How Loyola Helped Me Embrace My Culture

Something not many people know about me is that my parents are both Vietnamese immigrants. They immigrated to the U.S. after the Vietnam War by boat. They went to school and built a successful life for themselves. My parents then decided to purchase a chicken farm in Salisbury, MD in hopes of a new successful business adventure. This is when I was born. I grew up and lived in Salisbury up until I decided to go to Loyola for college. Salisbury is a rural town with not much diversity, so growing up I faced racism in school and didn’t know much about other ethnicities and cultures. That is until I came to Baltimore.

Coming to Baltimore I was shocked by the diversity, but I was even more shocked that my ethnicity was never a negative topic in conversation. People never looked at me twice because of my race. Not to mention how inclusive Loyola is in itself. They offer so many clubs that teach people about other cultures and the best part about it is that it’s open to everyone!

One club in particular that stood out to me was the Asian Cultural Alliance (ACA) club. They host so many meetings and events that teach the students about all asian cultures! It was warming to know that my race was being celebrated instead of looked down upon. The ACA has created a safe environment for not only myself, but others as well.