Albert Einstein said, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school." My name is Mai Chao Vue. I grew up and went to school in Laos. The Lao language doesn’t have grammar, or capital letters, and not many rules about writing. It was a place that did not have street addresses and wasn’t rich in technology. I navigated based on my memories of the places I saw since we didn't have a GPS. Growing up, I always listened to my parents and my grandparents’ teachings. I always strive to do the best with my abilities in everything I do. Let me tell you about my journey during elementary, middle school, and high school, including when I started high school in the United States and continued to college at NWTC.  Growing up, I believed that if I focused on my writing and reading skills in elementary school, middle school, and high school, I would be able to achieve my goal of becoming an educator.

During my elementary years in Laos, I studied Lao alphabet, which is very different from the English alphabet, and grammar. School was kind of a hassle because we had to wear uniforms, most annoyingly, they only gave us one uniform so we had to wash them every night by hand using soap and water. At home, I learned three languages: Hmong, Laotian, and Thai all at the same time. My parents would speak different languages so that I could learn them. My dad taught me and helped me with homework every night, especially in math. Soon after, when I was in 5th grade, my dad started to help and focus more on my writing. I was very confident and knowledgeable enough to hold my own. Before I could move to middle school, I had to pass a written final exam. If someone failed, he or she would retake 5th grade. Thankfully, I passed on my first try. 

During my middle school years, I was very confident. I thought I knew everything in life already. Additionally, I was getting old enough actually to have a boyfriend. I didn’t focus much on school during those years. I was more into makeup and teasing the boys I liked. Most girls get married when they are in 8th grade or 9th grade but I never thought about getting married. I only wanted to focus on getting through middle school and high school. Middle school was the crucial year when teachers taught the basics of writing and reading skills. Since I slacked off, I had very low grades, especially in writing. I didn’t care much about poems and articles since I was a bit older and was able to go out and have more fun. I later found my focus and passion for reading and writing when I met one of my best friends in high school. She was very good at reading and writing, which was what motivated me to compete against her. 

Instead of starting high school in ninth grade, students would start high school in tenth or twelfth grade in Laos. When I got to ninth grade in high school, I did not like reading at all.  It took a lot of time to read.  I mainly focused on writing. My best friend would read to me most of the time. Writing in Lao was also easy for me because there were no nouns, verbs, pronouns, or adjectives. Furthermore, there was no past tense or present tense at all. We did not have to change the Laotian or Thai letters at all. For example, “I don’t know how to speak English'' in Laos looks like this:  ຂ້ອຍເວົ້າພາສາອັງກິດບໍ່ໄດ້. That translates to: “I don't speak English”. 

When I was 17 years old, I moved to the United States. I got a chance to go to high school, and they had me start again in ninth grade because of the language barrier.  I learned the alphabet in English classes. When I was in English classes, I had no idea how to start with my short story assignment. I learned to write a sentence without knowing English grammar. For the first year of high school, I felt like I was a dog trying to speak to a cat. I still couldn't read. I felt like my life re-started with school all over again. I gave up on all school and I didn’t want to go to school anymore. I didn’t care about school so much because it became boring! I had to learn a whole new alphabet and my homework was just simple sentences such as, “This is a black dog.”  It also made me think that I was in first grade again, and think back to when I was a five-year-old kid. In my second year of high school, I could understand English better and felt more confident in school. I started focusing on writing and reading again. However, it was too late for me to learn how to organize the sentences.

My English teacher, Mr. Patrick Thornton, and Mrs. Thao were very influential. They both are my role models for becoming a teacher. They both inspired me to read books and to be a better writer. In the second semester of eleventh grade, my teachers were encouraging me to go to college. With their support, I went to the Literacy Green Bay and they helped me sign up to take extra classes to learn writing and reading at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) in summer school. In the fall, when I was a senior, I went to high school and took ESL classes at NWTC as well. By that time I began to enjoy my classes more and wanted to focus on being better at reading and writing in English, but it was already my senior year. I didn’t have time to learn or spend on my English writing as much as I wanted from Mr. Thornton. In my senior year, I read a book called The Odyssey. This book was so good I didn’t want to put it down. My English was not good enough to understand everything, but it was fun to read and made me want to read more books. Most importantly, this book also inspired me to keep learning, no matter how hard it was. I asked for help and patiently continued to learn. I realized that one day I could be successful like Odysseus. 

When I graduated high school, I decided to continue at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) in the program Foundations of Teacher Education (Associate Degree). I started to take summer courses at  Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. I took college writing and reading including the college 101 courses, so that I would have the basic skills needed for my courses in the fall semester. I went to school in the morning and then went to work in the afternoon. I realized that college reading and writing are different from high school because in college we need to do a lot of research on our own and find evidence, support, and references for our sources. I had to find my readings and take more of my free time to work and find resources. The readings were a challenge for me. The English language in textbooks and resources was hard to understand, so I had to take extra time just to understand articles or chapters in readings. I did not always have time though, so I also continued to learn or study during breaks at my workplace. In the end, I passed the college reading and writing course. Then I also took English composition prep and it helped me improve my writing and grammar. Afterward, I continued taking courses in the program until the present, and I will get my Associate degree in May 2024.

 Currently, I am para-professional in the Green Bay Area School District.  In this position, I have gone to different schools every day and worked with many students. Moreover, I also sub as a monitor, bus monitor, lunchtime support, and clerical worker. After I finished my required hours at NWTC, I started to look for someone to help me complete my evaluations. I contacted Mr. Patrick Thornton at Southwest High School to help me with evaluations for my practicum courses. Mr. T was happy to help and let me stay in his class to observe. While I was observing, I was working with a Hmong girl who didn't know any English, supported ESL students in classes on their homework, and helped the students check their missing assignments. Another important thing was getting a chance to do a short speech on the last day. While I observed, I got the opportunity to train in the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) on the Access Test as well. 

 My short-term goal, I would like to continue to support in Green Bay Area School District until I graduate in May 2024 from NWTC. Furthermore, I also would like to take a course of study in Italy. Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) offers a 14-day study abroad program in Italy.  The program covers topics such as the Italian educational system and child-centered teaching methods. In addition, I have a master plan to continue my work in the Green Bay Area School District and continue my education at the University to earn a Bachelor's degree.

 In summary, I grew up in a Hmong family and learned the Laotian language in elementary school, middle school, and high school including 4 years in high school here. It took me 16 years to earn my diploma. However, after only 4 years of having learned English, I was still able to successfully attend college in the United States. Even though English was a completely different language from the Hmong and Lao languages, I have still been able to continue by never giving up on my education. The journey that I have accomplished has taught me a million things beyond compare. Something I often tell my friends when they ask about my journey is,  "College is not very hard, If you study hard then you will be successful." I have promised myself that I will continue my education as much as I can. If I keep working on my English and education, I believe that I will be able to become a teacher.

Maichao Vue