Ryan Valdeabella interview
Item
Title
Ryan Valdeabella interview
Creator
Valdeabella, Ryan
Banh, Jenny
Relation
Central Valley Southeast Asian Successful Voices
Coverage
Fresno, California
Date
6/27/2017
Rights
Copyright has been transferred to Fresno State
Identifier
SCMS_casv_00033
extracted text
>> Well, first I have to-- before we start just to mention that I am doing a new Southeast Asian archive on successful
Southeast Asian voices and is it-- do I have your verbal permission to interview you?
>> Yes.
>> Great. Okay. Okay, so is it possible that we start the interview?
>> Yes.
>> Great. Okay. If you can say your name and spell your name the date and also give me verbal permission to interview
you.
>> Yeah, my name is Ryan Valdeabella. It's R-Y-A-N last name is V-A-L-D-E-A-B-E-L-L-A, and I give you
permission to record me.
>> Great, thank you. What is your gender?
>> Male.
>> What is your birth year?
>> August 25, 1980.
>> What is your ethnic group?
>> Filipino.
>> What is your undergraduate major?
>> Computer science.
>> What is your generation in the United States?
>> Generation?
>> First generation, second-generation American.
>> Oh-- I don't know.
>> Third, fourth, fifth? We can->> I would say-- I think second.
>> Okay.
>> Second-generation.
>> Okay. What is your-- what is your mother and father's highest education?
>> I think my mom graduated college. My dad I think maybe high school.
>> Okay.
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>> I'm not 100% sure. Yeah.
>> Great.
>> I mean he went into the Navy right after.
>> Okay, great. What is your ultimate degree aspiration? What's your last degree? Was it a BA?
>> Yeah, it was a BA. Yeah.
>> Excellent.
>> Or BS. BS. Sorry.
>> Was that stand for?
>> Bachelor of science.
>> Oh, Bachelor of Science. Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> What socioeconomic background did you grow up in and this is self-defined. Working-class, middle-class or
wealthy?
>> Under say middle.
>> Okay.
>> Was your high school public or private?
>> Public.
>> What was the racial demographics of your high school?
>> I don't know. What do you mean by-- it was predominantly white, I guess.
>> Okay. What high school did you go to?
>> I went to [inaudible] high school.
>> Oh, where is that located?
>> In Lemoore, California.
>> Oh, okay.
>> So we are about yeah, like 40 minutes south of Fresno.
>> Okay great. And this now and again these next questions if you don't know the answer you can just say pass. Most
people don't.
>> Okay.
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>> So these now are just general questions. Do many Filipino Americans go to college? Why or why not?
>> I think maybe do. I don't know what the actual percentage is->> Oh, okay.
>> -- but yeah.
>> Do Filipino->> I would just->> Go on.
>> Oh, no [inaudible] sorry.
>> Do Filipino Americans have strong relationships with faculty and administrators?
>> I can't answer that one.
>> Okay.
>> I'm not sure.
>> What is your least favorite subject and what's your favorite subject?
>> My least favorite-- maybe literature?
>> Okay.
>> And my favorite was anything dealing with math.
>> Okay. Oh, interesting. What makes a good professor, what makes a bad professor?
>> Good professor is somebody who can adapt their-- the way they teach the class [inaudible] students and then be able
to you know they're out there to help the students learn you know even if like they are struggling or successful,
regardless of what it is but they are-- they're available to help.
>> Okay. What makes a bad professor?
>> Bad one is you know they are just teaching a subject they're not really reaching out to students.
>> Okay.
>> Not adapting. I mean I'm not saying that they should go easier, but they want to know the priority is to make sure
that their students are actually learning and not to be too strict on will if they don't learn likely I teach then there bad
student. Does that make sense?
>> Yes. Totally.
>> Yeah.
>> What were the teacher expectations of you? Were they neutral, high or low?
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>> I would say neutral.
>> Neutral? What were the teacher expectations of your co-ethnic group such as Filipino Americans?
>> I'm going to say neutral.
>> What were the notable media depictions of your ethnic group that you remember?
>> I don't remember. There wasn't much. You mean like just general?
>> Yeah. Like on TV.
>> Oh, I don't know. There were a lot. As far as I know.
>> Okay. Do you feel you had a sufficient academic preparation for college?
>> Yes.
>> Oh, great. Okay. So that's the first third of the interview. Now I'm going to the second. Which is barriers. Did you
think->> Okay.
>> -- did you have any-- did you think you had any barriers to your higher education success?
>> No.
>> Such as->> Do you mean [inaudible] are you talking about like in general or within the family or anything like that?
>> Yeah. Actually, all of it. Did you work, where there cultural, educational, financial, structural, health, gender-- any
of those were barriers all?
>> If anything I mean I had to work. Because you know-- I went to school in San Diego so I was away from home, so I
you know we were paying for college. I mean we weren't exactly super wealthy or anything so I had to make sure that I
could pay rent.
>> Did you go to-- what school did you go to?
>> San Diego State.
>> Oh, great. Uh-huh. And then you are originally from Fresno?
>> Yes.
>> Oh, okay. And go on, you're talking about rent?
>> Yeah. I had to pay-- you know I had to pay rent. So I couldn't always reach out to my parents for that money because
you know they didn't exactly have it all the time. So-- but they would help me when I absolutely needed it. But it wasn't
just like a luxury that we had. So I had to work and that's why-- so I ended up graduating in five years versus four.
>> Okay, great.
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>> Because I took-- I ended up taking the minimum amount of units in between to just be full-time. Because I had to
work so much.
>> What did you work at?
>> I had different jobs. One was like a telemarketing I guess you could say, customer service. I worked at a law firm as
an IT person.
>> Oh.
>> IT manager.
>> Okay.
>> So those are the two [inaudible]
>> And did you have to take care of your-- any children, parents, siblings or grandparents well in college?
>> No.
>> And did you experience any macro or micro aggressions? I guess macro aggressions is kind of like if someone
burned a cross on your lawn and micro aggressions would be something like did someone ask you where are you from?
Did that ever there
>> No. Not to the point where I felt offended by it I guess.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> Was there a-- did you think there was any kind of at San Diego State was there any kind of gender class community
education or any kind of supremacy you felt or minority majority supremacy or no?
>> No. It is pretty diverse there anyway.
>> Okay.
>> Was there->> Yeah.
>> -- a big Filipino population and sending a state?
>> Yes.
>> Oh, okay. What made San Diego State a warm environment to you and what made it a chilly environment to you.
>> Warm-- I guess is the diversity of the people and I mean there was a lot of Filipinos there so there's a lot of you
know I'm going into a new area I didn't know a lot of people. I mean I had family there were they did go to school at
San Diego State. So I needed to get you know to talk to people.
>> You have any family members graduated with a BA other than your mother?
>> Yes. My brother.
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>> Oh, okay. Older brother?
>> Yeah. He's the younger brother. Actually, both of my younger brothers did. Yeah.
>> Oh, wow. Okay. So you kind of paved the way for them?
>> I would like to say so, it may be. I don't know. Can you think of any other barriers at all that you might have
experienced that impeded your graduation?
>> One thing is-- this is going to be kind of weird, but when I was in-- so you know, when you go to high school you
take those college prep courses I took a lot of-- I took some AP classes as well. Like calculus for example. And what I
ended up doing was I ended up taking calculus again my freshman year and the class was like super, super easy and it
kind of made me feel like college was going to be really easy. Because then you know everyone you know before I went
to college people are kind of like it's going to be challenging it's going to be tough and here I am in this class and I'm
you know barely even studying and acing it. So I get kind of get into this picture like colleges good we really easy. But
it was really bad awakening the next year. Realizing how tough it is.
>> Oh. So did you think that you-- but you mentioned that you thought your high school academically prepared you for
college. Do you think they did not or it was just a difference?
>> Well they did in that you know the way that they some of the classes I took were similar to how they do you know
like lectures and stuff where you just take notes and take tests. Some of my classes were like that. So it did prepare me
and help me. It wasn't that big of a gap between what I'm going to learn in high school versus college. It's just that it
gave me a perception because I learned already that it made it look it made it seem like college would be easy but it was
not.
>> When you're in high school did you-- were you involved in any kind of college preparatory program like AVID at
all?
>> I did-- I mean I-- you know I took the AP classes and honor classes. So that I could get some units for college I was
some programs like CSF.
>> Was that?
>> Where you're kind of-- what is it called-- California Scholarship Foundation?
>> Oh, okay.
>> Yeah. So I did that I mean you got to have decent grades to be able to stay in that group. That kind of thing. I had a
lot of friends to do when my friends were all taking the same kind of classes.
>> Oh, okay.
>> Yeah.
>> Great.
>> So that made it a little bit easier.
>> Do you think that you would-- do you think it would've been a barrier if your gender was different?
>> No, I don't think so.
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>> Okay. Interesting. Okay great. So this is the last third of the questions. I asked about barriers and I'm going to ask
you about personal enablers, success.
>> Okay.
>> You are part of the top 6% of the world that have a BA but in particular part of the Southeast Asians who have a BA
which is a very small group for some. What is it about your personality-- [inaudible] What?
>> Can I ask you about that data? The 6%? What timeframe are you looking at for that? Because I always assumed that
it was a lot higher than that.
>> Well, two-- I guess around four years ago the international rate was 1% for MBAs of graduation. And it actually has
risen to 6% now.
>> Uh-huh.
>> If you look at Southeast Asians, Southeast Asians have one of the lowest graduation rates. So it's 6% for Laos, I
think 12% to 14% for Hmong, and then you contrast that with very high South Indians. They have a 70% BA. So->> Yeah, right.
>> So Filipinos it's hard number because are we including Filipino Chinese or Filipinos from the Philippines. It's
actually out of Southeast Asians it's the highest out of Southeast Asians but within a group that doesn't-- it's not overtly
high.
>> Oh, okay. Okay. That would make sense. I forgot that it was Southeast Asia that you're looking at.
>> Oh, yeah. One is the international rate is 6%.
>> Okay.
>> But I used the Pew Institute. I used their numbers. And the census.
>> Oh, okay.
>> Okay. So Mr. Ryan, you are a rare person relatively in getting a BA as a male what is the personal enablers are what
do you think that and also I like to emphasize that in terms of now going to college, it is overall mainly Southeast Asian
female. Not Southeast Asian male. What is it-- so for instance, at Berkeley this year, it's 75% women and only 25%
male for Southeast Asians. So I'm wondering what about your personality what are the personal enablers to
achievement. Like where you successful in terms of your personality? Like what traits you have?
>> I think I just in general I like to work hard at things that I'm doing. So whatever it is whether it's school or you know
I like challenges as well. So everything at school is basically challenge. In a way. I would say that another thing to is
that I have my parents. Now my sister, she didn't graduate college but she was always at the top of the class when we
were in high school. So that's [inaudible] the expectations that my parents set on me when I was in high school as well.
>> And was that an older sister?
>> Yes.
>> So you're older sister didn't graduate but all your brothers graduated?
>> Yes.
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>> Interesting.
>> My sister did not. Yeah. She got [inaudible] and then [inaudible] she couldn't finish.
>> One of their family enablers help you graduate college? Like you talked about your sister and your brothers
graduated did your parents tell you anything in particular not college we
>> No. They-- in a way they just kind of prepped me throughout school so they were always on top of like my grades
and not in a way this like I would get punished but it was like I wanted to make them proud. Because as getting good
grades. That's just kind of the environment they set. I didn't want to know what would happen if I got a bad grade. So->> Oh, okay.
>> Yeah.
>> Did you get a lot of good grades?
>> In general, yeah.
>> Oh, okay. Do you think that-- thinking back to your kind of higher education success, were there any bridges like
people in particular programs that you took that you thought were particularly helpful for you to graduate?
>> I think is just other students. So working with other people like when the classes allowed us to work in groups in
teams, and then also like living in the dorms for example help out a lot. Because you are in an environment where
everybody is sharing the same kind of challenges you know the same classes and talking so we were all able to study
together.
>> Great.
>> So that kind of helps out a lot.
>> And then were there any-- thinking back were there any you talk about financial challenges and were there any kind
of community or institutional helpers that help you along the way like any Filipino education or dancing or [inaudible]
or something? Did any of those help you in getting your graduation?
>> No.
>> Okay. What makes Filipino Americans kind of pursue higher education in general? Like what is Southeast Asians
going to college?
>> I think-- see I'm talking about Filipinos in general, but their parents set high expectations for their kids. At least this
is what I see from other families. It wasn't exactly that for me. Like they weren't like well my parents wanted us to
succeed but it wasn't like you better succeed or else sort of thing but sometimes I see that other families. Other Filipino
families. So like they will tell them hey you need to graduate with this degree or this is to be your major if you don't do
this then you know it's a disappointment.
>> Great.
>> Yeah. I've seen that.
>> Oh, interesting. So kind of family dynamic.
>> Right.
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>> So now the last part of the interview I always ask for things like what would you want in particular because it is I'm
not studying it in particular those another academic who is actually doing that. But there is some gender aspect to
graduation now. It's predominantly women if you look at Southeast Asians. Can you speak to just yourself but also your
friends I assume your male friends why do you think there is an issue that so many more Southeast Asian women are
graduating you know 3 to 1 versus Southeast Asian males we what is the issue? What is holding them back in
graduating?
>> This is a tough one. I'm going to say-- -- I don't know. I'm just taking a guess here. But for males in general I feel
like they have to immediately start providing for whether they you know for their family-- their own family or you
know trying to support someone. So others like their parents or where they have their own like wife and children, and
waiting that timeout you know the four years that you're going to be in college might take too long. So they want that
sort of immediate-- the immediate work. Does that make sense?
>> Yes, it does. So you think->> That's my guess. But that's what I feel.
>> And then do you think that in terms of graduating, do you think that smaller classes or more caught the professors
are even more co-ethnic classmates would not have made any difference in getting more people graduate or no? Does
smaller classes make a difference or no?
>> The smaller classes do not.
>> Okay.
>> But I think the diversity helps.
>> Okay.
>> Because like I was mentioning earlier, being able to reach out to people that you are used to seeing or being around
kind of helps. Because are ready is kind of trying to achieve that goal. I think you know there's going to be students that
can go through college without you know doing everything on their own. But it certainly helps when you are around you
know your peers.
>> Would a co-ethnic professor like more Filipino or Asian professors that have made a difference to you or no?
>> No. I think it's more the students.
>> What about ethnic clubs?
>> Yeah. Yes. I would say yes. Okay. And at the last part is did you need-- do you think you need any college success
workshops and if you did need any workshops what workshops would you want or need?
>> Would mean workshops? Like->> For example a lot of students have issues with filling out financial aid forms and so some students are saying-- or
some graduates are saying a FAFSA workshop or something.
>> Oh, I see.
>> Looking back do you think of any workshop that you needed or any classes that you needed or anything you needed
to help graduate?
>> To help me graduate-- I would say something to do with how to plan out your classes. So I know that you go to a
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counselor do that but to me it would have been more proactive with somebody this is down to students and plans out
their years. Like this year this is what you're going to take and this year this is what-- these are the classes that you're
going to take.
>> So plan out->> Because I didn't have that.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> Anything else?
>> I didn't actually sit down and plan it until later on.
>> Anything else that you needed?
>> May be like a job. Finding a thing for students. Specifically for college students. So yeah. I mean like-- I mean I had
jobs and stuff but I would say like if there was like a group that you can reach out to that would have a list of jobs that
are student friendly so that they are not forced to work crazy hours or are flexible with working with a student's
schedule.
>> Okay. So their jobs and then plan out classes workshop. Okay. Anything else that you wanted?
>> That's all I can think of for now.
>> So the last question is if you wanted to anything else to the interview but also the very last question is you know in
the future, just as part of the archive and maybe the third or fourth generation after you Southeast Asian Americans or
other Americans might listen to this is there any advice that you can tell them to keep on going because there is
somewhat of a for the first and second generation there is a high dropout rate. Is there any advice that you could tell the
third and fourth generation to stay in school like things that you learned that you would've redone or is there any advice
you can give the next generations? Things that you learned?
>> Yeah. I would say you know if you as a you know you are graduating high school if you are not ready to go take that
next step into college then don't rush into it. So because I think that's what a lot of people-- there's that expectation that
okay I'm done with high school I've got to go to college now. Some people just aren't ready for that. So when [inaudible]
whatever maybe they have a kid on the way at a very young age or some family issue, I would say don't go to school
until you are ready that way you focus on it 100%.
>> Okay.
>> I would say also like I was mentioning earlier with that workshop, you know plan things now. So when you are
again you don't have to-- I mean from a graduate in five. But you don't have to graduate in four. You know if you can
plan out and work on your own schedule you know that will help you be a little more successful.
>> Okay. Great. That is all, actually. Is there anything you'd like to add?
>> No. Is there a way that I can get results or->> Well, yeah. You mean from this interview?
>> From your research.
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>> Yes. [inaudible] I-- it will probably take me four years-- 4 to 6 year to compile everything. [inaudible] and that's-that will be very optimistic. I am still interviewing many Southeast Asians. So let me turn this part off.
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Southeast Asian voices and is it-- do I have your verbal permission to interview you?
>> Yes.
>> Great. Okay. Okay, so is it possible that we start the interview?
>> Yes.
>> Great. Okay. If you can say your name and spell your name the date and also give me verbal permission to interview
you.
>> Yeah, my name is Ryan Valdeabella. It's R-Y-A-N last name is V-A-L-D-E-A-B-E-L-L-A, and I give you
permission to record me.
>> Great, thank you. What is your gender?
>> Male.
>> What is your birth year?
>> August 25, 1980.
>> What is your ethnic group?
>> Filipino.
>> What is your undergraduate major?
>> Computer science.
>> What is your generation in the United States?
>> Generation?
>> First generation, second-generation American.
>> Oh-- I don't know.
>> Third, fourth, fifth? We can->> I would say-- I think second.
>> Okay.
>> Second-generation.
>> Okay. What is your-- what is your mother and father's highest education?
>> I think my mom graduated college. My dad I think maybe high school.
>> Okay.
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>> I'm not 100% sure. Yeah.
>> Great.
>> I mean he went into the Navy right after.
>> Okay, great. What is your ultimate degree aspiration? What's your last degree? Was it a BA?
>> Yeah, it was a BA. Yeah.
>> Excellent.
>> Or BS. BS. Sorry.
>> Was that stand for?
>> Bachelor of science.
>> Oh, Bachelor of Science. Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> What socioeconomic background did you grow up in and this is self-defined. Working-class, middle-class or
wealthy?
>> Under say middle.
>> Okay.
>> Was your high school public or private?
>> Public.
>> What was the racial demographics of your high school?
>> I don't know. What do you mean by-- it was predominantly white, I guess.
>> Okay. What high school did you go to?
>> I went to [inaudible] high school.
>> Oh, where is that located?
>> In Lemoore, California.
>> Oh, okay.
>> So we are about yeah, like 40 minutes south of Fresno.
>> Okay great. And this now and again these next questions if you don't know the answer you can just say pass. Most
people don't.
>> Okay.
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>> So these now are just general questions. Do many Filipino Americans go to college? Why or why not?
>> I think maybe do. I don't know what the actual percentage is->> Oh, okay.
>> -- but yeah.
>> Do Filipino->> I would just->> Go on.
>> Oh, no [inaudible] sorry.
>> Do Filipino Americans have strong relationships with faculty and administrators?
>> I can't answer that one.
>> Okay.
>> I'm not sure.
>> What is your least favorite subject and what's your favorite subject?
>> My least favorite-- maybe literature?
>> Okay.
>> And my favorite was anything dealing with math.
>> Okay. Oh, interesting. What makes a good professor, what makes a bad professor?
>> Good professor is somebody who can adapt their-- the way they teach the class [inaudible] students and then be able
to you know they're out there to help the students learn you know even if like they are struggling or successful,
regardless of what it is but they are-- they're available to help.
>> Okay. What makes a bad professor?
>> Bad one is you know they are just teaching a subject they're not really reaching out to students.
>> Okay.
>> Not adapting. I mean I'm not saying that they should go easier, but they want to know the priority is to make sure
that their students are actually learning and not to be too strict on will if they don't learn likely I teach then there bad
student. Does that make sense?
>> Yes. Totally.
>> Yeah.
>> What were the teacher expectations of you? Were they neutral, high or low?
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>> I would say neutral.
>> Neutral? What were the teacher expectations of your co-ethnic group such as Filipino Americans?
>> I'm going to say neutral.
>> What were the notable media depictions of your ethnic group that you remember?
>> I don't remember. There wasn't much. You mean like just general?
>> Yeah. Like on TV.
>> Oh, I don't know. There were a lot. As far as I know.
>> Okay. Do you feel you had a sufficient academic preparation for college?
>> Yes.
>> Oh, great. Okay. So that's the first third of the interview. Now I'm going to the second. Which is barriers. Did you
think->> Okay.
>> -- did you have any-- did you think you had any barriers to your higher education success?
>> No.
>> Such as->> Do you mean [inaudible] are you talking about like in general or within the family or anything like that?
>> Yeah. Actually, all of it. Did you work, where there cultural, educational, financial, structural, health, gender-- any
of those were barriers all?
>> If anything I mean I had to work. Because you know-- I went to school in San Diego so I was away from home, so I
you know we were paying for college. I mean we weren't exactly super wealthy or anything so I had to make sure that I
could pay rent.
>> Did you go to-- what school did you go to?
>> San Diego State.
>> Oh, great. Uh-huh. And then you are originally from Fresno?
>> Yes.
>> Oh, okay. And go on, you're talking about rent?
>> Yeah. I had to pay-- you know I had to pay rent. So I couldn't always reach out to my parents for that money because
you know they didn't exactly have it all the time. So-- but they would help me when I absolutely needed it. But it wasn't
just like a luxury that we had. So I had to work and that's why-- so I ended up graduating in five years versus four.
>> Okay, great.
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>> Because I took-- I ended up taking the minimum amount of units in between to just be full-time. Because I had to
work so much.
>> What did you work at?
>> I had different jobs. One was like a telemarketing I guess you could say, customer service. I worked at a law firm as
an IT person.
>> Oh.
>> IT manager.
>> Okay.
>> So those are the two [inaudible]
>> And did you have to take care of your-- any children, parents, siblings or grandparents well in college?
>> No.
>> And did you experience any macro or micro aggressions? I guess macro aggressions is kind of like if someone
burned a cross on your lawn and micro aggressions would be something like did someone ask you where are you from?
Did that ever there
>> No. Not to the point where I felt offended by it I guess.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> Was there a-- did you think there was any kind of at San Diego State was there any kind of gender class community
education or any kind of supremacy you felt or minority majority supremacy or no?
>> No. It is pretty diverse there anyway.
>> Okay.
>> Was there->> Yeah.
>> -- a big Filipino population and sending a state?
>> Yes.
>> Oh, okay. What made San Diego State a warm environment to you and what made it a chilly environment to you.
>> Warm-- I guess is the diversity of the people and I mean there was a lot of Filipinos there so there's a lot of you
know I'm going into a new area I didn't know a lot of people. I mean I had family there were they did go to school at
San Diego State. So I needed to get you know to talk to people.
>> You have any family members graduated with a BA other than your mother?
>> Yes. My brother.
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>> Oh, okay. Older brother?
>> Yeah. He's the younger brother. Actually, both of my younger brothers did. Yeah.
>> Oh, wow. Okay. So you kind of paved the way for them?
>> I would like to say so, it may be. I don't know. Can you think of any other barriers at all that you might have
experienced that impeded your graduation?
>> One thing is-- this is going to be kind of weird, but when I was in-- so you know, when you go to high school you
take those college prep courses I took a lot of-- I took some AP classes as well. Like calculus for example. And what I
ended up doing was I ended up taking calculus again my freshman year and the class was like super, super easy and it
kind of made me feel like college was going to be really easy. Because then you know everyone you know before I went
to college people are kind of like it's going to be challenging it's going to be tough and here I am in this class and I'm
you know barely even studying and acing it. So I get kind of get into this picture like colleges good we really easy. But
it was really bad awakening the next year. Realizing how tough it is.
>> Oh. So did you think that you-- but you mentioned that you thought your high school academically prepared you for
college. Do you think they did not or it was just a difference?
>> Well they did in that you know the way that they some of the classes I took were similar to how they do you know
like lectures and stuff where you just take notes and take tests. Some of my classes were like that. So it did prepare me
and help me. It wasn't that big of a gap between what I'm going to learn in high school versus college. It's just that it
gave me a perception because I learned already that it made it look it made it seem like college would be easy but it was
not.
>> When you're in high school did you-- were you involved in any kind of college preparatory program like AVID at
all?
>> I did-- I mean I-- you know I took the AP classes and honor classes. So that I could get some units for college I was
some programs like CSF.
>> Was that?
>> Where you're kind of-- what is it called-- California Scholarship Foundation?
>> Oh, okay.
>> Yeah. So I did that I mean you got to have decent grades to be able to stay in that group. That kind of thing. I had a
lot of friends to do when my friends were all taking the same kind of classes.
>> Oh, okay.
>> Yeah.
>> Great.
>> So that made it a little bit easier.
>> Do you think that you would-- do you think it would've been a barrier if your gender was different?
>> No, I don't think so.
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>> Okay. Interesting. Okay great. So this is the last third of the questions. I asked about barriers and I'm going to ask
you about personal enablers, success.
>> Okay.
>> You are part of the top 6% of the world that have a BA but in particular part of the Southeast Asians who have a BA
which is a very small group for some. What is it about your personality-- [inaudible] What?
>> Can I ask you about that data? The 6%? What timeframe are you looking at for that? Because I always assumed that
it was a lot higher than that.
>> Well, two-- I guess around four years ago the international rate was 1% for MBAs of graduation. And it actually has
risen to 6% now.
>> Uh-huh.
>> If you look at Southeast Asians, Southeast Asians have one of the lowest graduation rates. So it's 6% for Laos, I
think 12% to 14% for Hmong, and then you contrast that with very high South Indians. They have a 70% BA. So->> Yeah, right.
>> So Filipinos it's hard number because are we including Filipino Chinese or Filipinos from the Philippines. It's
actually out of Southeast Asians it's the highest out of Southeast Asians but within a group that doesn't-- it's not overtly
high.
>> Oh, okay. Okay. That would make sense. I forgot that it was Southeast Asia that you're looking at.
>> Oh, yeah. One is the international rate is 6%.
>> Okay.
>> But I used the Pew Institute. I used their numbers. And the census.
>> Oh, okay.
>> Okay. So Mr. Ryan, you are a rare person relatively in getting a BA as a male what is the personal enablers are what
do you think that and also I like to emphasize that in terms of now going to college, it is overall mainly Southeast Asian
female. Not Southeast Asian male. What is it-- so for instance, at Berkeley this year, it's 75% women and only 25%
male for Southeast Asians. So I'm wondering what about your personality what are the personal enablers to
achievement. Like where you successful in terms of your personality? Like what traits you have?
>> I think I just in general I like to work hard at things that I'm doing. So whatever it is whether it's school or you know
I like challenges as well. So everything at school is basically challenge. In a way. I would say that another thing to is
that I have my parents. Now my sister, she didn't graduate college but she was always at the top of the class when we
were in high school. So that's [inaudible] the expectations that my parents set on me when I was in high school as well.
>> And was that an older sister?
>> Yes.
>> So you're older sister didn't graduate but all your brothers graduated?
>> Yes.
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>> Interesting.
>> My sister did not. Yeah. She got [inaudible] and then [inaudible] she couldn't finish.
>> One of their family enablers help you graduate college? Like you talked about your sister and your brothers
graduated did your parents tell you anything in particular not college we
>> No. They-- in a way they just kind of prepped me throughout school so they were always on top of like my grades
and not in a way this like I would get punished but it was like I wanted to make them proud. Because as getting good
grades. That's just kind of the environment they set. I didn't want to know what would happen if I got a bad grade. So->> Oh, okay.
>> Yeah.
>> Did you get a lot of good grades?
>> In general, yeah.
>> Oh, okay. Do you think that-- thinking back to your kind of higher education success, were there any bridges like
people in particular programs that you took that you thought were particularly helpful for you to graduate?
>> I think is just other students. So working with other people like when the classes allowed us to work in groups in
teams, and then also like living in the dorms for example help out a lot. Because you are in an environment where
everybody is sharing the same kind of challenges you know the same classes and talking so we were all able to study
together.
>> Great.
>> So that kind of helps out a lot.
>> And then were there any-- thinking back were there any you talk about financial challenges and were there any kind
of community or institutional helpers that help you along the way like any Filipino education or dancing or [inaudible]
or something? Did any of those help you in getting your graduation?
>> No.
>> Okay. What makes Filipino Americans kind of pursue higher education in general? Like what is Southeast Asians
going to college?
>> I think-- see I'm talking about Filipinos in general, but their parents set high expectations for their kids. At least this
is what I see from other families. It wasn't exactly that for me. Like they weren't like well my parents wanted us to
succeed but it wasn't like you better succeed or else sort of thing but sometimes I see that other families. Other Filipino
families. So like they will tell them hey you need to graduate with this degree or this is to be your major if you don't do
this then you know it's a disappointment.
>> Great.
>> Yeah. I've seen that.
>> Oh, interesting. So kind of family dynamic.
>> Right.
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>> So now the last part of the interview I always ask for things like what would you want in particular because it is I'm
not studying it in particular those another academic who is actually doing that. But there is some gender aspect to
graduation now. It's predominantly women if you look at Southeast Asians. Can you speak to just yourself but also your
friends I assume your male friends why do you think there is an issue that so many more Southeast Asian women are
graduating you know 3 to 1 versus Southeast Asian males we what is the issue? What is holding them back in
graduating?
>> This is a tough one. I'm going to say-- -- I don't know. I'm just taking a guess here. But for males in general I feel
like they have to immediately start providing for whether they you know for their family-- their own family or you
know trying to support someone. So others like their parents or where they have their own like wife and children, and
waiting that timeout you know the four years that you're going to be in college might take too long. So they want that
sort of immediate-- the immediate work. Does that make sense?
>> Yes, it does. So you think->> That's my guess. But that's what I feel.
>> And then do you think that in terms of graduating, do you think that smaller classes or more caught the professors
are even more co-ethnic classmates would not have made any difference in getting more people graduate or no? Does
smaller classes make a difference or no?
>> The smaller classes do not.
>> Okay.
>> But I think the diversity helps.
>> Okay.
>> Because like I was mentioning earlier, being able to reach out to people that you are used to seeing or being around
kind of helps. Because are ready is kind of trying to achieve that goal. I think you know there's going to be students that
can go through college without you know doing everything on their own. But it certainly helps when you are around you
know your peers.
>> Would a co-ethnic professor like more Filipino or Asian professors that have made a difference to you or no?
>> No. I think it's more the students.
>> What about ethnic clubs?
>> Yeah. Yes. I would say yes. Okay. And at the last part is did you need-- do you think you need any college success
workshops and if you did need any workshops what workshops would you want or need?
>> Would mean workshops? Like->> For example a lot of students have issues with filling out financial aid forms and so some students are saying-- or
some graduates are saying a FAFSA workshop or something.
>> Oh, I see.
>> Looking back do you think of any workshop that you needed or any classes that you needed or anything you needed
to help graduate?
>> To help me graduate-- I would say something to do with how to plan out your classes. So I know that you go to a
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counselor do that but to me it would have been more proactive with somebody this is down to students and plans out
their years. Like this year this is what you're going to take and this year this is what-- these are the classes that you're
going to take.
>> So plan out->> Because I didn't have that.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> Anything else?
>> I didn't actually sit down and plan it until later on.
>> Anything else that you needed?
>> May be like a job. Finding a thing for students. Specifically for college students. So yeah. I mean like-- I mean I had
jobs and stuff but I would say like if there was like a group that you can reach out to that would have a list of jobs that
are student friendly so that they are not forced to work crazy hours or are flexible with working with a student's
schedule.
>> Okay. So their jobs and then plan out classes workshop. Okay. Anything else that you wanted?
>> That's all I can think of for now.
>> So the last question is if you wanted to anything else to the interview but also the very last question is you know in
the future, just as part of the archive and maybe the third or fourth generation after you Southeast Asian Americans or
other Americans might listen to this is there any advice that you can tell them to keep on going because there is
somewhat of a for the first and second generation there is a high dropout rate. Is there any advice that you could tell the
third and fourth generation to stay in school like things that you learned that you would've redone or is there any advice
you can give the next generations? Things that you learned?
>> Yeah. I would say you know if you as a you know you are graduating high school if you are not ready to go take that
next step into college then don't rush into it. So because I think that's what a lot of people-- there's that expectation that
okay I'm done with high school I've got to go to college now. Some people just aren't ready for that. So when [inaudible]
whatever maybe they have a kid on the way at a very young age or some family issue, I would say don't go to school
until you are ready that way you focus on it 100%.
>> Okay.
>> I would say also like I was mentioning earlier with that workshop, you know plan things now. So when you are
again you don't have to-- I mean from a graduate in five. But you don't have to graduate in four. You know if you can
plan out and work on your own schedule you know that will help you be a little more successful.
>> Okay. Great. That is all, actually. Is there anything you'd like to add?
>> No. Is there a way that I can get results or->> Well, yeah. You mean from this interview?
>> From your research.
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>> Yes. [inaudible] I-- it will probably take me four years-- 4 to 6 year to compile everything. [inaudible] and that's-that will be very optimistic. I am still interviewing many Southeast Asians. So let me turn this part off.
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