When I came to UVU, I felt welcomed, at home, like it was family.
In China, parents didn’t want you if you weren’t perfect or a male. I had a minor cyst on my head, which was later removed, which was the reason why I was abandoned and taken to an orphanage. There were a lot of children in the orphanage because of the one-child law.
My parents decided to adopt a child from China. When I was four years old, I was adopted by an American family, and honestly, I can’t remember a lot, but that first night they took me back to the hotel, I cried all night long. It was a big change for me, so I was emotional, but in the end, I was very happy.
When I graduated high school, I went back to China and met the nurse who took care of me. It was emotional, actually. I don’t usually cry at things, but I was crying. It was kind of a surreal moment that this lady took care of me for four years, and now this person [my mom] takes care of me. But it was overwhelming because I’m so grateful for those two women. Honestly, I wouldn’t be the person I am today without my American mom, but without the person in China, the nanny that took care of me, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
I grew up in a city that was a majority of white people, where I was the minority. So, I felt like an outcast sometimes at school. When I came to UVU, I felt welcomed, at home, like it was family.
I was a business major at first, so I had to take accounting. The ROTC office was right next to the accounting lab. So, I just walked by and said, “Hi, can you tell me more about this?” Sergeant Warnock told me more about the program. I ended up joining the National Guard that year, and then I joined ROTC shortly after that. When I went to basic training, I was 112 pounds — very scrawny, small person. But they had all the confidence in me that I could do it, and I’ve learned in life that you could do hard things.
Major Adriano is my instructor and helps prepare us for camp. He’s like a mentor, teacher, and overall just awesome. He is stationed here at UVU and has a lot of experience in the Army. When I first met him, I was scared of him because he’s got this very deep voice and is just a scary guy. But as soon as I talked to him and got to know him, he really had the best interest for all of us. He is willing to drop anything to help us. For example, he pushed me to do an internship this summer that would help me to stand out among my peers for a specific officer slot.
After graduating, I want to attend law school and do family law. I want to go back to my roots and do adoption law to help parents who maybe can’t have children or would like to adopt children to help them through that process and pay that back from my experience and let them reap that joy that I’ve had.
Some advice I would give to current UVU students is to "love all and serve all." I don't know where that quote comes from. But to walk into a building and love everyone, no matter how they identify themselves, and to serve everyone, get involved. Meet new people. Just serve everyone around you that you can. It is a great mantra that I have in my life to help me navigate.
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