Mai+Yang



Mai Yang is 24 years old and is just beginning her second semester in the credential program. Due to the overwhelming schedule of the credential program, Mai is currently unemployed and most of her "free" time is spent looking after her younger siblings and helping her parents out. Mai was born in Thailand and speaks Hmong, Spanish, and English. Although she would love to go back to Thailand to visit, her desire is to get a job teaching freshman English in, or around, Fresno to stay close to her friends and family.

Mai was born in Thailand, but moved to Fresno when she was 2 years old and have lived in Fresno ever since. Mai is the first in her small family of eight to graduate from CSU Fresno with her Bachelor's degree in English. Her interest in English stemmed from her love of writing and she hopes to pass that love on to her future students. Mai also wants to be a teacher because she wants to pass on knowledge, wisdom and inspiration to her student that they one day will care for a cause beyond themselves. She hopes her students will show care and concern for others in the way she did for them and as an effect that kind of care and concern will bleed from one to another .Today Mai is excited to student teach at Tioga middle school.

Also one of her goals is to write a book based on Hmong culture to preserve the cultures beliefs and values that are slowly perishing. Mai is fearful of Hmong children becoming too Americanized and forgetting their cultural beliefs. Therefore, she would like to pass her Hmong beliefs to the next generation of children. Mai is passionate about her culture, the beliefs and rituals that served as her family's foundation for many generations. For now, she's learning everything she can about her culture from her parents to prepare a foundation for her own family one day. She believes that the wisdom her parents show in preserving the culture and pratices are ways to ensure that Mai, as their child lives in good health, peace, and harmony both spirtually and physically (or in Hmong "Pov hwb" - to be blessed). Mai wants to provide for her future family the same wisdom, health, peace, and harmony her parents have given her. Only through culturally pratices will her future family achieve wisdom, health, peace and harmony. However, Mai's fears are "What if other Hmong children lose the Hmong pratices and foundation, will the Hmong culture still be in existence 50 years from now, do other Hmong children have the same passion I have in preserving our cultural pratices and foundation". These are some of the concerns Mai have in observance with today's Hmong children quickly assimilating and forgetting that their culture raised them to be healthy and to live in harmony as they do today.

Lastly Mai is here to stay!!

Original created by Kelly Matthews Revised by Sabrina White Approved by Mai Yang