Determined to Succeed
Mai was the middle child and only daughter of seven children. Her father died when she was 10 years old, which was only the first of many hurdles Mai would have to overcome. Mai was fortunate to have the opportunity to learn Thai and complete high school in the refugee camp. Even with an education, however, very few job opportunities existed. Especially after the death of her father, Mai’s family struggled financially. Mai did what she could to help her family, but the only work she could find was to make embroidery or pick corn.
Growing up in Thailand without a father had been very difficult for Mai, but she never lost sight of her dream to come to America and earn enough money to support a family and send money back to her relatives in Thailand. She longed for the opportunity to learn, improve her skills, obtain a good job, and become successful.
As was typical and expected in her culture, Mai got married at the young age of 15. In December of 2004, Mai and her new family had the opportunity to immigrate to the United States from Wat Tham Krabok, Thailand. She was only 18 years old when she came to the U.S. with her daughter and 19-year-old husband.
Mai applied for the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) as a stepping stone to help her family get started in America. Still, she never lost sight of her ultimate goal to become fully self-sufficient. In February of 2005, Mai was referred to HAP, where she was connected to a bilingual Employment Counselor. In order to build her skills and job qualifications, she enrolled in high school. Despite speaking very little English, she worked hard and attained a diploma three years later. She now is able to read, write, and speak in English.
After completing high school, Mai began the search for employment. Through daily participation in HAP’s Employment Readiness Class, she learned employability skills, practiced how to interview, applied for jobs, and slowly built the confidence she needed to search and apply for jobs on her own. Due to the economy, however, Mai had difficulty finding a job. At the recommendation of her Employment Counselor, Mai accepted a minimum wage position through a production skills training program.
Shortly after completing the training program, Mai was offered a part-time position as a production worker. After working for two months, her Employment Counselor encouraged her to talk to her employer about the potential to increase her hours. To her surprise, the employer agreed and increased her hours to full time. Three months later, Mai was offered a permanent position.
Today, Mai lives in Saint Paul with her husband, who is also employed, and two children. She achieved her goal of self-sufficiency and her family successfully exited MFIP in 2009. Mai plans to continue her education and hopes to eventually obtain employment in the banking industry.
HAP is proud to tell her story.
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