Embedded Files
Even with this great opportunity on the horizon, Daniel still couldn't afford a plane ticket to fly to America. He was fortunate enough to borrow money from relatives to pay for the plane ticket, and he arrived in Boston on September 9, 1993.
"Arriving in Boston was eye opening," Daniel remembers. Daniel was greeted by a Turkish student at the airport, and a fellow Chinese student offered for him to stay at her sister's home in Newton. He was assigned to research with a professor from Korea.
Boston was the perfect environment for Daniel. It was a very diverse city, and Northeastern had an accepting culture great at accommodating people from all different backgrounds. "My classmates were from all over the world with different accent and skin colors," he remembers. Daniel assimilated into his new home by joining an international student group and a religious study group. He gained many lifelong friends at Northeastern. He also joined the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, where he met his girlfriend and future wife from the MBA program. Very soon, Daniel felt comfortable in his new home.
Daniel posing with his good friend at the Northeastern T station.
Daniel graduated from Northeastern's graduate program in 1996 with a master's degree in economics.
Soon after, Daniel secured his first office job at the Massachusetts Port Authority. There, he conducted economic analysis for port development and worked on financial planning for the company. Above, he is pictured with his colleagues in 1998.
Daniel went back to China to visit his family for the first time in 1998. He returned home with a new education, a new job, a new wife, and a new lifestyle. After not seeing any of his loved ones for five years, all of his peers took time off from their occupations to welcome their friend home. Since this visit, Daniel has only returned to his homeland on two occasions. "It really sucks, but it's what I signed up for," Daniel says.
Photos from my father's first trip back China. Everyone was excited to see their American son, brother, and friend return home.
In 2002, Daniel and his wife, Li, who was also a Chinese immigrant, moved into a charming, two-story home in West Roxbury. In November 2004, Daniel and Li gave birth to their first child.
Page updated
Report abuse