I am from here

I was honored with the Game Changer Award from Ilitch Sports + Entertainment, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings & Comerica Bank, for my work at the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce (APACC). In a feature video for that award, I stated that I am a refugee, I am an immigrant, I am a minority, I am a child of entrepreneurs, and the work that I do for APACC is a personal journey for me. In the comments section, a poster wrote, “I am American was not said.” The comment was later deleted.

I didn't think I had to say that I am an American. I often get asked where I'm from. I'm from Detroit. I was raised here.



Katy Lee, a Senior Marketing Consultant (HP, IKEA, Hershey’s, Comcast) and part of the AAPI Month 2022 brainstorming committee at Adweek reached out to me to see if I was interested in being part of the #IAmFromHere portrait series. The #IAmFromHere portrait series (inspired by TikTok) was created to drive awareness of a major continuing issue the AAPI community faces, the perpetual foreigner stereotype of constantly being asked "Where are you really from" even when we state that we were born or raised here in the US.




I am proud of my heritage. I am a refugee, I am an immigrant, I am a minority, I am a child of entrepreneurs, and I am from here.