Two Former Students of ACCESS’s Enrichment Program Received College Scholar’s Awards
June 13th, 2007
Winnie Chiu, who attended the Enrichment Program from Grade 2 to Grade 5, received a $1,000 award. She has just completed her first year at Bentley College. She plans to major in Accounting.
Mei Zhen Lee, who attended the Enrichment Program from Grade 4 to Grade 5, received a $500 award. She has just graduated from O’Bryant High School and is entering Babson College in the fall. She plans to major in mathematics in preparation for a career as an actuary.
Both Winnie and Mei Zhen are the first in their family to attend college. Some of their family members came to share the joy on June 6. After receiving the checks from Dr. Sau-Fong Siu, a member of the College Scholar’s Award Selection Committee, the winners read their essays “Growing Up Asian American: Rewards and Challenges” to the older children in the Enrichment Program. A cake was served afterwards.
Rice Barrel
by Mei Zhen Lee
When I was ten, there was one night my father was able to eat dinner with us. On this night he was not working until 2 a.m. I fervently told him about the amazing school lunch I had that day, a taco, a crispy corn tortilla filled with beef that is marinated with spicy Spanish seasoning. I suggested to my father that we have tacos someday instead of plain old rice. My father responded angrily; “We are Chinese people, we eat rice every day because that is the only thing we have. We grow it in the field by working hard every day of our lives, so we can bring home some grain to keep from starving. Now you want some foreign foods? Do you know how hard our people work to harvest grains of rice so you can have a bowl of rice every day and not starve? Why do you insist that we spend more money than we have to? What more do you want?” After that night, I began to reflect on my culture and who I really am. I was in America, but in my house I always felt trapped.
Being a Chinese-American, I have often viewed myself as having one foot in two cultures; from one perspective, I have to contend with what American society expects of me, and from the other, I must respect the traditional rules of my parents. I learn that burning incense demonstrates my respect for my ancestors, and the history of my people. My parents taught me traditional Chinese rules so I can appreciate my heritage. My view of American society comes from my friends and school. My friends give me the impression that being American means hanging out with friends, having the most updated electronics, and having abundance of money for shopping.
Growing up poor influenced the ways my parents viewed American culture, especially my father, who is retired now after working for more than forty years as a chef, who is impatient with Americans whom he believes spend money carelessly. He worked long hours so he could earn enough money for rent and food. My mother, the youngest of eight children, made a challenging decision to leave not only her family but also her village so her children could have a better future. My parents try to instill in me the desire to work hard. They want me to take advantage of the opportunities of the opportunities I have in this country.
Even though I appreciate what my parents did for me, I was still upset about my identity as a Chinese American. Last year, my father encouraged me to go to an Italian restaurant instead of a Chinese restaurant for my birthday, which pleased me, because now he views me as not only Chinese, but American too. Despite my battles over the years with myself, my father, and sometimes even with society, I know that I can be both Chinese and American without being ashamed.
Growing up Asian American: Rewards and Challenges
by Winnie Chiu
Ever since I was very young, I have always been that shy little girl who always tries to hide and avoid being noticed. I have always been the more conservative one, and I often lack confidence in myself. Maybe it is because of the different culture I was raised in. I never seem to fit in with my classmates. Many of my classmates are raised in a more Americanized environment while my family put in a tremendous amount of effort to raise me in a more Chinese-based culture. I am always the one that is unnoticeable to everyone with the exceptions of my first and second grade teachers. They would frequently worry about me falling behind everyone in classes. Both of them would always find extra time during each and every open house to talk to my mother, and they would discuss ways on helping me catch up in school.
Around the middle of my second grade, one of the teachers’ assistants introduced my mother to the ACCESS, an after school program that acts as a tutor program to help me on my homework. It was the final chapter of my invisibleness and the beginning of a new me. I can still remember that first day when I entered ACCESS. My mom held my hands to give me a sense of confidence as we walk towards the room. The first thing I heard when I stepped into the room was prayer. One of the teachers came up to me, held my hand, guided me in, seated me, and put my two hands together for a prayer. By the time I opened my eyes from the prayer; my mom was gone, and I was lead by the teachers, to the front of the class. She introduced me to everyone and to the building. I was very nervous on the first few days. The unfamiliar surrounding scared me, but I slowly adjusted to this new environment.
I met my first best friend, Janet, at ACCESS. She had already been there since the beginning of that year while I had just entered in the middle of the year. Janet was a more outgoing and confident girl. For many people, she may have been a little hard to be friends with in the beginning, but she is a really caring and supporting friend. Being new to ACCESS, Janet had always been by my side helping me and guiding me. ACCESS, slowly imbued me with confidence and introduced me to Jesus, to God. This is where I felt my life has truly begun to take flight. ACCESS has taught me a lot about this new unfamiliar person in my life and taught me how He loves us and will always be there for us through misery and joy.
The more I learned about God, the more I wanted to be a good person and to help others like He has helped us. I find myself slowly change and become a new person through the nurturing of ACCESS. I began to enjoy every moment I spent there whether they are with my friends or during the prayers to God -telling him how much I loved him, how sorry I am for sinning in the past, and how much I wanted to accept him into my heart and be guided by him for the rest of my life.
ACCESS has nourished me into the more successful and confident person I am today. I feel that if ACCESS hasn’t invaded my life, I would not be who I am now. ACCESS took the time to understand me, to take care of me, and to help me in everyway they could. It was a guidance that brought me up from the bottom of a pit. I felt that ACCESS had come into my life to rescue me during my most miserable times. It gave me more self-esteem and confidence when I present myself to others or sharing my side of views. The corner of the room may miss me, but I no longer desire to be there.