcomed into a loving Greek family. Followed his heart to pursue a career in Silicon Valley. Blessed with 3 children who are American, Canadian, Greek, and Vietnamese. Privileged to have worked with, and learned from intelligent people and awesome friends at Rogers, @Home Network, Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, and Comcast. Thuy is a technology entrepreneur and the founder of PalWiFi.
About PalWiFi:
PalWiFi is a better way to share WiFi and save on your mobile data plans. PalWiFi is your free WiFi pal! You, me, and our neighbors sharing WiFi in a trusted community. Simple. Secure. Safe. No need to share WiFi passwords. Be a good host and lock your WiFi to protect your guests and to protect our community from cyber criminals. Pay-it-forward. Join Us! Download the free App today. http://apple.co/2fru1p2 https://goo.gl/iQgN4I
Thien Tho Ngoc Nguyen is a Vietnamese woman born in Saigon, Vietnam, who immigrated to the United States in 1992. She currently works for Boat People S.O.S. (BPSOS) as a Case Manager for the Community Against Domestic Violence (CADV) program and Victims of Exploitation and Trafficking Assistance (VETA) program. She currently lives in Virginia with her family.
***This interview was conducted in English and Vietnamese, and later transcribed into English by PYD.
