Paul Ky interview
Item
Title
Paul Ky interview
Creator
Ky, Paul
Banh, Jenny
Relation
Central Valley Southeast Asian Successful Voices
Coverage
Fresno, California
Date
2017
Rights
Copyright has been transferred to Fresno State
Identifier
SCMS_casv_00010
extracted text
>> Okay. And where is my phone?
>> Here have a piece of sugar. Maybe that will help.
>> Oh okay. I kind of avoid sugar because of diabetes. [Inaudible] Americans.
>> Oh really? Oh.
>> I do not have it.
>> Oh.
>> But the future. Good morning. Dr. Ky, thank you so much for consenting to be interviewed for the Fresno State
Successful Southeast Asians. I would love for you to say your name, spell it, as well as tell me the date and ultimately
give me verbal permission to record you for the Successful Southeast Asian New Archive at Fresno State.
>> Well, good morning, Jennie. You know, today I have the pleasure to be with you and thank you so much for inviting
me. My name is Dr. Paul Ky. P-A-U-L K-Y. I am actually a DO. It is a little bit of difference between a DO and an MD.
But in terms of actual practice, there is not much difference. Okay so.
>> Can you give me verbal permission to record you? And also enter your in our new Southeast Asian, Successful
Southeast Asians. Okay.
>> You do have my permission to record this. And I hope this will give, you know future generations some
contributions.
>> Yes
>> And ways that they can go on and succeed in life.
>> In one hundred years, your interview will be available to the next six generations to listen to. So, thank you. And
ultimately if anyone from, let's say the Cambodian community in Texas or Minnesota, they also can listen. So, it is a
global also. If you could tell me your gender.
>> I am male.
>> Male? Okay.
>> Yes.
>> If you could tell me your birth year. Not the date. Just the year.
>> Birth year is 1968. However, I was actually listed here in 1967 because my parents made a mistake.
>> Okay, what was. Where. What was. Where were you born?
>> I was born in Cambodia in a rural farming land.
>> Okay. What is your ethnic group?
>> My ethnic group -- I consider myself a little bit of a mix. But mainly Chinese.
>> Okay. Chinese from, that grew up in Cambodia?
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>> Yeah, Chinese from Cambodia.
>> Oh, okay. What is your undergraduate major?
>> My undergraduate major was actually in business marketing.
>> Okay. What is your generation in the United States?
>> I am first generation.
>> Okay. What is your mother and father's highest educational background?
>> My, my father was third grader. And my mother has no education.
>> Okay. What is your family composition? Which means, who, when you grew up, who did you grow up with? Like a
brother, sister. And what do they do?
>> I grew up with. Well I. Go back. I grew up in during the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, mainly. I was born into a
corrupted Cambodian government called the [inaudible] government. Which later was taken over by the Chinese backed
communist, the Khmer Rouge. And there I. during the [inaudible] regime, I grew up with mainly my grandparents and
my parents at times. And then, during the Khmer Rouge, I grew up under the regime. I was separated from my parents
to live in the child labors camp for about three years and three months.
>> And then, did you have brothers and sisters?
>> Yes. I have. Now I have two brothers and three sisters.
>> Okay. What was your. What is your family composition now? My family composition now, my immediate family?
>> Mhm.
>> Well, I am married. I have three kids. Two prior to, one current.
>> Oh, great.
>> And then of course the rest of my family.
>> Okay [inaudible].
>> Which is my brother and sister and [inaudible].
>> Okay. And then what is, if you do not remember that is fine. What is your GPA?
>> My GPA was in the undergrad, when I was in business, I was actually only 2.87. I was a struggling student. I did not
speak much English. And then. I actually swore that I would never go back to school after I finish business. However,
my brother got into dental school. And then.
>> His young, younger brother. All younger than me.
>> Okay.
>> And then I said to myself, wow well I am smarter than he is [laughter]. Actually, I think I can do better. So I actually
went back to school. And at that time, I did well cause I was in business outside for a while doing, helping my family
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with a donut business, the restaurant business. And by that time, I actually spoke Spanish quite fluently.
>> Wow.
>> And because of that, it actually helped me in science. When I took science, it was like oh everything makes sense.
Because everything in Spanish is all Latin derived as a result. When I took science class, I excelled in it. And then my
GPA then it jumped to 3.78.
>> So, did you also do this at Fresno State?
>> Yes, I did a post-baccalaureate at Fresno State with an emphasis on premed.
>> Oh wow, interesting.
>> Yes.
>> Okay. So, the social economic background that you grew up in the family, was it working class, middle class, or
fluent which is wealthy? Your family background that you grew up in, in Cambodia and also Fresno.
>> Well, in Cambodia we were, the [inaudible] regime, we were, I would say we were middle class.
>> Middle class, okay.
>> But the communist took everything away, so it came to very poor.
>> Okay. What about Fresno.
>> We were starving. And then in Fresno we were still, we were very poor. When we came here, we were on welfare.
And then.
>> But, why did you come to Fresno? Why Fresno?
>> Oh, we came to Fresno because of the. We came to. We first came to Stockton, which is similar to Fresno, in
Stockton, California. It is mainly agrarian or agriculture. And because you know we have a agriculture background, we
actually came thinking that we were farm in Fresno, I mean in Stockton. And then we got into the sewing business and
we just have sewing clothes at home. And after that, we saved some money, enough money to buy more sewing
machines, just went on and on. So we sewed for about seven years.
>> Oh wow.
>> In the meantime. And at that time we were sewing clothes, making 40 cents, 42 cents for the entire shirt, something,
including buttons and everything over locking. So we did all that. But we save as a family. And then that led us to buy
the first donut shop in 1984 with my mom's cousin. And then as a result that kind of gave us a boost because instead of
making like five/six hundred dollars a month. We started making a couple of thousand a month, which is a lot of money
back then.
>> How, how did you get into the donut, it is through your family members?
>> Yeah, actually.
>> Because are you...
>> It was my cousin.
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>> Are you related to Ted Ngoy or N-G-O-Y?
>> No. I.
>> He is the first Cambodian.
>> No, we would. We are not related to him. But we, we are familiar with him. And because he knows us from
Cambodia.
>> Oh wow, okay. Is he Chinese?
>> Yeah, he is also Chinese Cambodian.
>> Oh interesting. Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> Interesting.
>> He came with nothing also. But they were also in the rice hulling business in Cambodia.
>> Oh wow.
>> And as a result, my father knows him. And they know my father.
>> Did you live in a Chinatown in Cambodia?
>> No, we live in a small village.
>> Okay.
>> In Cambodia.
>> Was it predominantly Chinese? Or no?
>> No, the village. No predominantly Cambodian. But we have like six, seven families are Chinese.
>> And then what ethnic group from China are you from? Do you know like what, when did you come to Cambodia?
What year was that?
>> My dad went to Cambodia when he was 19.
>> Oh.
>> Actually. I take that back. Maybe. No. Yeah, he was 19.
>> From Guangdong?
>> It is the Guangdong province right now. But he is actually from the Hokkien province or the Fujian province.
>> Oh, so you are Fujian.
>> Yeah.
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>> Oh, interesting.
>> Like, my mom is actually [foreign language].
>> Oh okay.
>> I am a mixture. But those, Chaozhou province and the. Before the Chaozhou people they have, you know, their own
province. But then they were overtaken by the Guangdong province. So. So the Fujian and Guangdong is actually very
close. So their language is not too far apart. I would say it is more like, more like Spanish and Portuguese.
>> Did you. When you were growing up in Cambodia, did you speak a Chinese language? Or did you speak
Cambodian? Or both? And did you go to Chinese school?
>> No, we only speak. I never went to school because the communist came over and took it. And then. We only speak
Cambodian. I mean rarely do we speak Chinese.
>> Did your parents speak Cambodian too?
>> Yes.
>> Okay. What about to each other?
>> They sometimes speak Chinese to each other. But during the communist, we could not speak a different language.
They actually would kill you during that time if you speak a different language. A lot of Vietnamese were killed during
Khmer Rouge. A lot of Chinese were killed during Khmer Rouge. Even though the government was backed by China,
we were to be. We were deemed, you know, traders to China. Therefore we were deemed to be, you know, to be
eliminated. Yeah.
>> Interesting. So, where did you go to high school? Was it, was a public high school or a private high school?
>> Yeah, I went to a public high school in Stockton, California.
>> What was the name?
>> Stagg.
>> Stagg.
>> Amos Alonzo Stagg, which was one of the worst high school in Stockton.
>> Oh, interesting.
>> [Inaudible] because there was a lot of gang violence during that time.
>> What is the ethnic background of that? Was it predominantly, what ethnic group?
>> A mixture of whites, blacks, Hispanic. I think I would say mainly, mainly Hispanic and a mixture of whites, blacks
and Asians. Lots of Southeast Asian [inaudible].
>> What type? What type of Southeast Asian?
>> Mainly Vietnamese and then. I would say, you know, a mixture of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Lao.
>> And then were you, was it a small number? Where you one of the few Asians? Or was it a huge, like 70 percent?
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>> I would say we made less 10 percent of the population.
>> So, my question here is, why do many Cambodian or Cambodian-Chinese go to college? And why or why not? Like
why do they go to college? Like, what was it? Why did you go to college?
>> I would say many did not go to college during my time.
>> Okay.
>> Because we just did, we were not equipped to get into college. We, since we were the first generation, we did not
speak the language. We did not understand. We were just very fearful. And we did not have any role model per se. I
went to college because my dad forced me to.
>> Interesting. Tell me more. Tell me more.
>> My dad said I must go to college because everybody, education is very important. Even though he was uneducated,
he said you must go to college.
>> What about all your siblings? Did he say the same?
>> Yeah. And then.
>> Okay.
>> When I went.
>> Were you the first to go?
>> Yes, I was the first to go.
>> Wow.
>> So Fresno State was the first? Or did you go to a junior college and transfer?
>> Actually, I went to a junior college at Stockton, at San Joaquin Delta College.
>> Okay.
>> And then I actually had very minimal goal. I just thought I was going to be a mechanic, technician, like everybody
else. Because I did not have higher aspiration at that time. I just did not know what was out there. What is available to
me. But as I entered college, I found that mechanics was not for me. I took a science. I actually fail. I took, I took. I
mean, I fail so I took, I fail a few quizzes and I just dropped out. Kind of learn from my buddies that on the side, or
peers, they said oh you better drop out soon if you are failing these.
>> Drop out of the major or the school?
>> From the, no just the classes.
>> Okay.
>> And then I decide to well then I just talk to my peers and they said business classes are really easy. It is just simple
mathematics and you know.
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>> Okay.
>> You do not have to know English that well. So, at that time, I just went with the flow and went business and actually
got an AA degree in business. The only science course I took was physics 10, which is some very low level basic
physics. And then went on to just do a lot of business with my family. And then went on to Fresno State for a year. And
then our donut business moved to. Oh I should not say, I should not say Fresno State. I went to Sac State for a year.
>> Okay.
>> And then, our business moved to Fresno. And then I move to Fresno to help my parents.
>> Why did you. Why did your business move to Fresno if you are in Sacramento already?
>> Yeah, well. My dad just happened to found a donut shop here in Fresno with my uncle. So my uncle bought it. And
my dad came to work for him.
>> Oh okay.
>> And then eventually my parents took over that donut shop.
>> It is not Bingo Donut, is it?
>> No, it is not.
>> Okay [laughter]. Another donut.
>> Yeah, there are many Cambodian donut shops here.
>> So, then you talked about your uncle. Did your cousins go to college? It was just you and then later your little
brothers and sisters. But did your cousins go to college or no?
>> They do. My uncle was younger. He was single actually when he did this business. And then he and my parents
came along. And just kind of helped out. And then we took over. And we expanded it more and more. And we had
several shops here in the Central Valley.
>> Oh, great. So, in terms of donuts. In terms of your cousins, did your uncle. Oh your uncle was single. Did you have
any cousins at all, your generation that went to college?
>> Yes. All of my cousins went to college.
>> Really?
>> Yes.
>> What, where did they go to Fresno State?
>> No. Only a few of us went to Fresno State. But a lot of them went to UOP.
>> What was that? University of Pacific?
>> Yes. Davis. Then, one went to Cal Poly.
>> Oh okay.
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>> No, I am sorry. Two went to Cal Poly.
>> Okay.
>> And then yeah.
>> That is very impressive. Why do you think your cousins went to college? Because your whole generation seemed to
go. Well you were the first.
>> Yeah.
>> Why did your cousins go to college?
>> I think we kind of follow each other. And we are kind of very competitive also. Our family is very competitive.
>> Okay.
>> So we. We compete among each other. We help each other. But we compete among each other too. So because of
the internal competition, I think it actually pushed us to do well.
>> Did all your cousins go to college?
>> Yes. We all...
>> That is very rare.
>> We all graduated.
>> Wow that is impressive.
>> We all have very good careers now.
>> That is extremely. And your cousins' children went to college?
>> My cousins' children -- no they are not old enough.
>> Oh they are babies.
>> But they are starting to.
>> Okay.
>> They are starting to yes.
>> That is interesting. One day you may consider write a book about your family. So, if we look at the comparison.
South Indians. Or South Americans -- they go to college at a 70 percent rate. Versus Cambodian, which I guess is 12
percent rate.
>> Right.
>> Why do you think there is a discrepancy within Asians? Like 70 percent, highest in American. Versus, you know a
lower rate.
>> I think Cambodian in particular. Cambodian and Lao's I would say, Laotian, in particular we face a different
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challenge, you know? Cambodia because we were a peasant country and still is now compared to let's say Vietnam or
Vietnamese is also a peasant country, but somehow even during the communist they were also encouraging education.
>> Right.
>> As opposed to the Cambodian -- they discourage education. At least the older folks. Especially during the Khmer
Rouge. Of course, they eliminated education. See, during that time if you wear glasses, they kill you.
>> Right.
>> That means it is indicative of you having some kind of education and able to read. So, you know, in order to squish
or crush the, any possible rebellion, then the best way to do it is to get rid of all the educated people. Then there is no
outside knowledge, I would say, influence and as a result less to have power of rebellion against government. And then,
also the Cambodian culture in particular, I believe just does not encourage or support education as much as. Actually
support education in action as much as other culture.
>> Okay. Excellent. Thank you. So, do Cambodian students have strong relationships with administrators and faculty?
Why or why not?
>> I say no.
>> Tell me why.
>> Cambodians are not as open. And we tend to be a little bit more submissive. It is not. It is kind of engrained in the
culture.
>> Okay.
>> We are not gung-ho's.
>> Okay.
>> You know. For my family, in particular, we are gung-ho because we have the internal, the internal competition I
believe.
>> Okay.
>> It is not.
>> Pushed by your dad.
>> By my dad. And.
>> Competition with your cousin, okay.
>> Yeah, cousin. So we are always competitive.
>> What about your mom? Does she push education?
>> She does. But she, she push. My mom, my mom she is the type who carries. She does not even carry. Is not a
[inaudible] stick type of thing. My dad carries a stick. But. My mom does not. She push us softly. There is a, there is
some. I do not know. I would say she has some internal power that we seem to be, we yield to our mom more than our
dad.
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>> Interesting.
>> Because somehow my mom does not have to raise her voice or anything like that. But she gets things done.
>> Oooh interesting. And does she tell you to go to college?
>> She does very lightly. You know, she is like yeah you know why don't you consider it, I mean look at your brother,
sister. And you know.
>> Okay.
>> She supports that way. And financially they support us. They work hard. They work 16 hours, 18 hours a day, 365
days a year to get us to college.
>> So seeing them work so hard, did that have an effect on you? Because you also worked.
>> I would say definitely. For us, you know, I was the oldest able body in the family with my parents. So, because of
that, I had, I had an obligation to make sure all my families, my siblings you know get ahead. Have an opportunity to get
ahead. So, because of that, I worked hard. And especially doing my post-bacc year, I really realized how hard, you
know how, how hard life was out there. And as a result, I worked really hard. I was very determined to get it. No matter
what.
>> Okay.
>> I was. That was the thing that sets me apart from my prior years and from my peers. Because we were I think less
than a handful that got into med school from Fresno State during that year.
>> Wow. That is impressive.
>> So, because of that, we. I mean, I was determined to get in. I was like no matter what I am going to become a
physician. And because of that, I worked really hard and the challenges that faced me was very difficult and since I had
a 2.87 grade point average, which is mediocre, you could never get into med school with that kind of thing. And then for
me to overcome that, I had to take so many years more and took all the science course all at the same time. And showed
them that I was truly a different breed that I had, I did at least 20 hours of volunteer work to teach the SCOP program,
Science Career Opportunity program here at Fresno State, as well as do volunteer work at Fresno Community and other
areas, even like [inaudible] in Stockton. So I did all of those, as well as work full time to get in.
>> Wow.
>> Because I was really determined to get in.
>> Okay.
>> No matter what, I was going to get in.
>> Wow, okay.
>> So as a result we, you know I was very successful and yeah. And I had a good. The key was a good buddy system.
>> Okay.
>> I did not stick.
>> Tell me more with the buddy system.
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>> Yeah. I, I. You know because I was determined to, to become proficient in Spanish at that time also. So I chose the
buddy system that Hispanic.
>> Okay.
>> And the two Hispanic ladies that is my very, very close friend and we are still close friend today, we were the ones
that got into med school.
>> Oh wow. Okay.
>> We actually push each other day and night. I mean we had to study.
>> So it was two women?
>> Yes.
>> Oh, interesting.
>> And I found myself when we studied, because they were. I found those two to be very determined and dedicated to
get in, to be successful. So, once I found them. I mean they were not the smartest one. One was the smartest at Fresno
State. She actually got the Dean's Medal.
>> Oh wow.
>> You know the. All the medical school, they were sending out the deans to pick her up.
>> Wow.
>> Colorado send their Dean of Medical School. They try to come and woo her to get her over there. So, she was
definitely a different breed. She had some brain power. But the other girl was just mediocre like me really. But we were
all determined to make it [inaudible]. We studied together when we need to. And that. The buddy system was the one
that works. And I found out later in med school why that system works best. A lot of people they are mislead as to how
is, is it to best study for a certain subject. A lot of people say well I got to read by myself. If I cannot understand, I get
distracted. In actuality, research have shown that you have five senses, you know including smell, touch, taste, sight and
hearing. So if you incorporate all of those five senses at the same time or simultaneously or almost simultaneously, then
you are able to capture or commit context or text into memory.
>> Okay.
>> At a, at an exponential rate.
>> Wow.
>> Not, not summation. But exponential.
>> Wow.
>> Meaning, if you combine let's say reading, so you are using your sight. And you are actually saying it out.
>> Okay.
>> It is you are almost like touching because that is an action -- movement. And then you are, because you are saying it
out, you are hearing it yourself. That is using three senses. Auditory. And then of. You are saying do all that. And then
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write it some more. That is. Well writing and saying is similar in the sense that you are touching and you are doing your
movement or mode of movement. As a result, you have much, much greater retention of context of materials.
>> Interesting.
>> I learned that in med school
>> Okay.
>> But I have always, I have always. I should say, attracted myself to those kind of studies sessions.
>> Okay.
>> I would. Us three, we are so committed, we rarely miss any study session together.
>> Okay.
>> We would go to Denny's here actually and just.
>> Oh wow.
>> Just drink coffee and eat one of their breakfast and then just spend all day, all night until they kick us out. So. But.
>> That is great. That is a great tip.
>> But because of that, we, like I said, that is why we were successful. And we utilize these techniques. And.
>> Excellent. So and I assume those two Latino women were first generation like you, first generation in college
students? First generation?
>> Yes, first generation college students.
>> So it was like immigrant.
>> They were born here. But they are first generation. And they both speak Spanish. And so I sought them out for that
reason also. Because at that time, I become more and more proficient in Spanish.
>> Okay, excellent. So, we have an issue. So, thank you for telling me about the faculty and administrator. What is your
favorite subject? What is your least favorite subject?
>> My favorite subject I would say chemistry.
>> Chemistry?
>> Because I just excelled in it. I aced all my classes and.
>> Wow.
>> And then.
>> People are very fearful of chemistry.
>> Yeah. I found that to be very easy because there is a system to it.
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>> Okay.
>> So once you learn some system and then it is like oh they are kind of like. Everything else is kind of. Revelations
come after revelations come after revelations because there is a system. Instead of like biology or something like that,
where you have memorize a lot of stuff. See when there is a system, you only have to memorize the basic stuff. And the
rest is kind of picks on itself.
>> Okay.
>> But like mathematics, same thing. But as opposed to biology, more along the biological line, then there is a lot of
sheer memorization.
>> Okay.
>> Which is also needed because you need to memorize in order to learn things quickly. A lot of people do not, say, say
it the other way. Like the core program, they say you must understand. That, I disagree with that. You have to
memorize. Because now I speak five languages because.
>> Oh wow. What are the five languages?
>> Well Cambodian, Cantonese, Mandarin because they are the separate languages. Spanish, English. And I am
learning some Vietnamese as well. Hmong. I am learning that.
>> Wow.
>> And I am learning Thai too.
>> Oh my goodness. Impressive.
>> I love languages and I think it is the key to assimilation, a key to, for lack of better word -- infiltrate the culture and
the.
>> That is a good point.
>> You know, not in a bad way, like infiltrate. But infiltrate the culture and ethnic group.
>> Okay.
>> Because I find that I am able to break barriers with these language skills.
>> Great. What is your least favorite class?
>> I probably would say. Hm. Least favorite class, probably English.
>> English. Alright.
>> But, I find that English is of paramount importance because your ability to you know express yourself determines
how successful you are in reality.
>> Okay. Have you ever been mentored?
>> Not directly. I would say I have been mentored by my teachers. I have particular teachers that I love and I just cling
on to them, you know. So, now I learn later the four concepts of success is key. I see, you know success you do not have
to reinvent the wheel. You know? Success is to see successful people and do it exactly as they do it. And you also will
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be successful.
>> Okay.
>> And there is, there is four key to that. First is observation. Second is to mimic or duplicate what they do exactly. And
third is to replicate until you perfect it -- meaning to do it, do the same thing over and over and over and over and over
and over and over until you perfect it. And then fourth is to innovate. Now that is when you become more successful
than other people. So a lot of people, a lot of people make the mistake and say, well they think they have to be Steve
Jobs. [Inaudible] Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, you know. But they are one in seven billion.
>> Right.
>> Or two in seven billion. There is very few of those. There is very few Einstein's. We do not need to be Einstein to be
successful. All you have to do is be regular Joe. If you want to be Joe the mechanic, then you go and do exactly what
Joe the mechanic did to succeed. Then you also will succeed. I believe.
>> Okay.
>> So, so that is the key to success, I believe.
>> Thank you. What were the teacher expectations of you in high school? Did they have neutral, low or high
expectations of you?
>> I think most of my teachers were nonchalant.
>> Okay.
>> Except one that I remember -- Mr. Pedro. He was a Filipino teacher. Very short guy. Mustache. And a goatee and.
And every student was fearful of him. And he had high expectation. Because of that, I think we excelled. And I believe
in high expectation. The lower the expectation, the lower the performance.
>> Interesting.
>> And studies have shown that. Studies have shown that. And just like my family, we have very high expectation of
each other. As the result, we have become more successful, I believe. Not because of a family gene pool or anything like
that. I do not believe in so much genes and innate ability. I believe those ability can be nurtured and cultured. And
realistically it has to be put your feet to the fire and you will perform better.
>> Okay. [Inaudible]. What is, what is. Do you remember any notable depictions of your ethnic group in the media at
all? The Cambodians in the media, movies, TV? Anything you remember growing up?
>> Yeah. I mean most notable was the killing fields, you know.
>> Okay.
>> Actually they, the star of that he has since been killed.
>> Right.
>> But the star of the killing fields, he actually was in the camps with us because my sister. He is a doctor in Cambodia.
>> Right.
>> I think he is part Vietnamese also. [Inaudible]. And then. But we were actually. We know him from the camps in the
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Cambodia because he picked out family out in particular because my sister is a tetraplegic. My older sister is what we
call cerebral, tetraplegic -- spastic tetraplegic cerebral palsy. So basically, she was born with the cord around her neck.
And so she had some spinal cord issue and a little bit of brain issue as well. But even her, she actually did well. She
graduated with two master degrees.
>> My goodness! That is excellent.
>> Yeah. So, I mean, even in light of her disability. And she has severe disability. She can barely move her arms and
legs. She had to undergo many surgeries. And she, she has been an inspiration for us actually.
>> Really? Okay.
>> Because if she can do it, certainly all of us can do it.
>> Right.
>> Yes.
>> Great. Thank you. Coming from Stockton and later moving to Fresno, did you think that you were academically
prepared going to Fresno State, also junior college? Were you prepared from high school? Did your high school prepare
you?
>> No. None of those prepared me.
>> Okay [laughter].
>> Like I said, I am a little bit of a special case in the sense that I am one of the first generation that we were. We were
totally lost in this society because we had never seen lights or you know buildings like this. You know, we came. I say
in Spanish, [foreign language]. Well, that means we came without any slippers or underwears. And literally we came
like that. And because of that it is, it was just a total culture shock for us. But somehow we made it through. We just
said, you know what we just go. We need to graduate. We need to do this. And with determination we were able to
make it.
>> Okay. Excellent. You talked actually already a lot about the barriers [inaudible] you were a child laborer person.
And you talked about your family. And you said you worked outside of, outside of a class too. How many hours did you
work a week?
>> Well I was working 40 to 50 hours a week.
>> Wow. Okay.
>> This is in my baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate years.
>> That is a big barrier education, I mean hours of work.
>> Yeah. At that same time, I think it made me successful that way. Because I was able to juggle different things and do
it.
>> Okay.
>> I think if I had not done that, I do not think I would be as successful as today as a medical student, as well as a
doctor. In fact, med school was quite easy. I breezed through it.
>> So, you did 40 hours a week and also did medical school?
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>> No, before med school.
>> Okay.
>> Now, once I did med school, I was totally entrenched in it.
>> Okay.
>> But it was an easy transition. Medical school was easy for me.
>> Wow. Okay.
>> Getting in was hard because of the barriers. Yeah.
>> Did you find that you had any other cultural barriers? Or educational barriers? Or financial barriers? Structural
health or gender barriers? Such as were you funded when you went to Fresno State?
>> No. Because I was working, I was not funded. Now, when I went. When I went to. Well, I should not say that. Junior
college I was funded partially by Pell Grant.
>> Okay.
>> And then at Fresno State, I was funded the first year.
>> Okay. Wow. That is pretty good.
>> Yeah. And then at that time, tuition was not that much. It was like 17 hundred dollars or something like that. And it
was a lot of money. But still it was not as much as now I do not think.
>> Okay.
>> But I worked my way through. I had to.
>> Okay.
>> I found that if I worked, I make more money and I can help my family and myself.
>> Okay.
>> What about gender? Do you feel that if you were a different gender your life would be different, in terms of like
cultural expectations?
>> No, I actually think it was advantageous to be a man at that time because a man [inaudible].
>> Tell me more. Tell me more.
>> You know, so it was advantageous for me because my family push and support more of the man I guess. But at the
end, we support every single kid whether man or woman. You know, we all afforded to go to college. We push
everyone to go to college to make sure [inaudible].
>> Did you see. So in your family everyone was supported?
>> Yeah.
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>> Did you see any difference in gender expectations at all for the females.
>> Yeah. The man is expected to succeed more than the female. Because females, like I said in our discussion earlier,
you can always marry away you know, to a successful man or more successful family. So.
>> Okay. Good to know.
>> But. Yeah.
>> So this is actually other barriers. Did you experience any micro aggression like racism or anything like that in school
or any kind of? Like little things. Not like huge things. Or anything big or small.
>> I mean, I do. You know, the. But at the same time, I do not let those things. I call those things little miniscule stuff.
>> Okay.
>> You know that does not affect me. Because if you, if you let those things affect you, then of course, you cannot make
it. You know, oh they call you a chink or a gook, whatever. You really do not care. I hate to say it, I do not give a shit.
>> Okay.
>> You know, if, if you just care so much about these little politics and all that stuff, then you will never make it. The
key to success is determination drive. I care a less. I just put my head down and just drive through. And then. And that is
what we do as a family also. We do not. We do not think about oh Mexicans are looking down on us or whatever. I
really do not care.
>> Okay.
>> I actually looked you know, I look to Vietnamese. Because I say, you know what, Vietnamese are one of the most
successful people in the world. And especially in America. They are one of the most successful people here. There is a
reason. We are just neighbors. And, and I do not think they are genetically better or anything like that. But culturally
they are better because they have great support. They believe in competition. And so as a result, I believe that is why
Vietnamese do very well. So I just emulate from what the Vietnamese do.
>> They have like Confucian kind effected by China.
>> Right. So because I. And they have been kicked around by Chinese for a long time by China itself. So because of
how they have to struggle, I believe they are a role model for me if anything.
>> Interesting.
>> As a culture, I look to Vietnamese. And I have lots of Vietnamese friends you know. Now, Cambodians there is a lot
of cultural battle between the Cambodian and the Vietnamese. And a lot of people get stuck by that, oh my God
Vietnamese are evil. They are taking over our land. I do not see that.
>> Okay.
>> Just like I do not see, you know Japanese as evil. You know, yes they took over Southeast Asia and all that stuff. I
do not see them. Some Chinese they have that resentment against you know Japanese. And they say oh you must kill
their entire generation and all that stuff. I really care a less about that. I just look as people as they are an individual.
And, but at the same time if they have a culture advantage of pushing, like the Vietnamese people do, I actually take and
run with it. You know, I say, hey if they can succeed, I can succeed too.
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>> Okay.
>> And that is how we see it.
>> Okay. Excellent. So that is the second part. And then we are going to do the third and last part. Is there any question
that I did not ask you about barriers that you think that would be. I mean, do you, can you think of any barriers that
would affect Cambodian-American, or Southeast Asians? Or even the gender barriers? I mean we talked about how
earlier it is a male issue. But also a female issue. But do you think of any barriers I did not ask you that are affecting
particularly males because it is more males dropping out, right?
>> Right.
>> What is the reason? Because the women are making it through, right?
>> Yeah. I. That I cannot answer. I do not. There are always going to be barriers. But also barriers can also be an
opportunity. Barriers can provide opportunity for you to overcome those barriers. You know, if you overcome these
barriers that are set before you, these obstacles. You are more equipped to succeed. So, yes there are barriers, in a sense
that there is less support. Because the Cambodian people here tend to be less successful in general from the family side.
So there is less support from that sense. So, from that standpoint, you do not have a silver spoon in your, you know your
mouth. Okay. Also, okay, we can say the Cambodian people do not really support education that much. Even though
they say they do, they really. The action does not follow that. So, I can say okay, compared to Vietnamese we do not
have that as well. But, I do not look at it that way. I look at it, hey you know what, there is plenty of opportunities in
America to make it. You can say discrimination [inaudible]. You can use all kinds of excuses to fail. If you do that, you
will fail. But if you actually say, you know what put your head down and do it. In Spanish we say, [foreign language].
That means just do it without any fear. Do it with all the conviction, you know [foreign language]. You know, do it with
balls. I mean there.
>> Okay.
>> Without, without fear you can make it.
>> Okay.
>> And that is.
>> Great.
>> If you have that kind of attitude, you will make it.
>> Great. Excellent. So, we are on the third part. You are actually very rare. You know, first generation. Also to get a
medical degree.
>> Yes.
>> That is very rare. You sort of are like a bit of a unicorn, right?
>> Yes.
>> Even for the second and third, it is actually quite impressive. So what is it about your personality? You, you know
Dr. Paul, like Dr. Paul Ky. Why? What is it about your personality that made you succeed when so many people and
particularly first generation, but also the second generation are not succeeding. So about your personality in particular.
Like what was it about you, Paul in first grade, second grade, third -- why did you make it?
>> Now let's see first grade, third grade, obviously I never went to first. Well, I kind of lied. We first came to Houston. I
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went to Kindergarten for maybe three weeks. And then they took me to first grade for about a month or so. Because of
the influx of refugees, they did not know what do with us. So. And then they took me to third grade for a month or so.
And then they took me to fifth grade.
>> Okay.
>> So I did all that in 11 months.
>> Wow!
>> And then when I came to Stockton. After 11 months we moved to Stockton to look for better opportunities or jobs
basically. We went and I think I went, I went to sixth grade yeah.
>> Okay.
>> So, I am sorry no I went to. Yeah sixth grade for a little bit. And then I went to seventh grade and eight grade.
Finished that. Four grades. Yeah.
>> Wow.
>> And I actually finish from high school in three years because I took. Although, I did not speak English, much
English then.
>> How did you go through high school without speaking English?
>> I do not know. They. I just went to class and they just pass me. I did not do well in high school. I had 3.15
something. Because I. You know that was the first few years of our life here. And I did not speak. I did not have much
to contribute.
>> But you finished.
>> Yeah I finish in three years because my dad forced me to go to summer school. Every single summer school, I have
to take two full classes.
>> Oh wow. Okay.
>> And as a result, I finish all these classes and I took an extra period during the regular high school. And then I also
went to Delta College and took some classes so I can finish. So I finish. I graduated a year earlier.
>> Wow. That is, that is amazing actually. So, why, why, what about your personality? Because.
>> My personality for me.
>> Do you just not see barriers?
>> I. Yeah, we do not see barriers too much. I mean our family, this is why we are successful. We do not see barrier.
There is no doubt there are barriers. You know? We have been kicked around. We have been, you know called all kinds
of name. But I do not really care about that stuff. Because ultimately if successful, they do not. If you are successful
doctor, like Dr. Carson, we do not call him, hello Mr. Black doctor. We do not call him the N word. You know, even the
KKK brought the kid to Dr. Carson to be separated by him. To separate the brain, the siamese twins, you know? By the
great Dr. Carson.
>> Oh are you talking about Ben [inaudible]?
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>> Ben Carson. I actually worked with him.
>> Oh the presidential.
>> Yeah, yeah candidate.
>> Yeah, yeah okay.
>> I actually worked with him. I used to take care of his kids. Not his actual kids. But the kids that he separated because
I was a rehab, a rehab resident at Hopkins. And then at that time you know, you know. So. He did not retire yet. He was
still the director of [inaudible] in Johns Hopkins. And so we took care of his kids.
>> Wow, okay.
>> Like I said, I went all the way from child labor camp, all the way to Johns Hopkins. I think I did pretty good.
>> Yeah, that is top point one percent.
>> Yeah. But not because I was brilliant. Rather because I worked hard to get there. And that is the key, I believe. It is
not like, oh you were born one brilliant. In fact, I did not even know how to count my own fingers until I was here in
America. I did not literally know how to count my own fingers. One, two, three, four, five in my language.
>> Wow.
>> Because we did not have any education. They eliminated all education in Cambodia. So. So it, it. Talking about
barriers, I face plenty of barriers. But I did not see that. I did not know any better that there were barriers. Because of
my ignorance to barriers, I believe it did not affect me that much.
>> Wow. Thank you. And I think you already answered this one because your family obviously pushed you to go to
college. What other bridges? Like you talked about your sister as inspiring. You talked about your family. You talked
about your kind of attitude of you do not see barriers, right? And then you work really hard and so. Were there any other
things that made you success, like bridges? Like instead of barriers, what are other things about you that made you be
successful? You talk about your brother went to dental school. So. What other bridges?
>> Because he got in dental school, he motivated all of us. And then my youngest sister got into dental school. And I
was like.
>> Wow.
>> She is seven years younger than I am. She is in dental school. I am like, shoot I better move my ass.
>> Right, right, right.
>> So. I am the lazy one.
>> So your siblings.
>> My siblings were my role model really.
>> Wow, okay.
>> I will say it was an opportunity. We did have an opportunity. Role model early on that if we did not have probably
maybe we did not realize the opportunity. Did not actually understand it.
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>> Okay.
>> So, my dad he is Chinese. And we used to sew clothes for this lady, who is Chinese, married to a Chinese dentist.
>> Okay.
>> And she brought us to him to be his client or introduce us to her husband to be his dental clients. So from there, of
course they were Chinese. My dad speak Cantonese. And then so they spoke to each other. They were kind of became
good acquaintance more than just clients. So, then my dad had a vision. And this I have to give credit to my dad quite a
bit. Because of this vision he had, he, he actually dare to ask the dentist at that time. And say, would you be willing to
take on one of my kids. Just one of my kids.
>> Wow.
>> And let him do anything. You know, sweep outside. Whatever. We do not want to get paid. We just want to. I just
want him to have an opportunity. So, I have to say my dad, even though.
>> Wow.
>> He did not have the education, he did have that vision. And with that opportunity, you know within three weeks my
brother was able to demonstrate that he was reliable and actually.
>> Your little brother?
>> Yeah, my younger brother. And taught him how to do what we call Crozats, which is a form of brace. Like now they
have Invisalign, which is much nicer and much more visually how do you say, accommodative. But, at that time, they
had a technology called Crozats. And they were actually moving. It is like a moving dynamic brace at all time. They just
have to move a little bit of these, these pointy stuff. And then. But, anyway, he was able to capture that and able to learn
it quite quickly. And.
>> Oh wow.
>> Within three weeks he was being paid. He was being paid a lot. Like 12 dollars an hour.
>> Wow.
>> And at that time, 1985, 1984.
>> That is a lot now.
>> That is a lot of money.
>> That is a lot now.
>> We were like wow. And then I actually felt stupid because my dad asked me first and then I refused.
>> Oh.
>> I said I do not want to be something like that. So, my brother took it. And that is how he was.
>> He ran.
>> Yeah, he ran with it. And he went into UOP and did really well. And then got into dental school.
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>> So it is something your father particularly doing that with a third grade education. I mean. I mean that is amazing.
>> Yeah.
>> That is amazing. He just asked an acquaintance.
>> Yes.
>> Okay. Wow.
>> So.
>> The Chinese connection. The Cantonese. Okay. Alright. That is a huge bridge that people do not know about.
Anything else? Because that is a lot of activism on your dad's part.
>> Yeah.
>> Because two of your siblings are dentists, right?
>> Three.
>> Three. Wow.
>> Three dentists and two medical doctors.
>> Wow.
>> One is an MD. My brother was. The youngest brother, he is, I would say he is the brightest in terms of natural
abilities because he was born in Thailand for, after 12 days he was here in America already.
>> Wow.
>> So just a recent birth. And then he came here because he did not have any quote unquote barriers, in terms of like
language or culture.
>> He missed the child labor fields?
>> Yeah, right. So as a result he actually, did excel and did really well. But unfortunately after the first year, he got into
the UC Riverside, UCLA Medical Program.
>> Wow.
>> The seven year program.
>> Wow.
>> So.
>> That is very impressive. It is like less than five percent.
>> Yeah. But because. But after the first year, going into the second year. After the first semester of the second year,
unfortunately he had a major accident.
>> Oh no.
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>> And actually he had what we call a major accident. Flip over on I5. It was on the news everywhere.
>> Oh no.
>> And he was. We did not know. He actually. They took him to a [inaudible] hospital in Modesto, save his life. He had
brain matter exposure. Meaning the brain came out. He had the plunger in the rearview mirror went into his brain and
his brain gushed out actually. But because of that it kind of save his life also. So that was at 19 years old. And somehow
he was able to gain you know miraculous recovery.
>> Oh great.
>> Went on to med school.
>> Wow.
>> And done really well. He went to UCLA and graduate with a medical degree from UCLA. And went on to UCSD for
his residency. And he is a fellow. Well was a fellow from UCSD as well in pain management. That is what we do both.
>> Your family is quite exceptional. Quite exceptional.
>> Yes we are in that way.
>> From so much barriers. I mean, that is. Being in a massive car accident, that is huge.
>> So that one, we did not expect that. We did not expect him to live actually. But, it took quite a bit of rehab. But
fortunately he had a lot of natural abilities early on. And he gain. He was a gracious reader. Because of that, I think that
is why he did really well.
>> Okay.
>> Otherwise, he might not have made it. Yeah.
>> Thank you for sharing that story. Were there any cultural. The cultural kind of bridges, such as for instance there is a
Hmong, a Hmong or history. Which they are also interviewing Hmong B-Boys. And so those dancers, they all say
because they are break dancers, B-Boys, they use dance to not get into gangs. And so they are from Fresno. But all of
them because dancers. And then because of that the, the gangsters respected them. And they use dance to get to Fresno
State and graduate. So did you have any cultural, like is there a Cambodian Association? Is there a Cambodian club? Is
there Cambodian dancing? Did you do any of that?
>> Now there is.
>> Okay.
>> Now there is. There is more support for Cambodians now than ever.
>> Okay.
>> At our time, not really because we were the first generations here.
>> Okay.
>> I would say my brother, you know my younger brother and sister, yes they had bridges and we were their bridge.
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>> Right. You helped them. You helped each other.
>> At the beginning, we did not. We only had some community support. The one that came here in 1975. But that is far
and few.
>> The refugee sponsor?
>> The refugee that came here in 1975 or 76. They helped us.
>> Is it your sponsor?
>> Not really a sponsor.
>> It is like Christian church?
>> Yeah. Some of them were sponsors.
>> Okay.
>> Most of them.
>> Did you have a sponsor?
>> We did.
>> Oh okay.
>> We are very grateful for that. Because without the sponsor we would never be here. I just visit her last year. I did
lose my grandpa. My sponsor grandpa that is.
>> Oh, I am sorry. Alright. So that is a huge one. So, so now this is kind of the fun part. Most people like this the best.
We. You know what you are saying is very effective. And I think very inspiring. So, what do you want at Fresno State
to make people graduate? I mean things that you think. So for instance, do you want smaller classes? Does that make
any difference to you?
>> I do not know how big the classes are now. But.
>> Pretty big. 45.
>> It would be nice.
>> Nice. Okay.
>> Obviously the smaller classes are good, you know. Because I succeeded because I went to Fresno State.
>> Interesting.
>> If I had not gone to Fresno State, I probably would not succeed as much.
>> Why? Tell me more. Why Fresno State?
>> The reason being, you hit it on the point in the sense that it is kind of small classes. Yes. I had like 40 something, 50
something. But I consider that kind of small still. Because at bigger university, more famous university.
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>> Two hundred.
>> Two hundred, two thousand.
>> Three hundred. Yeah.
>> Yeah. So.
>> I took classes. Three hundred.
>> So you were just a number. The professor does not even know you.
>> Right.
>> Now, I got into Fresno State, I had some great letter of recommendations. And one particular, you know physician. I
mean, not physician. One particular mentor, professor, Dr. Steven Rotamaier [assumed spelling], he. I admire him very
much. And he actually helped us, you know in ways beyond his capacity really, you know.
>> Did you have any interaction with Dr. Katsu [assumed spelling]?
>> Yes, I have.
>> You know who I am talking about, right?
>> Yes.
>> Yes. Please tell me.
>> A shorter.
>> Yes. Japanese.
>> Japanese lady. Yes.
>> Did you?
>> We still keep in contact actually. I see her every now and then at the Cambodian gatherings or something. Or.
>> Is it Kotsue [phonetic] or?
>> Yeah [inaudible].
>> Okay. Does she help you?
>> She helped a lot because she was inspiration, inspirational to us during that time, you know. She would give us like
achievement awards and all that stuff. You know.
>> Oh wow.
>> The first Asian to graduate.
>> Oh.
>> Honors. So that was really nice.
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>> Okay.
>> We felt good to get that certificate. And I think it would be helpful to give people, you know milestone markers.
>> Okay.
>> Such as an achievement award or.
>> I am going to write that down.
>> All those things actually come, come down.
>> [Inaudible] award. Okay.
>> You know what, those actually help you in future acceptance.
>> Okay.
>> In fact, I was you know part of the acceptance committee at my medical school and at Johns Hopkins.
>> Okay.
>> We look for that.
>> Interesting.
>> We look for people. Not just grades. We actually look for people who are achieving or being recognized for their
merit, you know. So we are talking about merit based. Not just to give someone a certificate. You know. But merit
based recognition.
>> Okay. Great. What about co-ethnic professors. Would that make any difference if you had Asian professors?
>> I believe so. It is nice to see role models, you know.
>> Okay. What about co-ethnic classmates? Like UC Irvine is 70 percent Asian.
>> Yeah.
>> Difference or no difference?
>> I do not know. I am. To me not much of a difference.
>> Okay.
>> But I can see that some people can see oh okay, more diversity. The more diversity there is, the more prepared you
are for the world.
>> Okay.
>> That is how I see it. I mean if you are. I believe in going to regular school and not private school because I think you
see more diverse.
>> Okay.
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>> Background whether ethnicity or even financially.
>> Okay.
>> Or culturally. The more diverse you are, the more successful you are.
>> Okay.
>> And you can look at microcosm of Singaporean. Singapore is probably one of the most diverse.
>> It is.
>> Society ever. When all those Singaporean come over here, over sea, they are highly successful. I met a few of them.
They.
>> Yeah.
>> They would go to school in two and a half years or two years at Fresno State. And they would get straight A's. And
graduate with honors in two years, as opposed it took us four or five years.
>> Yeah.
>> Why? It is not because they are superior. In a sense, they have superior cultural push. The competition is very stiff.
>> It is.
>> And they do very well. Now, people say well competition is bad for you. No, competition is very good for you.
Now, if you look at overall success. Competition brings out the best in people. Now, many are, well what about those
people that did not have an opportunity, they cannot compete. That is not true. They can also compete very well. Now,
are there are advantages if you, you know. For instance, you know, people who are wealthier and who are doctors
already, are their kids have an advantage?
>> Right.
>> Yeah, but that does not. That does not.
>> Will your kids have an advantage?
>> Yeah. Well that is the thing.
>> From you?
>> Not necessarily. In fact, two of my kids are not doing very well because you know, maybe I spoiled them and you
know. Not maybe. Actually I did. And that was the wrong thing to do. Unlike my parents. I did not get spoiled. And I
had to struggle for every single penny. I did not buy shoes and all that because I realized how hard it was to make that
penny. And.
>> Okay.
>> With my kids, I bought them Alexis and all that stuff. And then now I have ruined their lives.
>> Okay. Good to know.
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>> Yeah.
>> What about ethnic clubs? Did you have a Cambodian club or a Chinese club? An Asian club?
>> We did. We did.
>> More clubs?
>> Ethnic clubs. Even though I am Chinese, I could not penetrate the Chinese ethnic at the time because at that time I
did not speak Chinese. I was still learning. I only spoke Chinese because I went on the internet and learned it myself.
>> Oh my god. That is amazing.
>> You know, I went on Yahoo Chat and just start chatting. And that is how I learn my Chinese most of them.
>> Wow.
>> And I continue to learn today.
>> That is pretty amazing. Okay. What about college success workshops? Did you need a workshop that would have
helped you?
>> Yeah, it did. I did have a couple workshop. They did help.
>> What do you, what do you need more? If you had an ideal, what does Fresno State need to give you more? Or what
did you think was good?
>> I think it would be nice to have these workshops. We are talking about higher education, right?
>> In college. Like, what workshops do you even want it on? Like, some people say I want a workshop on financial aid.
I want a workshop on FAFSA. What do you?
>> All of those are important because you know kids. Although a lot of it is out here in the palm of your hand, you
know. Because the smart phone has access to everything. Which we did not have back then. I do not think they are using
those information correctly. I think they are just texting, hey how you doing. What is up, yo. And that is all they do all
day.
>> Instragram.
>> Yeah.
>> Selfie.
>> Yeah, selfie all day. And they do not know anything. So in. I think you do need workshops to make people realize
what is out there. Now, if you are talking about workshops. There are workshops on, in the palm of your hand
everywhere you go. You know, you go to Podcast, they will show you how to fill out a FAFSA, I am sure. You know,
there are. You can take all AP classes you know, advanced prep biology, chemistry, all on Podcast. I just. Now I take
my time and I actually listen to Podcasts in science still.
>> Oh wow.
>> So, you know. There is plenty of resources to succeed. There is more resources that you need to succeed really if you
actually use it. You just need to use it.
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>> Okay.
>> And the people I do not think they use wisely.
>> Okay, excellent. Anything that you need at Fresno State? Or any college that will help Southeast Asians, particularly
males, to graduate. Anything that you need the college to have?
>> I think a mentorship program would be good.
>> Yes. Mentorship. Okay.
>> You know, like for instance, there is plenty of people out there including myself. I am willing to help out, if they are
willing to reach out, you know.
>> Okay.
>> And see what we can do to help to bring, whether Asian or Hispanic, whatever, you know.
>> okay.
>> Whoever. Whites. I do not care, you know. They need. Mentorship leads to greater interaction with successful
people. And as a result, I think that interaction will gear those people to a certain way of thinking.
>> Okay.
>> That could prepare them for success.
>> I know someone that you might be able to mentor.
>> Yeah.
>> Who is a brilliant student. Okay, great. So this is the last part. Thank you so much for giving me one hour of great
advice and your story. So, you know, in probably 10 more years, we are going to have the third generation. The second
generation is struggling now.
>> Yes.
>> What advice do you have for the second that are struggling? Third and fourth generation that hears your story, what
can you tell them advice to stay in school?
>> Yeah well.
>> Because they want to drop out.
>> Well, I can tell you this. If you do not stay in school, more likely you will definitely fail. Okay. Why? Not because I
am a grim, a grim reaper or anything like that. But rather now more than ever you need the educational advantage
because the market is getting bigger and bigger and bigger. The competition is higher and higher. So you better have
some specific knowledge. Specific skills that gears you to compete in the world. Not compete in America. You know,
compete in the world. Because there is a global market.
>> Okay.
>> And if we continue to be thinking that we are the greatest, we are the isolation, you know. We can isolate ourselves
from all of that competition. You are wrong. Because you know, you do not have. You do not have to have. Even
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AT&T their representative is in Singapore, in you know Ghana, wherever the hell they are. You know, they are taking
all our jobs. You better be prepared to succeed in that way because the competition is stiff. If you do not go to college,
you are a guaranteed failure. I mean, like I said, oh my God that is not true you have great success from high school
dropout. Yes, only three people that you do not know.
>> Out of billions.
>> You know what I mean? Out of billions.
>> They all say that. They always say that. But.
>> They are genius.
>> They always say that. But those people. Zuckerberg.
>> Right. And even Zuckerberg he got lucky, you know what I mean. He got his friends to do it. And then. Anyway.
But yes there are some great ones out there. You know the Uber generator and so forth. Fine. But those are rare breeds.
Rare, rare gems. You do not need to be that rare gems. You could be the common gems. But, but really shine as a star.
You know? You can really be brilliantly shining in the world if you actually just work hard. Put your head to it. And do
not make excuses. There is no excuses for failure. If you take excuses. Oh, I am Cambodian. I am a man. Oh it is harder
now.
>> Right, right.
>> You are not going to make it period. And if you truly put my four concept to success. I call it the keys to success.
And my name being K-Y being Ky. The four keys to success is one is to observe successful people. And that can be in a
myriad of ways. Whatever you are success, your definition of success is. Okay?
>> Okay.
>> Two -- mimic exactly what they do, which is duplicate what they do.
>> Okay.
>> Three -- replicate that successful ways until you perfect it.
>> Okay.
>> Or I should say perfect it. Yeah. Replication.
>> Replicate the successful ways until you.
>> Until perfection is achieved.
>> Okay.
>> Four -- innovate.
>> Okay.
>> And it should be done in that sequence. Some people will say, oh I will actually. You know. I see this. Let's talk
about donuts, okay?
>> Okay.
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>> See this glazed donut. Oh it is so easy. I will make it better. I will start innovating. No, those people are not going to
succeed.
>> Okay.
>> You do not need to do that. You just need to do exactly. Follow the recipe exactly to the T.
>> Okay.
>> Once you achieve that, then and only then you should innovate. You should not innovate from.
>> In this order.
>> Yeah.
>> This order.
>> You can try to innovate and think you are oh I am smarter, I am going, you know. I am special. Well, those people
tend not to succeed.
>> Okay.
>> The key to success is observe successful people. Mimic what they do. Replicate it until it is perfected. And then
innovate. And if you keep that in mind, you will be successful in any field you pursue. That is how I see it.
>> That is so inspiring. So, thank you.
>> You are welcome. It is a pleasure. And hopefully may you all have success.
>> Yes. Thank you. Okay. I am going to turn this off. And thank you so much. This is very inspiring.
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>> Here have a piece of sugar. Maybe that will help.
>> Oh okay. I kind of avoid sugar because of diabetes. [Inaudible] Americans.
>> Oh really? Oh.
>> I do not have it.
>> Oh.
>> But the future. Good morning. Dr. Ky, thank you so much for consenting to be interviewed for the Fresno State
Successful Southeast Asians. I would love for you to say your name, spell it, as well as tell me the date and ultimately
give me verbal permission to record you for the Successful Southeast Asian New Archive at Fresno State.
>> Well, good morning, Jennie. You know, today I have the pleasure to be with you and thank you so much for inviting
me. My name is Dr. Paul Ky. P-A-U-L K-Y. I am actually a DO. It is a little bit of difference between a DO and an MD.
But in terms of actual practice, there is not much difference. Okay so.
>> Can you give me verbal permission to record you? And also enter your in our new Southeast Asian, Successful
Southeast Asians. Okay.
>> You do have my permission to record this. And I hope this will give, you know future generations some
contributions.
>> Yes
>> And ways that they can go on and succeed in life.
>> In one hundred years, your interview will be available to the next six generations to listen to. So, thank you. And
ultimately if anyone from, let's say the Cambodian community in Texas or Minnesota, they also can listen. So, it is a
global also. If you could tell me your gender.
>> I am male.
>> Male? Okay.
>> Yes.
>> If you could tell me your birth year. Not the date. Just the year.
>> Birth year is 1968. However, I was actually listed here in 1967 because my parents made a mistake.
>> Okay, what was. Where. What was. Where were you born?
>> I was born in Cambodia in a rural farming land.
>> Okay. What is your ethnic group?
>> My ethnic group -- I consider myself a little bit of a mix. But mainly Chinese.
>> Okay. Chinese from, that grew up in Cambodia?
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>> Yeah, Chinese from Cambodia.
>> Oh, okay. What is your undergraduate major?
>> My undergraduate major was actually in business marketing.
>> Okay. What is your generation in the United States?
>> I am first generation.
>> Okay. What is your mother and father's highest educational background?
>> My, my father was third grader. And my mother has no education.
>> Okay. What is your family composition? Which means, who, when you grew up, who did you grow up with? Like a
brother, sister. And what do they do?
>> I grew up with. Well I. Go back. I grew up in during the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, mainly. I was born into a
corrupted Cambodian government called the [inaudible] government. Which later was taken over by the Chinese backed
communist, the Khmer Rouge. And there I. during the [inaudible] regime, I grew up with mainly my grandparents and
my parents at times. And then, during the Khmer Rouge, I grew up under the regime. I was separated from my parents
to live in the child labors camp for about three years and three months.
>> And then, did you have brothers and sisters?
>> Yes. I have. Now I have two brothers and three sisters.
>> Okay. What was your. What is your family composition now? My family composition now, my immediate family?
>> Mhm.
>> Well, I am married. I have three kids. Two prior to, one current.
>> Oh, great.
>> And then of course the rest of my family.
>> Okay [inaudible].
>> Which is my brother and sister and [inaudible].
>> Okay. And then what is, if you do not remember that is fine. What is your GPA?
>> My GPA was in the undergrad, when I was in business, I was actually only 2.87. I was a struggling student. I did not
speak much English. And then. I actually swore that I would never go back to school after I finish business. However,
my brother got into dental school. And then.
>> His young, younger brother. All younger than me.
>> Okay.
>> And then I said to myself, wow well I am smarter than he is [laughter]. Actually, I think I can do better. So I actually
went back to school. And at that time, I did well cause I was in business outside for a while doing, helping my family
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with a donut business, the restaurant business. And by that time, I actually spoke Spanish quite fluently.
>> Wow.
>> And because of that, it actually helped me in science. When I took science, it was like oh everything makes sense.
Because everything in Spanish is all Latin derived as a result. When I took science class, I excelled in it. And then my
GPA then it jumped to 3.78.
>> So, did you also do this at Fresno State?
>> Yes, I did a post-baccalaureate at Fresno State with an emphasis on premed.
>> Oh wow, interesting.
>> Yes.
>> Okay. So, the social economic background that you grew up in the family, was it working class, middle class, or
fluent which is wealthy? Your family background that you grew up in, in Cambodia and also Fresno.
>> Well, in Cambodia we were, the [inaudible] regime, we were, I would say we were middle class.
>> Middle class, okay.
>> But the communist took everything away, so it came to very poor.
>> Okay. What about Fresno.
>> We were starving. And then in Fresno we were still, we were very poor. When we came here, we were on welfare.
And then.
>> But, why did you come to Fresno? Why Fresno?
>> Oh, we came to Fresno because of the. We came to. We first came to Stockton, which is similar to Fresno, in
Stockton, California. It is mainly agrarian or agriculture. And because you know we have a agriculture background, we
actually came thinking that we were farm in Fresno, I mean in Stockton. And then we got into the sewing business and
we just have sewing clothes at home. And after that, we saved some money, enough money to buy more sewing
machines, just went on and on. So we sewed for about seven years.
>> Oh wow.
>> In the meantime. And at that time we were sewing clothes, making 40 cents, 42 cents for the entire shirt, something,
including buttons and everything over locking. So we did all that. But we save as a family. And then that led us to buy
the first donut shop in 1984 with my mom's cousin. And then as a result that kind of gave us a boost because instead of
making like five/six hundred dollars a month. We started making a couple of thousand a month, which is a lot of money
back then.
>> How, how did you get into the donut, it is through your family members?
>> Yeah, actually.
>> Because are you...
>> It was my cousin.
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>> Are you related to Ted Ngoy or N-G-O-Y?
>> No. I.
>> He is the first Cambodian.
>> No, we would. We are not related to him. But we, we are familiar with him. And because he knows us from
Cambodia.
>> Oh wow, okay. Is he Chinese?
>> Yeah, he is also Chinese Cambodian.
>> Oh interesting. Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> Interesting.
>> He came with nothing also. But they were also in the rice hulling business in Cambodia.
>> Oh wow.
>> And as a result, my father knows him. And they know my father.
>> Did you live in a Chinatown in Cambodia?
>> No, we live in a small village.
>> Okay.
>> In Cambodia.
>> Was it predominantly Chinese? Or no?
>> No, the village. No predominantly Cambodian. But we have like six, seven families are Chinese.
>> And then what ethnic group from China are you from? Do you know like what, when did you come to Cambodia?
What year was that?
>> My dad went to Cambodia when he was 19.
>> Oh.
>> Actually. I take that back. Maybe. No. Yeah, he was 19.
>> From Guangdong?
>> It is the Guangdong province right now. But he is actually from the Hokkien province or the Fujian province.
>> Oh, so you are Fujian.
>> Yeah.
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>> Oh, interesting.
>> Like, my mom is actually [foreign language].
>> Oh okay.
>> I am a mixture. But those, Chaozhou province and the. Before the Chaozhou people they have, you know, their own
province. But then they were overtaken by the Guangdong province. So. So the Fujian and Guangdong is actually very
close. So their language is not too far apart. I would say it is more like, more like Spanish and Portuguese.
>> Did you. When you were growing up in Cambodia, did you speak a Chinese language? Or did you speak
Cambodian? Or both? And did you go to Chinese school?
>> No, we only speak. I never went to school because the communist came over and took it. And then. We only speak
Cambodian. I mean rarely do we speak Chinese.
>> Did your parents speak Cambodian too?
>> Yes.
>> Okay. What about to each other?
>> They sometimes speak Chinese to each other. But during the communist, we could not speak a different language.
They actually would kill you during that time if you speak a different language. A lot of Vietnamese were killed during
Khmer Rouge. A lot of Chinese were killed during Khmer Rouge. Even though the government was backed by China,
we were to be. We were deemed, you know, traders to China. Therefore we were deemed to be, you know, to be
eliminated. Yeah.
>> Interesting. So, where did you go to high school? Was it, was a public high school or a private high school?
>> Yeah, I went to a public high school in Stockton, California.
>> What was the name?
>> Stagg.
>> Stagg.
>> Amos Alonzo Stagg, which was one of the worst high school in Stockton.
>> Oh, interesting.
>> [Inaudible] because there was a lot of gang violence during that time.
>> What is the ethnic background of that? Was it predominantly, what ethnic group?
>> A mixture of whites, blacks, Hispanic. I think I would say mainly, mainly Hispanic and a mixture of whites, blacks
and Asians. Lots of Southeast Asian [inaudible].
>> What type? What type of Southeast Asian?
>> Mainly Vietnamese and then. I would say, you know, a mixture of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Lao.
>> And then were you, was it a small number? Where you one of the few Asians? Or was it a huge, like 70 percent?
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>> I would say we made less 10 percent of the population.
>> So, my question here is, why do many Cambodian or Cambodian-Chinese go to college? And why or why not? Like
why do they go to college? Like, what was it? Why did you go to college?
>> I would say many did not go to college during my time.
>> Okay.
>> Because we just did, we were not equipped to get into college. We, since we were the first generation, we did not
speak the language. We did not understand. We were just very fearful. And we did not have any role model per se. I
went to college because my dad forced me to.
>> Interesting. Tell me more. Tell me more.
>> My dad said I must go to college because everybody, education is very important. Even though he was uneducated,
he said you must go to college.
>> What about all your siblings? Did he say the same?
>> Yeah. And then.
>> Okay.
>> When I went.
>> Were you the first to go?
>> Yes, I was the first to go.
>> Wow.
>> So Fresno State was the first? Or did you go to a junior college and transfer?
>> Actually, I went to a junior college at Stockton, at San Joaquin Delta College.
>> Okay.
>> And then I actually had very minimal goal. I just thought I was going to be a mechanic, technician, like everybody
else. Because I did not have higher aspiration at that time. I just did not know what was out there. What is available to
me. But as I entered college, I found that mechanics was not for me. I took a science. I actually fail. I took, I took. I
mean, I fail so I took, I fail a few quizzes and I just dropped out. Kind of learn from my buddies that on the side, or
peers, they said oh you better drop out soon if you are failing these.
>> Drop out of the major or the school?
>> From the, no just the classes.
>> Okay.
>> And then I decide to well then I just talk to my peers and they said business classes are really easy. It is just simple
mathematics and you know.
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>> Okay.
>> You do not have to know English that well. So, at that time, I just went with the flow and went business and actually
got an AA degree in business. The only science course I took was physics 10, which is some very low level basic
physics. And then went on to just do a lot of business with my family. And then went on to Fresno State for a year. And
then our donut business moved to. Oh I should not say, I should not say Fresno State. I went to Sac State for a year.
>> Okay.
>> And then, our business moved to Fresno. And then I move to Fresno to help my parents.
>> Why did you. Why did your business move to Fresno if you are in Sacramento already?
>> Yeah, well. My dad just happened to found a donut shop here in Fresno with my uncle. So my uncle bought it. And
my dad came to work for him.
>> Oh okay.
>> And then eventually my parents took over that donut shop.
>> It is not Bingo Donut, is it?
>> No, it is not.
>> Okay [laughter]. Another donut.
>> Yeah, there are many Cambodian donut shops here.
>> So, then you talked about your uncle. Did your cousins go to college? It was just you and then later your little
brothers and sisters. But did your cousins go to college or no?
>> They do. My uncle was younger. He was single actually when he did this business. And then he and my parents
came along. And just kind of helped out. And then we took over. And we expanded it more and more. And we had
several shops here in the Central Valley.
>> Oh, great. So, in terms of donuts. In terms of your cousins, did your uncle. Oh your uncle was single. Did you have
any cousins at all, your generation that went to college?
>> Yes. All of my cousins went to college.
>> Really?
>> Yes.
>> What, where did they go to Fresno State?
>> No. Only a few of us went to Fresno State. But a lot of them went to UOP.
>> What was that? University of Pacific?
>> Yes. Davis. Then, one went to Cal Poly.
>> Oh okay.
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>> No, I am sorry. Two went to Cal Poly.
>> Okay.
>> And then yeah.
>> That is very impressive. Why do you think your cousins went to college? Because your whole generation seemed to
go. Well you were the first.
>> Yeah.
>> Why did your cousins go to college?
>> I think we kind of follow each other. And we are kind of very competitive also. Our family is very competitive.
>> Okay.
>> So we. We compete among each other. We help each other. But we compete among each other too. So because of
the internal competition, I think it actually pushed us to do well.
>> Did all your cousins go to college?
>> Yes. We all...
>> That is very rare.
>> We all graduated.
>> Wow that is impressive.
>> We all have very good careers now.
>> That is extremely. And your cousins' children went to college?
>> My cousins' children -- no they are not old enough.
>> Oh they are babies.
>> But they are starting to.
>> Okay.
>> They are starting to yes.
>> That is interesting. One day you may consider write a book about your family. So, if we look at the comparison.
South Indians. Or South Americans -- they go to college at a 70 percent rate. Versus Cambodian, which I guess is 12
percent rate.
>> Right.
>> Why do you think there is a discrepancy within Asians? Like 70 percent, highest in American. Versus, you know a
lower rate.
>> I think Cambodian in particular. Cambodian and Lao's I would say, Laotian, in particular we face a different
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challenge, you know? Cambodia because we were a peasant country and still is now compared to let's say Vietnam or
Vietnamese is also a peasant country, but somehow even during the communist they were also encouraging education.
>> Right.
>> As opposed to the Cambodian -- they discourage education. At least the older folks. Especially during the Khmer
Rouge. Of course, they eliminated education. See, during that time if you wear glasses, they kill you.
>> Right.
>> That means it is indicative of you having some kind of education and able to read. So, you know, in order to squish
or crush the, any possible rebellion, then the best way to do it is to get rid of all the educated people. Then there is no
outside knowledge, I would say, influence and as a result less to have power of rebellion against government. And then,
also the Cambodian culture in particular, I believe just does not encourage or support education as much as. Actually
support education in action as much as other culture.
>> Okay. Excellent. Thank you. So, do Cambodian students have strong relationships with administrators and faculty?
Why or why not?
>> I say no.
>> Tell me why.
>> Cambodians are not as open. And we tend to be a little bit more submissive. It is not. It is kind of engrained in the
culture.
>> Okay.
>> We are not gung-ho's.
>> Okay.
>> You know. For my family, in particular, we are gung-ho because we have the internal, the internal competition I
believe.
>> Okay.
>> It is not.
>> Pushed by your dad.
>> By my dad. And.
>> Competition with your cousin, okay.
>> Yeah, cousin. So we are always competitive.
>> What about your mom? Does she push education?
>> She does. But she, she push. My mom, my mom she is the type who carries. She does not even carry. Is not a
[inaudible] stick type of thing. My dad carries a stick. But. My mom does not. She push us softly. There is a, there is
some. I do not know. I would say she has some internal power that we seem to be, we yield to our mom more than our
dad.
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>> Interesting.
>> Because somehow my mom does not have to raise her voice or anything like that. But she gets things done.
>> Oooh interesting. And does she tell you to go to college?
>> She does very lightly. You know, she is like yeah you know why don't you consider it, I mean look at your brother,
sister. And you know.
>> Okay.
>> She supports that way. And financially they support us. They work hard. They work 16 hours, 18 hours a day, 365
days a year to get us to college.
>> So seeing them work so hard, did that have an effect on you? Because you also worked.
>> I would say definitely. For us, you know, I was the oldest able body in the family with my parents. So, because of
that, I had, I had an obligation to make sure all my families, my siblings you know get ahead. Have an opportunity to get
ahead. So, because of that, I worked hard. And especially doing my post-bacc year, I really realized how hard, you
know how, how hard life was out there. And as a result, I worked really hard. I was very determined to get it. No matter
what.
>> Okay.
>> I was. That was the thing that sets me apart from my prior years and from my peers. Because we were I think less
than a handful that got into med school from Fresno State during that year.
>> Wow. That is impressive.
>> So, because of that, we. I mean, I was determined to get in. I was like no matter what I am going to become a
physician. And because of that, I worked really hard and the challenges that faced me was very difficult and since I had
a 2.87 grade point average, which is mediocre, you could never get into med school with that kind of thing. And then for
me to overcome that, I had to take so many years more and took all the science course all at the same time. And showed
them that I was truly a different breed that I had, I did at least 20 hours of volunteer work to teach the SCOP program,
Science Career Opportunity program here at Fresno State, as well as do volunteer work at Fresno Community and other
areas, even like [inaudible] in Stockton. So I did all of those, as well as work full time to get in.
>> Wow.
>> Because I was really determined to get in.
>> Okay.
>> No matter what, I was going to get in.
>> Wow, okay.
>> So as a result we, you know I was very successful and yeah. And I had a good. The key was a good buddy system.
>> Okay.
>> I did not stick.
>> Tell me more with the buddy system.
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>> Yeah. I, I. You know because I was determined to, to become proficient in Spanish at that time also. So I chose the
buddy system that Hispanic.
>> Okay.
>> And the two Hispanic ladies that is my very, very close friend and we are still close friend today, we were the ones
that got into med school.
>> Oh wow. Okay.
>> We actually push each other day and night. I mean we had to study.
>> So it was two women?
>> Yes.
>> Oh, interesting.
>> And I found myself when we studied, because they were. I found those two to be very determined and dedicated to
get in, to be successful. So, once I found them. I mean they were not the smartest one. One was the smartest at Fresno
State. She actually got the Dean's Medal.
>> Oh wow.
>> You know the. All the medical school, they were sending out the deans to pick her up.
>> Wow.
>> Colorado send their Dean of Medical School. They try to come and woo her to get her over there. So, she was
definitely a different breed. She had some brain power. But the other girl was just mediocre like me really. But we were
all determined to make it [inaudible]. We studied together when we need to. And that. The buddy system was the one
that works. And I found out later in med school why that system works best. A lot of people they are mislead as to how
is, is it to best study for a certain subject. A lot of people say well I got to read by myself. If I cannot understand, I get
distracted. In actuality, research have shown that you have five senses, you know including smell, touch, taste, sight and
hearing. So if you incorporate all of those five senses at the same time or simultaneously or almost simultaneously, then
you are able to capture or commit context or text into memory.
>> Okay.
>> At a, at an exponential rate.
>> Wow.
>> Not, not summation. But exponential.
>> Wow.
>> Meaning, if you combine let's say reading, so you are using your sight. And you are actually saying it out.
>> Okay.
>> It is you are almost like touching because that is an action -- movement. And then you are, because you are saying it
out, you are hearing it yourself. That is using three senses. Auditory. And then of. You are saying do all that. And then
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write it some more. That is. Well writing and saying is similar in the sense that you are touching and you are doing your
movement or mode of movement. As a result, you have much, much greater retention of context of materials.
>> Interesting.
>> I learned that in med school
>> Okay.
>> But I have always, I have always. I should say, attracted myself to those kind of studies sessions.
>> Okay.
>> I would. Us three, we are so committed, we rarely miss any study session together.
>> Okay.
>> We would go to Denny's here actually and just.
>> Oh wow.
>> Just drink coffee and eat one of their breakfast and then just spend all day, all night until they kick us out. So. But.
>> That is great. That is a great tip.
>> But because of that, we, like I said, that is why we were successful. And we utilize these techniques. And.
>> Excellent. So and I assume those two Latino women were first generation like you, first generation in college
students? First generation?
>> Yes, first generation college students.
>> So it was like immigrant.
>> They were born here. But they are first generation. And they both speak Spanish. And so I sought them out for that
reason also. Because at that time, I become more and more proficient in Spanish.
>> Okay, excellent. So, we have an issue. So, thank you for telling me about the faculty and administrator. What is your
favorite subject? What is your least favorite subject?
>> My favorite subject I would say chemistry.
>> Chemistry?
>> Because I just excelled in it. I aced all my classes and.
>> Wow.
>> And then.
>> People are very fearful of chemistry.
>> Yeah. I found that to be very easy because there is a system to it.
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>> Okay.
>> So once you learn some system and then it is like oh they are kind of like. Everything else is kind of. Revelations
come after revelations come after revelations because there is a system. Instead of like biology or something like that,
where you have memorize a lot of stuff. See when there is a system, you only have to memorize the basic stuff. And the
rest is kind of picks on itself.
>> Okay.
>> But like mathematics, same thing. But as opposed to biology, more along the biological line, then there is a lot of
sheer memorization.
>> Okay.
>> Which is also needed because you need to memorize in order to learn things quickly. A lot of people do not, say, say
it the other way. Like the core program, they say you must understand. That, I disagree with that. You have to
memorize. Because now I speak five languages because.
>> Oh wow. What are the five languages?
>> Well Cambodian, Cantonese, Mandarin because they are the separate languages. Spanish, English. And I am
learning some Vietnamese as well. Hmong. I am learning that.
>> Wow.
>> And I am learning Thai too.
>> Oh my goodness. Impressive.
>> I love languages and I think it is the key to assimilation, a key to, for lack of better word -- infiltrate the culture and
the.
>> That is a good point.
>> You know, not in a bad way, like infiltrate. But infiltrate the culture and ethnic group.
>> Okay.
>> Because I find that I am able to break barriers with these language skills.
>> Great. What is your least favorite class?
>> I probably would say. Hm. Least favorite class, probably English.
>> English. Alright.
>> But, I find that English is of paramount importance because your ability to you know express yourself determines
how successful you are in reality.
>> Okay. Have you ever been mentored?
>> Not directly. I would say I have been mentored by my teachers. I have particular teachers that I love and I just cling
on to them, you know. So, now I learn later the four concepts of success is key. I see, you know success you do not have
to reinvent the wheel. You know? Success is to see successful people and do it exactly as they do it. And you also will
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be successful.
>> Okay.
>> And there is, there is four key to that. First is observation. Second is to mimic or duplicate what they do exactly. And
third is to replicate until you perfect it -- meaning to do it, do the same thing over and over and over and over and over
and over and over until you perfect it. And then fourth is to innovate. Now that is when you become more successful
than other people. So a lot of people, a lot of people make the mistake and say, well they think they have to be Steve
Jobs. [Inaudible] Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, you know. But they are one in seven billion.
>> Right.
>> Or two in seven billion. There is very few of those. There is very few Einstein's. We do not need to be Einstein to be
successful. All you have to do is be regular Joe. If you want to be Joe the mechanic, then you go and do exactly what
Joe the mechanic did to succeed. Then you also will succeed. I believe.
>> Okay.
>> So, so that is the key to success, I believe.
>> Thank you. What were the teacher expectations of you in high school? Did they have neutral, low or high
expectations of you?
>> I think most of my teachers were nonchalant.
>> Okay.
>> Except one that I remember -- Mr. Pedro. He was a Filipino teacher. Very short guy. Mustache. And a goatee and.
And every student was fearful of him. And he had high expectation. Because of that, I think we excelled. And I believe
in high expectation. The lower the expectation, the lower the performance.
>> Interesting.
>> And studies have shown that. Studies have shown that. And just like my family, we have very high expectation of
each other. As the result, we have become more successful, I believe. Not because of a family gene pool or anything like
that. I do not believe in so much genes and innate ability. I believe those ability can be nurtured and cultured. And
realistically it has to be put your feet to the fire and you will perform better.
>> Okay. [Inaudible]. What is, what is. Do you remember any notable depictions of your ethnic group in the media at
all? The Cambodians in the media, movies, TV? Anything you remember growing up?
>> Yeah. I mean most notable was the killing fields, you know.
>> Okay.
>> Actually they, the star of that he has since been killed.
>> Right.
>> But the star of the killing fields, he actually was in the camps with us because my sister. He is a doctor in Cambodia.
>> Right.
>> I think he is part Vietnamese also. [Inaudible]. And then. But we were actually. We know him from the camps in the
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Cambodia because he picked out family out in particular because my sister is a tetraplegic. My older sister is what we
call cerebral, tetraplegic -- spastic tetraplegic cerebral palsy. So basically, she was born with the cord around her neck.
And so she had some spinal cord issue and a little bit of brain issue as well. But even her, she actually did well. She
graduated with two master degrees.
>> My goodness! That is excellent.
>> Yeah. So, I mean, even in light of her disability. And she has severe disability. She can barely move her arms and
legs. She had to undergo many surgeries. And she, she has been an inspiration for us actually.
>> Really? Okay.
>> Because if she can do it, certainly all of us can do it.
>> Right.
>> Yes.
>> Great. Thank you. Coming from Stockton and later moving to Fresno, did you think that you were academically
prepared going to Fresno State, also junior college? Were you prepared from high school? Did your high school prepare
you?
>> No. None of those prepared me.
>> Okay [laughter].
>> Like I said, I am a little bit of a special case in the sense that I am one of the first generation that we were. We were
totally lost in this society because we had never seen lights or you know buildings like this. You know, we came. I say
in Spanish, [foreign language]. Well, that means we came without any slippers or underwears. And literally we came
like that. And because of that it is, it was just a total culture shock for us. But somehow we made it through. We just
said, you know what we just go. We need to graduate. We need to do this. And with determination we were able to
make it.
>> Okay. Excellent. You talked actually already a lot about the barriers [inaudible] you were a child laborer person.
And you talked about your family. And you said you worked outside of, outside of a class too. How many hours did you
work a week?
>> Well I was working 40 to 50 hours a week.
>> Wow. Okay.
>> This is in my baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate years.
>> That is a big barrier education, I mean hours of work.
>> Yeah. At that same time, I think it made me successful that way. Because I was able to juggle different things and do
it.
>> Okay.
>> I think if I had not done that, I do not think I would be as successful as today as a medical student, as well as a
doctor. In fact, med school was quite easy. I breezed through it.
>> So, you did 40 hours a week and also did medical school?
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>> No, before med school.
>> Okay.
>> Now, once I did med school, I was totally entrenched in it.
>> Okay.
>> But it was an easy transition. Medical school was easy for me.
>> Wow. Okay.
>> Getting in was hard because of the barriers. Yeah.
>> Did you find that you had any other cultural barriers? Or educational barriers? Or financial barriers? Structural
health or gender barriers? Such as were you funded when you went to Fresno State?
>> No. Because I was working, I was not funded. Now, when I went. When I went to. Well, I should not say that. Junior
college I was funded partially by Pell Grant.
>> Okay.
>> And then at Fresno State, I was funded the first year.
>> Okay. Wow. That is pretty good.
>> Yeah. And then at that time, tuition was not that much. It was like 17 hundred dollars or something like that. And it
was a lot of money. But still it was not as much as now I do not think.
>> Okay.
>> But I worked my way through. I had to.
>> Okay.
>> I found that if I worked, I make more money and I can help my family and myself.
>> Okay.
>> What about gender? Do you feel that if you were a different gender your life would be different, in terms of like
cultural expectations?
>> No, I actually think it was advantageous to be a man at that time because a man [inaudible].
>> Tell me more. Tell me more.
>> You know, so it was advantageous for me because my family push and support more of the man I guess. But at the
end, we support every single kid whether man or woman. You know, we all afforded to go to college. We push
everyone to go to college to make sure [inaudible].
>> Did you see. So in your family everyone was supported?
>> Yeah.
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>> Did you see any difference in gender expectations at all for the females.
>> Yeah. The man is expected to succeed more than the female. Because females, like I said in our discussion earlier,
you can always marry away you know, to a successful man or more successful family. So.
>> Okay. Good to know.
>> But. Yeah.
>> So this is actually other barriers. Did you experience any micro aggression like racism or anything like that in school
or any kind of? Like little things. Not like huge things. Or anything big or small.
>> I mean, I do. You know, the. But at the same time, I do not let those things. I call those things little miniscule stuff.
>> Okay.
>> You know that does not affect me. Because if you, if you let those things affect you, then of course, you cannot make
it. You know, oh they call you a chink or a gook, whatever. You really do not care. I hate to say it, I do not give a shit.
>> Okay.
>> You know, if, if you just care so much about these little politics and all that stuff, then you will never make it. The
key to success is determination drive. I care a less. I just put my head down and just drive through. And then. And that is
what we do as a family also. We do not. We do not think about oh Mexicans are looking down on us or whatever. I
really do not care.
>> Okay.
>> I actually looked you know, I look to Vietnamese. Because I say, you know what, Vietnamese are one of the most
successful people in the world. And especially in America. They are one of the most successful people here. There is a
reason. We are just neighbors. And, and I do not think they are genetically better or anything like that. But culturally
they are better because they have great support. They believe in competition. And so as a result, I believe that is why
Vietnamese do very well. So I just emulate from what the Vietnamese do.
>> They have like Confucian kind effected by China.
>> Right. So because I. And they have been kicked around by Chinese for a long time by China itself. So because of
how they have to struggle, I believe they are a role model for me if anything.
>> Interesting.
>> As a culture, I look to Vietnamese. And I have lots of Vietnamese friends you know. Now, Cambodians there is a lot
of cultural battle between the Cambodian and the Vietnamese. And a lot of people get stuck by that, oh my God
Vietnamese are evil. They are taking over our land. I do not see that.
>> Okay.
>> Just like I do not see, you know Japanese as evil. You know, yes they took over Southeast Asia and all that stuff. I
do not see them. Some Chinese they have that resentment against you know Japanese. And they say oh you must kill
their entire generation and all that stuff. I really care a less about that. I just look as people as they are an individual.
And, but at the same time if they have a culture advantage of pushing, like the Vietnamese people do, I actually take and
run with it. You know, I say, hey if they can succeed, I can succeed too.
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>> Okay.
>> And that is how we see it.
>> Okay. Excellent. So that is the second part. And then we are going to do the third and last part. Is there any question
that I did not ask you about barriers that you think that would be. I mean, do you, can you think of any barriers that
would affect Cambodian-American, or Southeast Asians? Or even the gender barriers? I mean we talked about how
earlier it is a male issue. But also a female issue. But do you think of any barriers I did not ask you that are affecting
particularly males because it is more males dropping out, right?
>> Right.
>> What is the reason? Because the women are making it through, right?
>> Yeah. I. That I cannot answer. I do not. There are always going to be barriers. But also barriers can also be an
opportunity. Barriers can provide opportunity for you to overcome those barriers. You know, if you overcome these
barriers that are set before you, these obstacles. You are more equipped to succeed. So, yes there are barriers, in a sense
that there is less support. Because the Cambodian people here tend to be less successful in general from the family side.
So there is less support from that sense. So, from that standpoint, you do not have a silver spoon in your, you know your
mouth. Okay. Also, okay, we can say the Cambodian people do not really support education that much. Even though
they say they do, they really. The action does not follow that. So, I can say okay, compared to Vietnamese we do not
have that as well. But, I do not look at it that way. I look at it, hey you know what, there is plenty of opportunities in
America to make it. You can say discrimination [inaudible]. You can use all kinds of excuses to fail. If you do that, you
will fail. But if you actually say, you know what put your head down and do it. In Spanish we say, [foreign language].
That means just do it without any fear. Do it with all the conviction, you know [foreign language]. You know, do it with
balls. I mean there.
>> Okay.
>> Without, without fear you can make it.
>> Okay.
>> And that is.
>> Great.
>> If you have that kind of attitude, you will make it.
>> Great. Excellent. So, we are on the third part. You are actually very rare. You know, first generation. Also to get a
medical degree.
>> Yes.
>> That is very rare. You sort of are like a bit of a unicorn, right?
>> Yes.
>> Even for the second and third, it is actually quite impressive. So what is it about your personality? You, you know
Dr. Paul, like Dr. Paul Ky. Why? What is it about your personality that made you succeed when so many people and
particularly first generation, but also the second generation are not succeeding. So about your personality in particular.
Like what was it about you, Paul in first grade, second grade, third -- why did you make it?
>> Now let's see first grade, third grade, obviously I never went to first. Well, I kind of lied. We first came to Houston. I
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went to Kindergarten for maybe three weeks. And then they took me to first grade for about a month or so. Because of
the influx of refugees, they did not know what do with us. So. And then they took me to third grade for a month or so.
And then they took me to fifth grade.
>> Okay.
>> So I did all that in 11 months.
>> Wow!
>> And then when I came to Stockton. After 11 months we moved to Stockton to look for better opportunities or jobs
basically. We went and I think I went, I went to sixth grade yeah.
>> Okay.
>> So, I am sorry no I went to. Yeah sixth grade for a little bit. And then I went to seventh grade and eight grade.
Finished that. Four grades. Yeah.
>> Wow.
>> And I actually finish from high school in three years because I took. Although, I did not speak English, much
English then.
>> How did you go through high school without speaking English?
>> I do not know. They. I just went to class and they just pass me. I did not do well in high school. I had 3.15
something. Because I. You know that was the first few years of our life here. And I did not speak. I did not have much
to contribute.
>> But you finished.
>> Yeah I finish in three years because my dad forced me to go to summer school. Every single summer school, I have
to take two full classes.
>> Oh wow. Okay.
>> And as a result, I finish all these classes and I took an extra period during the regular high school. And then I also
went to Delta College and took some classes so I can finish. So I finish. I graduated a year earlier.
>> Wow. That is, that is amazing actually. So, why, why, what about your personality? Because.
>> My personality for me.
>> Do you just not see barriers?
>> I. Yeah, we do not see barriers too much. I mean our family, this is why we are successful. We do not see barrier.
There is no doubt there are barriers. You know? We have been kicked around. We have been, you know called all kinds
of name. But I do not really care about that stuff. Because ultimately if successful, they do not. If you are successful
doctor, like Dr. Carson, we do not call him, hello Mr. Black doctor. We do not call him the N word. You know, even the
KKK brought the kid to Dr. Carson to be separated by him. To separate the brain, the siamese twins, you know? By the
great Dr. Carson.
>> Oh are you talking about Ben [inaudible]?
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>> Ben Carson. I actually worked with him.
>> Oh the presidential.
>> Yeah, yeah candidate.
>> Yeah, yeah okay.
>> I actually worked with him. I used to take care of his kids. Not his actual kids. But the kids that he separated because
I was a rehab, a rehab resident at Hopkins. And then at that time you know, you know. So. He did not retire yet. He was
still the director of [inaudible] in Johns Hopkins. And so we took care of his kids.
>> Wow, okay.
>> Like I said, I went all the way from child labor camp, all the way to Johns Hopkins. I think I did pretty good.
>> Yeah, that is top point one percent.
>> Yeah. But not because I was brilliant. Rather because I worked hard to get there. And that is the key, I believe. It is
not like, oh you were born one brilliant. In fact, I did not even know how to count my own fingers until I was here in
America. I did not literally know how to count my own fingers. One, two, three, four, five in my language.
>> Wow.
>> Because we did not have any education. They eliminated all education in Cambodia. So. So it, it. Talking about
barriers, I face plenty of barriers. But I did not see that. I did not know any better that there were barriers. Because of
my ignorance to barriers, I believe it did not affect me that much.
>> Wow. Thank you. And I think you already answered this one because your family obviously pushed you to go to
college. What other bridges? Like you talked about your sister as inspiring. You talked about your family. You talked
about your kind of attitude of you do not see barriers, right? And then you work really hard and so. Were there any other
things that made you success, like bridges? Like instead of barriers, what are other things about you that made you be
successful? You talk about your brother went to dental school. So. What other bridges?
>> Because he got in dental school, he motivated all of us. And then my youngest sister got into dental school. And I
was like.
>> Wow.
>> She is seven years younger than I am. She is in dental school. I am like, shoot I better move my ass.
>> Right, right, right.
>> So. I am the lazy one.
>> So your siblings.
>> My siblings were my role model really.
>> Wow, okay.
>> I will say it was an opportunity. We did have an opportunity. Role model early on that if we did not have probably
maybe we did not realize the opportunity. Did not actually understand it.
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>> Okay.
>> So, my dad he is Chinese. And we used to sew clothes for this lady, who is Chinese, married to a Chinese dentist.
>> Okay.
>> And she brought us to him to be his client or introduce us to her husband to be his dental clients. So from there, of
course they were Chinese. My dad speak Cantonese. And then so they spoke to each other. They were kind of became
good acquaintance more than just clients. So, then my dad had a vision. And this I have to give credit to my dad quite a
bit. Because of this vision he had, he, he actually dare to ask the dentist at that time. And say, would you be willing to
take on one of my kids. Just one of my kids.
>> Wow.
>> And let him do anything. You know, sweep outside. Whatever. We do not want to get paid. We just want to. I just
want him to have an opportunity. So, I have to say my dad, even though.
>> Wow.
>> He did not have the education, he did have that vision. And with that opportunity, you know within three weeks my
brother was able to demonstrate that he was reliable and actually.
>> Your little brother?
>> Yeah, my younger brother. And taught him how to do what we call Crozats, which is a form of brace. Like now they
have Invisalign, which is much nicer and much more visually how do you say, accommodative. But, at that time, they
had a technology called Crozats. And they were actually moving. It is like a moving dynamic brace at all time. They just
have to move a little bit of these, these pointy stuff. And then. But, anyway, he was able to capture that and able to learn
it quite quickly. And.
>> Oh wow.
>> Within three weeks he was being paid. He was being paid a lot. Like 12 dollars an hour.
>> Wow.
>> And at that time, 1985, 1984.
>> That is a lot now.
>> That is a lot of money.
>> That is a lot now.
>> We were like wow. And then I actually felt stupid because my dad asked me first and then I refused.
>> Oh.
>> I said I do not want to be something like that. So, my brother took it. And that is how he was.
>> He ran.
>> Yeah, he ran with it. And he went into UOP and did really well. And then got into dental school.
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>> So it is something your father particularly doing that with a third grade education. I mean. I mean that is amazing.
>> Yeah.
>> That is amazing. He just asked an acquaintance.
>> Yes.
>> Okay. Wow.
>> So.
>> The Chinese connection. The Cantonese. Okay. Alright. That is a huge bridge that people do not know about.
Anything else? Because that is a lot of activism on your dad's part.
>> Yeah.
>> Because two of your siblings are dentists, right?
>> Three.
>> Three. Wow.
>> Three dentists and two medical doctors.
>> Wow.
>> One is an MD. My brother was. The youngest brother, he is, I would say he is the brightest in terms of natural
abilities because he was born in Thailand for, after 12 days he was here in America already.
>> Wow.
>> So just a recent birth. And then he came here because he did not have any quote unquote barriers, in terms of like
language or culture.
>> He missed the child labor fields?
>> Yeah, right. So as a result he actually, did excel and did really well. But unfortunately after the first year, he got into
the UC Riverside, UCLA Medical Program.
>> Wow.
>> The seven year program.
>> Wow.
>> So.
>> That is very impressive. It is like less than five percent.
>> Yeah. But because. But after the first year, going into the second year. After the first semester of the second year,
unfortunately he had a major accident.
>> Oh no.
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>> And actually he had what we call a major accident. Flip over on I5. It was on the news everywhere.
>> Oh no.
>> And he was. We did not know. He actually. They took him to a [inaudible] hospital in Modesto, save his life. He had
brain matter exposure. Meaning the brain came out. He had the plunger in the rearview mirror went into his brain and
his brain gushed out actually. But because of that it kind of save his life also. So that was at 19 years old. And somehow
he was able to gain you know miraculous recovery.
>> Oh great.
>> Went on to med school.
>> Wow.
>> And done really well. He went to UCLA and graduate with a medical degree from UCLA. And went on to UCSD for
his residency. And he is a fellow. Well was a fellow from UCSD as well in pain management. That is what we do both.
>> Your family is quite exceptional. Quite exceptional.
>> Yes we are in that way.
>> From so much barriers. I mean, that is. Being in a massive car accident, that is huge.
>> So that one, we did not expect that. We did not expect him to live actually. But, it took quite a bit of rehab. But
fortunately he had a lot of natural abilities early on. And he gain. He was a gracious reader. Because of that, I think that
is why he did really well.
>> Okay.
>> Otherwise, he might not have made it. Yeah.
>> Thank you for sharing that story. Were there any cultural. The cultural kind of bridges, such as for instance there is a
Hmong, a Hmong or history. Which they are also interviewing Hmong B-Boys. And so those dancers, they all say
because they are break dancers, B-Boys, they use dance to not get into gangs. And so they are from Fresno. But all of
them because dancers. And then because of that the, the gangsters respected them. And they use dance to get to Fresno
State and graduate. So did you have any cultural, like is there a Cambodian Association? Is there a Cambodian club? Is
there Cambodian dancing? Did you do any of that?
>> Now there is.
>> Okay.
>> Now there is. There is more support for Cambodians now than ever.
>> Okay.
>> At our time, not really because we were the first generations here.
>> Okay.
>> I would say my brother, you know my younger brother and sister, yes they had bridges and we were their bridge.
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>> Right. You helped them. You helped each other.
>> At the beginning, we did not. We only had some community support. The one that came here in 1975. But that is far
and few.
>> The refugee sponsor?
>> The refugee that came here in 1975 or 76. They helped us.
>> Is it your sponsor?
>> Not really a sponsor.
>> It is like Christian church?
>> Yeah. Some of them were sponsors.
>> Okay.
>> Most of them.
>> Did you have a sponsor?
>> We did.
>> Oh okay.
>> We are very grateful for that. Because without the sponsor we would never be here. I just visit her last year. I did
lose my grandpa. My sponsor grandpa that is.
>> Oh, I am sorry. Alright. So that is a huge one. So, so now this is kind of the fun part. Most people like this the best.
We. You know what you are saying is very effective. And I think very inspiring. So, what do you want at Fresno State
to make people graduate? I mean things that you think. So for instance, do you want smaller classes? Does that make
any difference to you?
>> I do not know how big the classes are now. But.
>> Pretty big. 45.
>> It would be nice.
>> Nice. Okay.
>> Obviously the smaller classes are good, you know. Because I succeeded because I went to Fresno State.
>> Interesting.
>> If I had not gone to Fresno State, I probably would not succeed as much.
>> Why? Tell me more. Why Fresno State?
>> The reason being, you hit it on the point in the sense that it is kind of small classes. Yes. I had like 40 something, 50
something. But I consider that kind of small still. Because at bigger university, more famous university.
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>> Two hundred.
>> Two hundred, two thousand.
>> Three hundred. Yeah.
>> Yeah. So.
>> I took classes. Three hundred.
>> So you were just a number. The professor does not even know you.
>> Right.
>> Now, I got into Fresno State, I had some great letter of recommendations. And one particular, you know physician. I
mean, not physician. One particular mentor, professor, Dr. Steven Rotamaier [assumed spelling], he. I admire him very
much. And he actually helped us, you know in ways beyond his capacity really, you know.
>> Did you have any interaction with Dr. Katsu [assumed spelling]?
>> Yes, I have.
>> You know who I am talking about, right?
>> Yes.
>> Yes. Please tell me.
>> A shorter.
>> Yes. Japanese.
>> Japanese lady. Yes.
>> Did you?
>> We still keep in contact actually. I see her every now and then at the Cambodian gatherings or something. Or.
>> Is it Kotsue [phonetic] or?
>> Yeah [inaudible].
>> Okay. Does she help you?
>> She helped a lot because she was inspiration, inspirational to us during that time, you know. She would give us like
achievement awards and all that stuff. You know.
>> Oh wow.
>> The first Asian to graduate.
>> Oh.
>> Honors. So that was really nice.
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>> Okay.
>> We felt good to get that certificate. And I think it would be helpful to give people, you know milestone markers.
>> Okay.
>> Such as an achievement award or.
>> I am going to write that down.
>> All those things actually come, come down.
>> [Inaudible] award. Okay.
>> You know what, those actually help you in future acceptance.
>> Okay.
>> In fact, I was you know part of the acceptance committee at my medical school and at Johns Hopkins.
>> Okay.
>> We look for that.
>> Interesting.
>> We look for people. Not just grades. We actually look for people who are achieving or being recognized for their
merit, you know. So we are talking about merit based. Not just to give someone a certificate. You know. But merit
based recognition.
>> Okay. Great. What about co-ethnic professors. Would that make any difference if you had Asian professors?
>> I believe so. It is nice to see role models, you know.
>> Okay. What about co-ethnic classmates? Like UC Irvine is 70 percent Asian.
>> Yeah.
>> Difference or no difference?
>> I do not know. I am. To me not much of a difference.
>> Okay.
>> But I can see that some people can see oh okay, more diversity. The more diversity there is, the more prepared you
are for the world.
>> Okay.
>> That is how I see it. I mean if you are. I believe in going to regular school and not private school because I think you
see more diverse.
>> Okay.
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>> Background whether ethnicity or even financially.
>> Okay.
>> Or culturally. The more diverse you are, the more successful you are.
>> Okay.
>> And you can look at microcosm of Singaporean. Singapore is probably one of the most diverse.
>> It is.
>> Society ever. When all those Singaporean come over here, over sea, they are highly successful. I met a few of them.
They.
>> Yeah.
>> They would go to school in two and a half years or two years at Fresno State. And they would get straight A's. And
graduate with honors in two years, as opposed it took us four or five years.
>> Yeah.
>> Why? It is not because they are superior. In a sense, they have superior cultural push. The competition is very stiff.
>> It is.
>> And they do very well. Now, people say well competition is bad for you. No, competition is very good for you.
Now, if you look at overall success. Competition brings out the best in people. Now, many are, well what about those
people that did not have an opportunity, they cannot compete. That is not true. They can also compete very well. Now,
are there are advantages if you, you know. For instance, you know, people who are wealthier and who are doctors
already, are their kids have an advantage?
>> Right.
>> Yeah, but that does not. That does not.
>> Will your kids have an advantage?
>> Yeah. Well that is the thing.
>> From you?
>> Not necessarily. In fact, two of my kids are not doing very well because you know, maybe I spoiled them and you
know. Not maybe. Actually I did. And that was the wrong thing to do. Unlike my parents. I did not get spoiled. And I
had to struggle for every single penny. I did not buy shoes and all that because I realized how hard it was to make that
penny. And.
>> Okay.
>> With my kids, I bought them Alexis and all that stuff. And then now I have ruined their lives.
>> Okay. Good to know.
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>> Yeah.
>> What about ethnic clubs? Did you have a Cambodian club or a Chinese club? An Asian club?
>> We did. We did.
>> More clubs?
>> Ethnic clubs. Even though I am Chinese, I could not penetrate the Chinese ethnic at the time because at that time I
did not speak Chinese. I was still learning. I only spoke Chinese because I went on the internet and learned it myself.
>> Oh my god. That is amazing.
>> You know, I went on Yahoo Chat and just start chatting. And that is how I learn my Chinese most of them.
>> Wow.
>> And I continue to learn today.
>> That is pretty amazing. Okay. What about college success workshops? Did you need a workshop that would have
helped you?
>> Yeah, it did. I did have a couple workshop. They did help.
>> What do you, what do you need more? If you had an ideal, what does Fresno State need to give you more? Or what
did you think was good?
>> I think it would be nice to have these workshops. We are talking about higher education, right?
>> In college. Like, what workshops do you even want it on? Like, some people say I want a workshop on financial aid.
I want a workshop on FAFSA. What do you?
>> All of those are important because you know kids. Although a lot of it is out here in the palm of your hand, you
know. Because the smart phone has access to everything. Which we did not have back then. I do not think they are using
those information correctly. I think they are just texting, hey how you doing. What is up, yo. And that is all they do all
day.
>> Instragram.
>> Yeah.
>> Selfie.
>> Yeah, selfie all day. And they do not know anything. So in. I think you do need workshops to make people realize
what is out there. Now, if you are talking about workshops. There are workshops on, in the palm of your hand
everywhere you go. You know, you go to Podcast, they will show you how to fill out a FAFSA, I am sure. You know,
there are. You can take all AP classes you know, advanced prep biology, chemistry, all on Podcast. I just. Now I take
my time and I actually listen to Podcasts in science still.
>> Oh wow.
>> So, you know. There is plenty of resources to succeed. There is more resources that you need to succeed really if you
actually use it. You just need to use it.
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>> Okay.
>> And the people I do not think they use wisely.
>> Okay, excellent. Anything that you need at Fresno State? Or any college that will help Southeast Asians, particularly
males, to graduate. Anything that you need the college to have?
>> I think a mentorship program would be good.
>> Yes. Mentorship. Okay.
>> You know, like for instance, there is plenty of people out there including myself. I am willing to help out, if they are
willing to reach out, you know.
>> Okay.
>> And see what we can do to help to bring, whether Asian or Hispanic, whatever, you know.
>> okay.
>> Whoever. Whites. I do not care, you know. They need. Mentorship leads to greater interaction with successful
people. And as a result, I think that interaction will gear those people to a certain way of thinking.
>> Okay.
>> That could prepare them for success.
>> I know someone that you might be able to mentor.
>> Yeah.
>> Who is a brilliant student. Okay, great. So this is the last part. Thank you so much for giving me one hour of great
advice and your story. So, you know, in probably 10 more years, we are going to have the third generation. The second
generation is struggling now.
>> Yes.
>> What advice do you have for the second that are struggling? Third and fourth generation that hears your story, what
can you tell them advice to stay in school?
>> Yeah well.
>> Because they want to drop out.
>> Well, I can tell you this. If you do not stay in school, more likely you will definitely fail. Okay. Why? Not because I
am a grim, a grim reaper or anything like that. But rather now more than ever you need the educational advantage
because the market is getting bigger and bigger and bigger. The competition is higher and higher. So you better have
some specific knowledge. Specific skills that gears you to compete in the world. Not compete in America. You know,
compete in the world. Because there is a global market.
>> Okay.
>> And if we continue to be thinking that we are the greatest, we are the isolation, you know. We can isolate ourselves
from all of that competition. You are wrong. Because you know, you do not have. You do not have to have. Even
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AT&T their representative is in Singapore, in you know Ghana, wherever the hell they are. You know, they are taking
all our jobs. You better be prepared to succeed in that way because the competition is stiff. If you do not go to college,
you are a guaranteed failure. I mean, like I said, oh my God that is not true you have great success from high school
dropout. Yes, only three people that you do not know.
>> Out of billions.
>> You know what I mean? Out of billions.
>> They all say that. They always say that. But.
>> They are genius.
>> They always say that. But those people. Zuckerberg.
>> Right. And even Zuckerberg he got lucky, you know what I mean. He got his friends to do it. And then. Anyway.
But yes there are some great ones out there. You know the Uber generator and so forth. Fine. But those are rare breeds.
Rare, rare gems. You do not need to be that rare gems. You could be the common gems. But, but really shine as a star.
You know? You can really be brilliantly shining in the world if you actually just work hard. Put your head to it. And do
not make excuses. There is no excuses for failure. If you take excuses. Oh, I am Cambodian. I am a man. Oh it is harder
now.
>> Right, right.
>> You are not going to make it period. And if you truly put my four concept to success. I call it the keys to success.
And my name being K-Y being Ky. The four keys to success is one is to observe successful people. And that can be in a
myriad of ways. Whatever you are success, your definition of success is. Okay?
>> Okay.
>> Two -- mimic exactly what they do, which is duplicate what they do.
>> Okay.
>> Three -- replicate that successful ways until you perfect it.
>> Okay.
>> Or I should say perfect it. Yeah. Replication.
>> Replicate the successful ways until you.
>> Until perfection is achieved.
>> Okay.
>> Four -- innovate.
>> Okay.
>> And it should be done in that sequence. Some people will say, oh I will actually. You know. I see this. Let's talk
about donuts, okay?
>> Okay.
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>> See this glazed donut. Oh it is so easy. I will make it better. I will start innovating. No, those people are not going to
succeed.
>> Okay.
>> You do not need to do that. You just need to do exactly. Follow the recipe exactly to the T.
>> Okay.
>> Once you achieve that, then and only then you should innovate. You should not innovate from.
>> In this order.
>> Yeah.
>> This order.
>> You can try to innovate and think you are oh I am smarter, I am going, you know. I am special. Well, those people
tend not to succeed.
>> Okay.
>> The key to success is observe successful people. Mimic what they do. Replicate it until it is perfected. And then
innovate. And if you keep that in mind, you will be successful in any field you pursue. That is how I see it.
>> That is so inspiring. So, thank you.
>> You are welcome. It is a pleasure. And hopefully may you all have success.
>> Yes. Thank you. Okay. I am going to turn this off. And thank you so much. This is very inspiring.
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