A Note from the Daughter of Asylum Seekers

Donna Tang is an MSW administrative intern at SURVIVORS. She is graduating from San Diego State University’s School of Social Work in May 2017. She decorated her cap for the ceremony and wrote the following message below about her decoration choices.

“I’ve had this cap design idea for a long time now and am so excited to be wearing this at my Master of Social Work graduate ceremony in exactly 24 days.

With the rhetoric that has been going around regarding immigrants/refugees/asylum seekers, I am proud to wear this cap now more than ever.

My parents sought asylum in the U.S. to escape the brutality of Vietnam War. They came on an overcrowded boat without food, water, clothes, or even the slightest idea of what was next; they left their families and everything they knew in desperation for safety.

My career as a social worker is one of many ways that depict how immigrants positively influence the community. As a daughter of immigrants with three degrees under my belt, you best believe that my career is going to be dedicated to making our country a better place for the poor, the marginalized, the vulnerable, and the forgotten. Not just those who “deserve” it, but for all who need it and have the courage to ask.

Glory be to God for all that He has done.

Thanks to Esther Baek for making my cap look so good ?”