by Gege Tan on May 27, 2022
by Gege Tan on May 27, 2022
The month of May marks Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, during which we celebrate Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States and pay tribute to their ancestors who had greatly shaped the history of the country. As a Western Minority Supplier Development Council certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), we firmly believe that diversity is what makes us grow and thrive. In honor of AAPI month, we invited a few IPG employees to share their stories about what it means to be a member of the AAPI community.
Q: What is your experience growing up as an Asian American?
A: Being born and raised in a place with a relatively low Asian population, it was a little hard for me. I was one of the only Asian kids in my elementary school and would get made fun of. But thankfully, these experiences are less common nowadays as the Asian population is growing and people are more accepting of other cultures.
Q: What does AAPI Heritage Month mean to you?
A: I think AAPI month is especially important to Asian Americans because a lot of us tried to disconnect with or distance ourselves from our culture in hopes of assimilation. But, AAPI month is a great month to reconnect with your culture. For example, I'm Taiwanese American, and I would wonder "Why did my parents come to the US? What do I know about my family?" Driven by this curiosity, I want to do some research on the background of my ancestors.
Q: Why do you feel you had a disconnect with your culture at one point? Looking back at it now, what do you wish you had done differently?
A: I used to be able to speak way more Chinese when I was a kid, but now I don't understand it as much anymore. In retrospect, I want to go back in time and beat myself for not practicing my Chinese. I believe you can assimilate into American culture, but meanwhile still preserve your own culture.
Q: What is the biggest success in your career growth?
A: It was when I took the jump in my career. I didn't like my previous job, so I quit and decided to pursue recruiting. When I quit my previous position, my parents got really upset and my sister explained that because they were immigrants and were essentially in survival mode all the time. It was nailed in our heads that we needed to be constantly working to survive. But I’m glad I made that decision because I love what I do now.
Q: How do you celebrate AAPI Heritage Month?
A: I like to celebrate with my friends, we would go out and drink soju every weekend during this month.
Q: How do you think the AAPI community is being recognized and represented in the work place?
A: I think that it depends on the field, I've worked in construction before and we get stereotyped very easily. But I think in some "white-collar" jobs, like finance or programming, there's a lot of good representation for Asian Americans.
Q: How does it feel working at IPG as an Asian American?
A: It definitely feels a lot more comfortable; it makes me want to practice my Chinese again.
Q: What does being a member of the AAPI community mean to you?
A: Being Asian American for me is a pride point, I wouldn't be able to see myself be any other ethnicity. I'm always very prideful of being who I was and I've made sure that no matter where I am, I'm giving my 100%, and I think that stems from my heritage.
Q: What is the biggest success in your career growth?
A: My parents had me very late in their lives. They weren't able to put me through college but they instilled a good work ethic into me. One month before graduating, my dad had to go to the emergency room after experiencing dementia. So, I had to leave school and go take care of him. Fortunately, I was able to meet with Asian business owners who didn't care about my degree but cared about my work ethic. Asians love hard workers, they respect commitment and that was something I could bring to the table. I worked with several CEOS and learned as much as I could, which led me to being able to start my own company Global Sales Association. We took on contracts to hire salesmen for seven different companies and some of them contracted us to train their salesmen too. At our peak, we were connecting 200 salesmen a month to these companies which allowed me to sell the company and make my way into IntelliPro.
Q: How do you celebrate AAPI Heritage Month?
A: Last week, I went to a dinner party with a few of my Chinese friends. We cooked a very hearty Chinese meal together and chatted all night. We all lived for different lengths of time in the US, but we share the same experience of coming to a foreign country, making new friends and building a new life from scratch. There have been ups and downs, but overall, we are all very happy and proud of our achievements. I guess gathering with your friends is a memorable way to celebrate AAPI month.
Q: What does being a member of the AAPI community mean to you?
A: First of all, I'm very proud of my Asian heritage. I was born in China and have been nurtured by Chinese culture growing up. I think it has become an integral part of myself, as well as valuable wealth that I will forever possess. I've always believed that the Asian people are hard-working and resilient. We uphold an enterprising and pragmatic spirit, and we are peace-loving. Asian people have made such a huge contribution to the peaceful development of the world.
Q: What is the biggest success in your career growth?
A: A lot of exciting things have happened in my life. I would say the biggest success was when I decided to come to the USA to study for an MBA at the age of 38. I was living in Shanghai, managing my own recruiting firm. I had to work during the day and study for the TOEFL test at night, often pulling an all-nighter. Six months later, I was admitted to Pepperdine University. During the 20-month MBA program in the US, I only slept 4-5 hours a day. Especially when I joined IntelliPro part time in my second year, I had no time to sleep. I had to work while completing my degree with excellent grades. These two years were the most challenging yet most rewarding years of my life. Not only did I learn to adapt to Western culture and lifestyle, but my English also improved by leaps and bounds. More importantly, I was able to fully grasp the recruiting industry. I was already well-versed in the Asia-Pacific market and began to learn about the North American and European markets. This experience greatly shaped my international perspective, which I believe has also allowed me to contribute to driving our company's global business development.