On May 3, 2025, the fifth annual My American Story was hosted by the Chinese Americans of Lexington (CALex). In celebration of this year’s AAPI month, the organization invited four members of the Lexington community to present their experiences living as Asian Americans.

In the balmy weather of eighty degrees, the gathering began with the exchange of pleasantries at the Lexington Community Center. Lexington High School students Chelsea Gu, Sophia Du, and I, Claire Suh, served to facilitate the event, working in rotation to briefly introduce the speakers.

While the anticipated opener Christina Lin was unable to attend the event in person, a pre-recorded introduction was played to kick off the celebration. Born to immigrant parents from Taiwan and China and currently the Chair of the Lexington Human Rights Committee, Lin emphasized the importance of listening to one another in order to craft a more equitable society.

The panelists: Zhigang Suo (Allen E. and Marilyn M. Puckett Professor of Mechanics and Materials at Harvard University), Ravneet Grewal (mother, advocate, and founding member of the Lexington Food Cooperative), Alok Saldanha (principal software engineer at Generate Biomedicines), and Andrea So (director of Elementary Education at Lexington Public Schools) then delivered their respective messages, each with its own distinct character and thought-provoking personal testaments. 

In one especially heartbreaking account, Grewal recalled a childhood memory from shortly after her family moved from India to the US. A friend’s mother had asked, “Why can’t you play with the white girls?” Later, other classmates asked, “So are you Black or are you White?” While perhaps not directly applicable in all circumstances, the feelings of confusion in terms of identity are certainly a relatable emotion to the many growing teens and adults in the Lexington area, regardless of their ethnicity.

Saldanha was more sentimental, recalling the support of his parents growing up. “They always supported my passions,” he said. “They never pushed me to be something that I didn’t want to be.”

This year’s My American Story included a set of diverse and powerful voices. Their insights urge the rest of the community to take a moment to reflect on their own personal life journey. So now the question remains: who am I becoming, and who do I want to be? 

Leave a comment

All commenters must be registered and logged in with a verified email address. To register for an account visit the registration page for our site. If you already have an account, you can login here or by clicking "My Account" on the upper right hand corner of any page on the site, right above the search icon.

Commenters must use their real first and last name and a real email address.
We do not allow profanity, racism, or misinformation.
We expect civility and good-faith engagement.

We cannot always fact check every comment, verify every name, or debate the finer points of what constitutes civility. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem inappropriate, and we ask for your patience and understanding if something slips through that may violate our terms.

We are open to a wide range of opinions and perspectives. Criticism and debate are fundamental to community – but so is respect and honesty. Thank you.