March
31st. 6 am. I was getting ready to go to school when the phone rang. I picked it
up and was greeted by a cheerful and uplifting voice; it was the voice of Susan
Au Allen, national president and CEO of the US Pan Asian American Chamber of
Commerce. Susan Au Allen told me that I had been selected to receive a
scholarship from the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce. I could not
believe it. I had received several scholarships before this one but what made
this particular scholarship such an honor was that it had selected only 17 Asian
American students across the nation and I was one of those 17. When I put the
phone down, I found myself in tears of joy. The news of receiving this
scholarship made me feel awesome but attending the CelebrAsian 2004 was
an even enriching experience.
I attended the CelebrAsian 2004 on May
6th and 7th with my mother. The fact that the US Pan Asian American Chamber of
Commerce (USPAACC) paid for all 17 of the scholarship recipients’ air fares and
hotel rooms showed how much USPAACC cared about us. It is amazing to think about
how quickly I made friends in two days with people I had never even seen before
in my life. While we all shared some common qualities like being actively
involved in our communities, being students who had challenged themselves with
difficult coursework, being good role models or leaders and being students who
had ambitions, high hopes and dreams, each of us was still a unique person. Some
had survived serious family conditions, some had lived in poverty, others in war
while some had overcome health conditions and other obstacles to their
education.
I was so fortunate to be at the CelebrAsian
2004 with the best of the best Asian Americans in the country. Few high school
students have this opportunity presented to them. And I am thankful that I was
granted with this opportunity.
I am planning to attend the University of
Washington this fall and double major in Bioengineering and Astronomy.
Ultimately, I would like to get a PhD in Genetics and become a researcher
helping find cure for genetic disorders such as cancer, hemophilia and sickle
cell anemia. My dream job would be conducting biotechnology research in outer
space.
With my current plans, I am looking at about
twelve to fourteen years of college education. A long road of education lies
ahead of me. I have dreams. And the Ruth Mu-Lan Chu & James S.C. Chao
Scholarship will fill up the space between my dreams and reality. I assure you
that this scholarship that I have received from the US Pan Asian American
Chamber of Commerce will help make a great scientist one day.
March
31st. 6 am. I was getting ready to go to school when the phone rang. I picked it
up and was greeted by a cheerful and uplifting voice; it was the voice of Susan
Au Allen, national president and CEO of the US Pan Asian American Chamber of
Commerce. Susan Au Allen told me that I had been selected to receive a
scholarship from the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce. I could not
believe it. I had received several scholarships before this one but what made
this particular scholarship such an honor was that it had selected only 17 Asian
American students across the nation and I was one of those 17. When I put the
phone down, I found myself in tears of joy. The news of receiving this
scholarship made me feel awesome but attending the CelebrAsian 2004 was
an even enriching experience.