When my mentee graduated from the University of California at Berkeley (Go Bears!), she gave me this rock as a gift and told me that it has the word “create” on it because I believed in creating opportunities for immigrants and young people to become leaders. This is one of my most cherished gifts because it always reminds me of my own immigrant experience. My family immigrated to the United States when I was less than a year old, and I grew up in the southern part of San Jose, California, which was not diverse in the 1970s. My family would only speak Cantonese at home and said that we could learn English when we got to elementary school. I was immediately placed into ESL as a kindergartener and was in fact one of four kids of color in my class. I remember feeling different and being bullied by other kids, and I can still hear the jokes from the other kids when my grandma picked me up from school. Despite feeling different, my parents and teachers were supportive of me from kindergarten to 12th grade. When I went to UC Berkeley, I learned more about the importance of fighting for racial justice and immigrant rights. From my undergraduate days to my nonprofit career, I have tried my best to create opportunities for others – especially from marginalized communities – to lead.

– Wayne Ho

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child