successful the opportunity to be successful. For
many, it starts with getting a college education.
For a few, it means advice and seed money to
start their own business. For others, it is leadership
lessons at the Stanford Business School.
project in my hometown of Oroville, California. In
1996, my family endowed a college scholarship fund
and would return each year to interview high school
students. Over the years, we would hear from Hmong
students who repeated stories of a large Hmong
community of large families and parents stuck in
minimum wage jobs. A couple of years ago, we were
distressed that little had changed in this immigrant
community. After discussions with a few civic leaders,
we concluded that we could spark energy in the
close-knit community by challenging the Hmong to
become entrepreneurs and start small businesses.
MARY HACKENBRACHT
is board president of the Angel Island
Immigration Station Foundation and board
member for the Chinese American Community
Foundation. Mary is board member for the
Kensington Symphony Orchestra and works
with Oakland high school students as a
writing coach.
together a $100,000 program to identify, train, fund
and mentor Hmong entrepreneurs in Oroville.
president of the Angel Island Immigration Station
Foundation. The immigration station was built in 1910
specifically to enforce the 1882 Chinese Exclusion
Act after the law resulted in the nation's first wave of
illegal immigrants. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese
citizens used false identities to evade the law and
enter the country. For me, this is not just a history
lesson, as I am the American-born son of one of
those illegal immigrants. The Foundation's goal is
to raise the awareness of a problematic immigration
policy and, with the benefit of historical hindsight,
reflect upon the mistakes made 100 years ago
so that we might apply lessons learned to today's
immigration debate.