“I don’t know much about the Cambodian community in Connecticut. I’ve only started to engage myself with other Cambodians when I came to UConn. I was born in Cambodia and came to the States at age 6. Growing up in Danbury, I find myself avoiding Cambodians because I didn’t feel connected to others around my age. Kids valued education differently than I did. I now see that higher education is problematic among Cambodian communities across the United States.
As a Cambodian I was told to be by my family. I was also raised to not be Cambodian. There are many aspects of being Khmer that I feel disconnected from. Of course this is my personal experience, and is not representative of the whole community which I have not always been aware of until recently. I hope to learn more about what being Khmer is.”
Socheata Thai, 19
Storrs, Connecticut
Photo by Sonyta Thai
