Zhengmei Bai was 21 when she immigrated from Beijing, China to America in the 1990s. Back in China, she was in her third year of film school studying sound recording. She then decided to follow the trend of immigrating to America for a better life. Even though it was a big trend, it didn’t always mean it was an easy thing to do. It was a big move to walk away from the comforts of home and her family and friends. However, her mother supported her completely and provided all of the resources that she was able to for her daughter to come have a better education and build a better life in America.
Before she could come to America, she had to go through the tough process of obtaining a visa to America, which was required at the time. She applied to NC State University and after being accepted as a student, was she then eligible to obtain a visa. When she arrived in America, she was first hit with the challenge of a completely new language environment as well as culture. She had studied English for six years, but she felt that it wasn’t sufficient enough for moving to America. She didn’t have any family in America, but had some friends from North Carolina, which is why she applied to NC State. While she was gratefully provided with resources from her mother, she still had to work in restaurants and libraries to be able to support herself. Another challenge she faced was having to study in school, but also having to continuously learn about the country and culture. She also described how some people held certain prejudices against immigrants like herself. Even though she didn’t seem to experience as much in the school environment, she noticed how people with those prejudices were ignorant because of a lack of understanding and a lack of openness to learn about people from different cultures and countries. However, she learned to focus on her major goals and the whole reason she was here, always keeping a good attitude and not worrying about what other people think. After endless hard work, she has had a position as a project manager at GSK for 20 years and has a loving family with two children. She believes that immigrating to America was the greatest decision she made for the better of herself and her family.
