Growing up in Saigon, Vietnam in the early 1970s, I always thought of the United States (I called it “Nước Mỹ”) as a magical and wonderful place. My dad had been to San Francisco and loved hearing stories about walking across the Golden Gate Bridge. Little did I know that I would arrive in the United States as a refugee in 1975. Before coming to the United States, I had never met an American citizen and had no idea what life in America was really like. I remember watching the moon landing on TV and thinking it was amazing. I think many people who live outside the United States still have the same feelings I had as a child. America was a place full of opportunities to make dreams come true.
It was strange for me to start school in America in second grade. I didn’t speak English, and the elementary school in the small New Jersey coastal town where I lived didn’t have an English-as-a-Second-Language program. So they created a counterpart for me. It felt very strange being the only Asian student among all the white kids. I joined the Girl Scout Brownie troop and began to integrate into my newfound culture. Growing up in a predominantly white community, history classes seemed to focus on the accomplishments of the Founding Fathers, American leaders, scientists, poets, and writers, most of whom were white. It was a man. From time to time, we learned about successful women and African Americans. Growing up in the United States, the only parts of my history classes about Asia were about Chinese immigrants who helped build the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and the Vietnam War. It was mentioned.
My parents told me I was special, but because there was no historical information about the contributions of Asian Americans, I believed that I was never special because I was Asian. Little did I know that in the 1940s and 1950s, Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu, a Chinese-born female physicist, improved the radiation detection and uranium enrichment techniques that were essential during the Manhattan Project. Nuclear weapons during World War II. I didn’t know that Larry Itliong, a Filipino-born immigrant, formed the Philippine Farm Workers Union in 1956 and worked to improve wages and working conditions for farm workers. 1 During World War II, Korean-American Navy Lieutenant Susan Ahn became the first female gunnery officer, or Bangladeshi-American architect/structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan became the world’s first female gunnery officer in 1970. He designed the Sears Tower, which became the tallest building. 2
It wasn’t until I experienced the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 that I learned that Ellison Shoji Onizuka was the first Asian American astronaut to go into space. Chinese American activist Helen Jia told Time magazine: Throughout my entire educational life, I never heard any factual or historical references about Asians in America. We need to learn more about how Asian Americans experience life and race in America, and how Asian Americans experience racism, not just for other Asians, but for all Americans. We need to teach them how they have stood up to fight against this. ” 3
Therefore, it is critical for all Americans to learn about the contributions of America’s largest and growing ethnic group. 4 The celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM) provides an opportunity to learn and celebrate these contributions that helped shape it. America and the world. It’s also an opportunity for Asians living in America to learn a little more about their history. Even in 2024, Asian Americans born and raised in the United States still experience racist perceptions of being foreigners. 5 I am grateful that SWE provides Asian American engineers like me a community to collaborate, network, grow, and learn from each other through Asian American Engineers. Connection affinity group. This group has given me a great sense of belonging. I have made many meaningful friendships and learned from the members of this group. I am proud to contribute to this celebration of AAPIHM with my perspective on Asians in America.
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source of information
https://www.history.com/news/asian-american-inventions-contributions https://www.pbs.org/education/blog/why-teach-asian-american-history https://time.com/ 5956943/aapi-history-milestones/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/04/09/asian-americans-are-the-fastest-growing-racial-or-ethnic-group-in- the-us/ https://www.state.gov/briefings-foreign-press-centers/ Understanding-america-asian-american-history-contributions-and-current-challenges/
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