My mom's award from the University of Louisville is one of the few decorations in my house. She was born in the countryside in the Hebei Province of China. Her family was pretty poor growing up and often went hungry. She went to elementary, middle, and high school there, then went to university in Northeast China. Eventually, she managed to leave China to go to Singapore with my dad. There, she studied hard to learn English, and passed both the TOEFL and the GRE. My mom described studying for the GRE as one of the hardest things she has done. She said that she studied for 10 hours a day, fighting through the language barrier, but that it was worth it when she passed and got several admissions letters from universities in the United States. My mom chose the University of Louisville because they gave her a full ride scholarship as well as an RA position, which allowed her to support herself. Once again, my mom had to tackle the challenge of learning in a different language. She said that she could barely understand her professors and learned by slowly going through the textbooks, translating as she went. She joked that when her classmates asked her for notes, she couldn’t give it to them because half her notes were in Chinese. Despite all this, my mom kept a 4.0 GPA and graduated top of her class, earning her the Hsing Chuang Award for Excellence in Graduate Study. This award stands as a reminder of my mom's perseverance and strength, and that dreams do come true. 

– Jingxin Song (Audio: 燕無歇 - 蒋雪儿)

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant