Phanghouy Chea
B.A., summa cum laude, Business Analytics, 2023
“As an Alfie Scholar, I learn wonderful experiences that I have never had before on how civility changes people’s lives in positive ways. It has motivated me to be my authentic self, as well as care for others’ well-being and create more change to address the social issues that happen in the world.”
Service & Work:
Peer Activities Leader, SCC. July 2018–June 2020
Accounting and Math Tutor, Shoreline Community College, September 2019–June 2020
Director of Membership Internal Communication Officer, DECA Club, Shoreline Community College, April 2019–June 2020
Assistant Restaurant Manager, Oishi Teriyaki, Everett, WA, October 2020–June 2021
Guest Advocate, Customer Service, Target Corporation August–October 2020
President of Cambodia Students Club, 2018–2019
Awards & Honors:
President’s List
Dean’s List
Member, Tau Sigma National Honor Society
Achievement Scholarship
Alfie Scholars, Cohort 6, 2021–2023
5th place, DECA WA State Competition (Fashion Merchandising and Marketing), February 2020
DECA New Dimensions Award- Outstanding New Member December 2019
President’s List, Shoreline Community College, 2018–2020
A plus, National Exam of Cambodia, 2017
Honor Medal, Ministry of Women’s Affairs of Cambodia, November 2017
Phanghouy’s Story
I was raised in a developing country, Cambodia, where cultural norms were the deepest shape in the Cambodian mindset. As the oldest daughter in the family, my obligation was to help my parents with their business, taking care of younger siblings as well as the housework in the family. I was judged by outsiders on my behavior, my voice, the way I walk, and outfit. I felt like I was not being able to be my full self because I was too busy caring about how other people think of me. Moreover, I was told by the elders that my future was not going far away from my parents’ business, so just focus on helping your parents and don’t waste the time going to school because I will end up inheriting this business anyways. However, my parents had been through all of those cultural norms, and they knew how pressured it was. For this reason, they fully supported me going to school. Therefore, I was trying hard every day to balance my workload at my parent’s shops, at home, and my school work.
Those eager motivations stayed with me long enough until a time that I was unsure about myself. I remember when I was at the beginning of senior high school, there was a time that I almost gave up going to school. Because of the cultural norm, many girls marry young and wouldn’t be able to pursue higher education. I was really sad slowly watching my female friends drop out of school, and there were only me and my other two female friends left in the class. Additionally, I was scared that I might not end up passing the National Exam to graduate from high school. I knew that I was not good enough with science subjects like Math, Physics, and Chemistry. However, what I feared the most was how other people would perceive me if I didn’t pass the exam because I showed them my intention and my commitment to study. I would be embarrassed and would drag down my parents’ reputation too if I failed the exam.
It was the toughest time in my life asking myself whether I should quit or go forward and be willing to accept any consequences. At the same time, my inner self whispered to me, “Houy, you still have so many goals you want to achieve and it started by getting over this barrier.”. So, I figured that it was not the last minute of my life yet; I still had one full academic year to the exam date to study what I have missed. Why didn’t I give myself a chance to try it rather than regret it later and put other people's opinions aside? Therefore, I began studying triple harder than I did before because, in my circumstance, I needed to run to get to the same level as other students. I went to my teachers and my friends to explain my situation and ask for help along the way. After a couple of months of the hardest time, I was able to catch up with my lessons as other students.
In 2017, I finally graduated from high school with honors and an A+ grade, which shocked everyone because no one expected me to do that well. On the day that they announced the result, I thought that I was dreaming after hearing my result. I waited to tell my parents about my result until I could get a chance to take a picture of the physical copy of the result because it was unreal to me. I still couldn’t believe that I could change myself from the bottom and make it to the top within a year. My parents were proud of me that I could overcome my educational barriers. Because of these achievements, I asked my parents to give me a chance to study in the United States so that I could learn more and find a better future. I knew they were having a hard time without my help and letting me go out of their eyesight, but still, they supported me with my decision. I am so blessed to have very supportive parents who never limited my choice of making decisions.
At the age of 18, I was the first person in my family going to college as an immigrant to the United States as an International Student. Again, I needed to adjust to the new environment, culture, educational system, and language barriers. It was hard, but I slowly adjusted to it time by time. I felt like I arrived in the land of opportunities where I was able to speak myself and get involved in many curriculum activities in and outside the school to build up my experiences and confidence. Those are the experiences that I couldn't have before, and now I am free from social pressure.
Growing up till my twenties, my past living experiences have shaped my goals to who I am today. I’m so glad that I chose the right decision to continue to go to school at that time. If I had not, I wouldn’t be here to become an Alfie Scholar surrounded by amazing people who care, support, and encourage me to get success in both academics and future career. More amazingly, I challenged myself to do a STEM major in Business Analytics which I've never imagined because the science subject is the hardest part of my life. I believe that I will make it, and it is going to be worth trying to learn new things rather than keeping my options close to what I already have.
Therefore, I hope everyone can stay focused on their goal and not give up easily. Do not let the negative opinion sway you away from what you want to do in your life. Remember you are the one who owns your life. You would never know what the future will bring. Be positive, and go for whatever makes you happy. So you won’t regret it because regret is the most painful thing in life.
Goals:
Growing up in a small business family in Cambodia taught me about the morals of living and shaped my goals. Upon graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Analytics, I hope to positively contribute in my workplace. I want to improve and develop the global business systems to become more accessible to everyone through technology. My professional goal is to start a start-up with my co-partners who share the same interest to merge a unique product or service and introduce it to the world. Additionally, I hope to give opportunities to entrepreneurs and other passionate people regardless of their gender, age, nationality to join hands in my company to make a big difference in a business world together. Along with my career, my ultimate goal is to be a civility leader who represents the unheard voice in my community and advocates for equality and equity. On top of that, I would like to advocate for women in Cambodia and everyone in this world to have an equal opportunity to access education so that they could learn new skills that are necessary for their foundation and develop themselves to catch up in this competitive world.
On Civility:
To me, civility is the behavior of people treating each other with empathy, compassion, and love. It is also the ability to acknowledge and respect other people’s perspectives and accept the differences. No matter how different we are in the world, we all have one common thing that bonds us together, which is wanting to be loved and live peacefully. Civility is also the reflection of our social graces of being able to care for others like ourselves and treating them the way we want to be treated. Moreover, civility also allows us to contribute to a positive mindset with affirmative action which builds a friendly and welcoming environment that we all want to live in.
