Opinion: I’m almost always the only Hmong American scientist in the room. Yet I was told I come from a group overrepresented in STEM
I grew up in a small, low-income community surrounded by diverse groups of people, including other Hmong like myself, and Lao and Vietnamese refugees. My neighbors were my classmates, and I felt like I had community — a place of belonging — because it was never hard to find another Hmong person. The demographics of those who pursue postgraduate training like me, however, are a sharp contrast to the people I grew up with.
As a PhD student enrolled in a neuroscience and public policy graduate program, I have adapted to the experience of being the only Hmong American in most scientific settings. At my institution and at academic conferences where I share my research findings on Alzheimer’s disease, I have not yet met another Hmong American scientist at any level — undergraduate student, fellow graduate student, staff, or faculty — although there must be others out there.
