From across the table, I see puddles of tears growing beneath her chestnut brown eyes. I lean forward, straining to listen, “I was ready to go home but they wouldn’t let me.” In broken phrases and long pauses, Yeon Cho continues her story. “When I first came to America, I was an outsider with only my husband. Because I grew up in Korea, my English wasn’t proficient. My lack of language was the reason I was isolated and an outcast to everyone else.”  

​

Yeon explains that her connection with math was her portal into society. “My job as an actuary didn’t require me to speak fluent English because we communicated through math.” I could see her face brighten as she described bridging connections with her colleagues. “Even though there were barriers, numbers told my stories. Being a foreigner, math was a language that I shared with the people around me.”  

​

I ask her how her life is different because she is an immigrant. She takes a deep breath and begins her response. “When I first came to the United States, people thought I was stupid or silly because I couldn’t express myself in English.” Even after receiving deprecatory remarks, she never doubted her intelligence and that propelled her to acquire better language skills.  

​

“After 12 years I have found my place in the community. I still may not have fluent English, but to me that is a privilege. My accent is a piece of my cultural identity that can always remain with me though I am living in another country.”