Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage

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  Interview with David Du

  David Du

  Interview with David Du recorded on March 27, 2023 at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mr. Du is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Jagger Cooney and Colin Walzer as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Mr. Du discusses the following topics:

  • Moving from Beijing to the U.S. in 1998;
  • Missing home and his loved ones’ opinions of his move;
  • Consequences and hardships of immigrating and getting a green card;
  • Difficulties communicating with home during the early years;
  • Choosing to attend Kendall College to study art;
  • Funny stories about his first few years in the U.S.;
  • First impressions and misconceptions of U.S. culture;
  • How Beijing has changed since he moved away;
  • Why he chose to immigrate to the U.S. over another country;
  • Worrying about his immigration status for multiple years;
  • Missing his loved ones in China;
  • Troubles learning English;
  • The lifelong process of adjusting to a different culture;
  • His dreams and goals as a young man coming to the U.S.;
  • His current work mentoring Asian students studying in the U.S.;
  • His American parents and other mentors in the U.S.;
  • His pride in being American;
  • Advice for immigrants coming to the U.S.;
  • Things he wishes to see change in the U.S., and;
  • His opinions on on the U.S. school system.

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  Interview with Quan Gerville-Reache

  Quan Gerville-Reache

  Interview with Quan Gerville-Reache recorded on March 27, 2023 at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ms. Gerville-Reache is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Lucy Koops and Maille Lyon as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Ms. Gerville-Reache discusses the following topics:

  • Immigrating from Vietnam in 1978 as Chinese asylum seekers;
  • The process of escaping Vietnam and staying in a refugee camp in Malaysia;
  • Getting to visit the town that she was born in and meeting relatives for the first time;
  • Difficulties in the early days in the U.S. as poor, non-english speaking immigrants;
  • Reasons why her parents chose to immigrate;
  • The sacrifices that her parents made for their children's success and education;
  • Misconceptions about immigrants;
  • Belief in the American Dream;
  • Maintaining close relationships with her extended family;
  • How freedom and opportunity increase with each generation;
  • Comparing American and Chinese cultures;
  • Experiencing racism and discrimination;
  • The shock of how large and diverse the U.S. is;
  • The process of choosing Grand Rapids as a place to settle;
  • Becoming a Christian through her family’s sponsors when they came to the U.S.;
  • How her parents’ progressive mindset helped her achieve her academic and professional goals;
  • Advice to immigrants;
  • How her family has lost aspects of their Chinese culture over time;
  • How her children are building bridges with her family by learning Mandarin and French;
  • The opportunities that arise upon learning a new language; and
  • The joy of uncovering one’s history.

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  Interview with Shen Hui

  Shen Hui

  Interview with Shen Hui recorded on March 25, 2024 at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ms. Hui is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Rohan Bennett, Christian Granstrom, and Peyton Pascoe as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Ms. Hui discusses the following topics:

  • A brief overview of her immigration history;
  • Her English-learning journey;
  • Experiences in both Chinese and American education systems;
  • Coming to the U.S. without a plan and how she found her career path;
  • Being a professor at Van Andel;
  • The complications of coming and going to and from the U.S. on a student visa;
  • Experiences with prejudice against Chinese people and academics;
  • Encouraging students to come to the U.S. to study;
  • Differences between American and Chinese culture;
  • Reminiscing on her trips to Italy;
  • Hopes for better attitudes and ideologies toward Asians in America; and
  • Views on U.S.-China relations and ideologies.

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  Interview with Kierstin Kemp

  Kierstin Kemp

  Interview with Kierstin Kemp recorded on March 25, 2024 at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ms. Kemp is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Tanay Shenoy, Robert Langen, and Benjamin Pease as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Ms. Kemp discusses the following topics:

  • Moving from Taiwan to the U.S. to alleviate academic pressure;
  • Her parents’ work background;
  • Leaving her sister and mother in Taiwan;
  • The challenges of learning English and socializing in her early days in the U.S.;
  • Growing up with Chinese parents vs. being a Chinese parent herself;
  • Missing Chinese food and holidays;
  • Sharing her culture with her kids in a multicultural household;
  • Reflecting on the anti-Asian hate during the pandemic;
  • The path from leaving pharmacy to starting her own business;
  • Advice to immigrants;
  • Goals for her children academically and professionally;
  • Advocating for following your passion, and;
  • Asian American pride.

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  Interview with Priya Krishnan

  Priya Krishnan

  Interview with Priya Krishnan recorded on March 27, 2023 at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ms. Krishnan is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Violet Chamberlain and Chloe Ellis as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Ms. Krishnan discusses the following topics:

  • Immigrating from India to the U.S. right after 9/11;
  • The difficult feelings of missing and be able to see family;
  • Relative ease culturally assimilating in New York vs. the difficulties in other states;
  • The better opportunities that future immigrants have;
  • Love for Indian food and passing her culture on to her kids through food;
  • Viewing both India and the U.S. as home;
  • Difficulties forming community and being understood as an immigrant;
  • Accents do not impact or determine English fluency;
  • Differences between American and Indian education systems;
  • Getting into graduate school in the U.S.;
  • Differing ideas about sports and extracurriculars in the U.S. vs. India;
  • Attending a convent school in India; and
  • College preparation and admissions in India.

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  Interview with Ruijie Liu

  Ruijie Liu

  Interview with Ruijie Liu recorded on March 27, 2023 at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mr. Liu is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Andrew Conrad and Emmy Kamp as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Mr. Liu discusses the following topics:

  • Immigrating from China to the U.S. for graduate school;
  • Difficulties learning to speak English with natives;
  • Feeling academically, professionally, and personally successful in the U.S.;
  • Staying in the U.S. for a better educational environment for his kids;
  • Difficulties being separated from and visiting family;
  • Differences between American and Chinese culture;
  • Celebrating both American and Chinese holidays;
  • His perspective on the American Dream;
  • His personal experience of obtaining a green card;
  • Choosing a country to live in depending on one’s goals;
  • How his views about the U.S., and people in general, have changed over time;
  • Working in biomedical research at Grand Valley State University;
  • Bonding with international students that he teaches;
  • Moving to and loving Grand Rapids;
  • Advice to international students in the U.S.;
  • Differences in American and Chinese education systems;
  • Wishing his hometown could stay as it was when he was a child;
  • His upbringing and how he is raising his kids; and
  • Advice to immigrants coming to the U.S.

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  Interview with Yilin Liu

  Yilin Liu

  Interview with Yilin Liu recorded on March 25, 2024 at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mrs. Liu is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Lucy Stegeman, Spencer Porter, and Giselle Wong as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Mrs. Liu discusses the following topics:

  • Her experiences of a Chinese immigrant from Anhui, China
  • Pursuing higher education in the United States
  • Challenges of immigration including racism and microaggressions
  • Complexities of maintaining cultural ties while adapting to a foreign environment
  • Relationship between people and food
  • Inter-generational transmission of cultural heritage
  • Immigrant support systems

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  Interview with Ruchi Manohar

  Ruchi Manohar

  Interview with Ruchi Manohar recorded on March 25, 2024 at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ms. Manohar is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Ella Shaarda, Lila Fus, and Reagan Kurt as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Ms. Manohar discusses the following topics:

  • Her dad wanting her to immigrate to the U.S. for her Master's;
  • Her positive perception of Americans and the U.S.;
  • Adjusting to a new English dialect;
  • Choosing to attend university in Texas;
  • Differences between Indian and American universities;
  • Her relative ease with adjusting to American culture;
  • Working as a software engineer;
  • Meeting her husband and moving from Florida to Michigan;
  • Differences in driving between the U.S. and India;
  • Celebrating Diwali in the U.S. and missing other celebrations and festivals in India;
  • Dietary changes she has made since moving to the U.S.;
  • Expectations vs. reality of the U.S.;
  • Missing the busy, crowded environment in India;
  • Feeling accepted and welcomed by Americans;
  • How her goals and ideas of success have changed since being in the U.S.;
  • Getting a green card and later choosing to become a U.S. citizen during the pandemic;
  • How she helps her children remain connected to their Indian roots;
  • How the exposure to new cultures in the U.S. has changed her as a person;
  • Advice for immigrants, and;
  • Difficulties building community in the U.S.

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  Interview with Anding Shen

  Anding Shen

  Interview with Anding Shen recorded on April 10, 2023 at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Anding Shen is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Aaron Chrenka, Summer Khan, and Violet Ottenwess as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Anding Shen discusses the following topics:

  • being an exchange student in the U.S. for her senior year of high school;
  • deciding to pursue her Ph.D.;
  • her struggle to assimilate to the life and culture of the U.S.;
  • experience with host families;
  • taking a job at Calvin College; and
  • pursuing citizenship.

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  Interview with Sandeep Shenoy

  Sandeep Shenoy

  Interview with Sandeep Shenoy recorded on March 27, 2023. Mr Shenoy is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Tess McGrath and Haley Cook as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Mr Shenoy discusses the following topics:

  • Brief personal and family background;
  • A typical day as a student in India;
  • Reflections on living in India;
  • Reasons for and process of immigrating from India to the US;
  • Missing India and how he maintains connections with his home;
  • Reflections on cultural differences between the US and India and how he adjusted to them;
  • How he maintains religious and cultural connections to India;
  • The norms for his life in the US;
  • Goals as a young man, the success he has found in his career, and the future that he dreams of for his children;
  • Advice for immigrants coming to the US;
  • Speculations on what his life would be like if he never immigrated;
  • Language education and abilities, and;
  • His current career as a manager in Pharmacy IT for Meijer.

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  Interview with Matt Wang

  Matt Wang

  Interview with Matt Wang recorded on March 27th, 2023 at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Matt Wang is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Julia Joo and Hrishikaa Bhargava as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Mr. Wang discusses the following topics:

  • coming to Michigan with his aunt at age 14;
  • attending school with classmates who had preconceived biases about Asians;
  • adjusting to life in the U.S.;
  • staying connected to Chinese culture through cooking and entertainment;
  • individualism in the US vs. collectivism in China; and
  • being a student at Calvin University.

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  Interview with Julia Yu

  Julia Yu

  Interview with Julia Yu recorded on March 25, 2024. Ms. Yu is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Kaleb Kemp, Alex Wong, and Tristan Gerville-Reache as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Ms. Yu discusses the following topics:

  • Growing up in Hong Kong;
  • The intensity of schooling in China;
  • Living in Australia for university and early adulthood;
  • Moving to the U.S. at age 30;
  • A typical day in her life currently;
  • Adjusting to living in the U.S.;
  • Her opinions on the U.S. social welfare system, eating habits, and sustainability;
  • Things that she misses about Hong Kong and Australia;
  • Opinions on Asian cuisine in Grand Rapids;
  • Differences between cultures in U.S. and Hong Kong;
  • Difficulties moving to the U.S.;
  • Her interest in news and politics;
  • Achieving her goals in the U.S.;
  • Family, community, and relationships as her biggest accomplishments;
  • Advice for immigrants coming to the U.S., and;
  • Her plans for the future.

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  Interview with Stacy Zhao

  Stacy Zhao

  Interview with Stacy Zhao recorded on March 25, 2024. Ms. Zhao is interviewed by Forest Hills Northern High School students Ava Tuohy, Sophia Keeth, and Brooke Gordon as a part of WMU’s Telling Our Stories: A Video Collection Celebrating AAPI Heritage. During the interview Ms. Zhao discusses the following topics:

  • Origins in China and coming to the US;
  • Adapting to life in the US as a non-English speaker;
  • Disadvantages that she and her family faced in the US;
  • The similarities of humans across cultures;
  • Differences between Chinese moms and American moms;
  • The importance of being a well-rounded student;
  • The American dream;
  • Missing Chinese food;
  • Advice for immigrants to the US;
  • Advice to students wanting to learn about other cultures;
  • Gratitude for her American and Chinese influences.