From the Flatlands of Oakland to the Ivory Towers of Higher Education: A Counter-Narrative of a Southeast Asian Refugee

Abstract

This counter-narrative exposes the themes of (dis)placement and (in)visibility that the author has encountered as a Southeast Asian refugee navigating the educational systems in K12 public schools and higher education. The author begins with a snapshot of adolescence growing up in a low-income community in Oakland, California, highlighting her observations as a Southeast Asian refugee youth and the plight of her peers. The latter part of the essay surfaces her experiences existing in higher education contexts where the model minority myth shapes in explicit and veiled ways how she traverses spaces as a Southeast Asian refugee in college, graduate studies, and the academy.