{"id":11136,"date":"2024-07-19T09:31:40","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T14:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=11136"},"modified":"2024-08-02T09:16:47","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T14:16:47","slug":"enduring-heritage-newfound-horizons","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/enduring-heritage-newfound-horizons\/","title":{"rendered":"Enduring Heritage, Newfound Horizons"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"UW-Green<\/a>
Photo of UW-Green Bay alumnus Lolar Moua shares his journey and commitment to UW-Green Bay. Photos by Dan Moore, UW-Green Bay Photographer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Embracing his family origins, Lolar Moua rediscovers the threads of his heritage, weaving them into the tapestry of his American dream.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For Lolar Moua, his journey from childhood to college and beyond spans over 8,000 miles and more than two decades\u2014all adding up to a transformative passage from the life he knew as a child in Laos to a new beginning in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

As a successful UW-Green Bay graduate excelling in his chosen career, he embodies many aspects of achievement. But his beginnings were anything but ordinary. \u201cMy grandfather was part of the refugees that sought asylum after the Vietnam War,\u201d Moua remembers. \u201cI left Laos at ten, arrived in Green Bay, and stepped into a whole new world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until that day, Moua had never really left his subtropical village before a mid-winter arrival in Green Bay. \u201cEverything was covered in snow; it was all white, just white,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what snow was. I mean, people told me it could get really cold here, but the snow was higher and the weather colder than what I could imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Climate shock aside, Moua adapted enthusiastically to his new life\u2014especially school. \u201cThe importance of education was always stressed at home,\u201d Moua shares. \u201cMy parents, who never had the chance to attend school themselves, pushed me to seize the educational opportunities here, reminding me not to waste this great opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

In high school, Moua\u2019s world further expanded. He played a pivotal role in his family\u2019s day-to-day negotiations with their new homeland\u2014\u201dI was the translator, the go-between. Anytime there was a form, a letter, anything in English, that was me.\u201d He also found his academic niche and avidly planned for college. \u201cI was part of a club called Mac Forward,\u201d he explains, \u201cwhere we would discuss university choices and how to prepare for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moua was crafting a pathway to the future\u2014but had yet to truly reconnect with the past. The connection to his relatives, especially on his father\u2019s side, was distanced by time and early separation. \u201cThey moved to the United States as part of a program when I was two; when I arrived in Green Bay, they were like strangers to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the early days of feeling like an outsider and his memories of Laos growing more distant, the familial bonds remained strong. \u201cMy dad, his brothers, and their families\u2026 they all relocated to the United States. Now, everyone\u2019s here in Green Bay,\u201d he explains. His family\u2019s collective journey mirrors that of many Hmong families, a story of resettlement and building a new life in a new land. But others stayed back in Laos and forged lives there.<\/p>\n

In Laos, the education system was starkly different. \u201cIf you weren\u2019t selected to advance each year, you could remain stuck at the same level, sometimes with 12 or 13-year-olds in third or fourth grade.\u201d But it was also in Laos, still waiting to immigrate to America, that Moua\u2019s affinity for computers began to take hold.<\/p>\n

His dad gave him a simple self-contained video game. \u201cIt was a magic crystal box to me at that time,\u201d Moua recalls. It was also the \u2018magic crystal\u2019 that introduced him to the world of computing, which eventually evolved into Moua earning a degree in\u00a0Computer Science<\/a>\u00a0from UW-Green Bay, being named UW-Green Bay Student Employee of the Year and being hired by the University as a web developer.<\/p>\n

Moua\u2019s commitment to his role at the University and his community connection is deeply personal. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just a job,\u201d he emphasizes, \u201cit\u2019s where my journey\u2019s milestones have been laid, where I now help pave the way for others.\u201d However, his connection to his ancestral homeland was shaped by early separation and the fracturing of a culture due to global events. \u201cI don\u2019t know the detail because they left Laos when I was very young,\u201d Moua acknowledges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was born in Laos, moved to Green Bay when I was ten years old and started school in 4th grade.\u201d So returning to Laos to reconnect with his extended family became a significant aspect of his personal journey.\"\"<\/p>\n

The solution? A month-long family reunion. \u201cLast December, my family returned to Laos, just to revisit some family over there,\u201d Moua recalls. \u201cPart of me wanted to really experience Laos again, to see the village where I grew up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now his culture shock was thrown in reverse. \u201cIt\u2019s a small country village, surrounded by rice fields and wetlands,\u201d he says. \u201cI knew I had to return, to understand the land that I left when I was a boy.\u201d What he realized was that the land and people he had left had also changed. \u201cThey were living their life differently from the way I remembered.\u201d One cousin had graduated college and worked at an electrical plant. Another owned a clothing shop.<\/p>\n

This was not just a personal sojourn; it was a family affair. \u201cWe were a group, roughly 10 or 11 of us. We even had a big traditional ceremony to welcome us back, everyone (about 30 relatives) gathered at my uncle\u2019s house.\u201d The reunion began with a\u00a0Neng\u00a0<\/em>ceremony called to honor both the young and the old. The ceremony, deeply rooted in his heritage, was an act of spiritual welcome. \u201cIt\u2019s a kind of welcome back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA shaman leads the ceremony by communicating with the spirits,\u201d Moua explains. The offering of an animal was central to the celebration. \u201cSo for our occasion, a pig was chosen as the catalyst,\u201d Moua recounts. After the ritual, the offered animal joins the celebration as the entr\u00e9e, symbolizing a communal feast to celebrate the reunion.<\/p>\n

But there was even more celebrating in store with long-separated cousins\u2014many married, with careers and children of their own. \u201cSeeing them again, living their lives differently from how I remember, was a heartfelt experience,\u201d reflects Moua.<\/p>\n

Having never experienced Laos beyond life in his village, Moua and cousins embarked on a road trip. \u201cWe set out on a sightseeing adventure,\u201d he recalls. Their jaunt included a stop at Vang Vieng, a small town nestled along the Nam Song River in Laos. Surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves, Moua and company embraced a new role\u2014as tourists.<\/p>\n

And it was amidst the rugged terrain, that Moua discovered a new passion\u2014rock climbing. Although it was his first time tackling such heights, he remembers the experience being both physically demanding and exhilarating. \u201cBut the most terrifying part,\u201d he recalls, \u201cwas when you\u2019re almost at the peak of the mountain, clinging to little tips of rocks as you climb, and realizing just how steep it is.\u201d But at the top, his reward was the opportunity to reflect on his homeland from an entirely fresh perspective. \u201cThe view was very breathtaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

What gives you a spark?<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n

\u201cWhat motivates me most is looking forward to being able to assist people and see the outcome of it. I think that sense of achievement and accomplishment is what just makes me feel more alive and feel more connected to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why will you never stop learning?<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n

\u201cIn my field there\u2019s always something new to learn\u2014a coding style, new methods for tackling problems and coming up with solutions. I also love learning new magic tricks!\u201d<\/p>\n

Can you think of like a lesson that life has taught you?<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n

\u201cIn Laos, I met a very elderly woman when I was visiting our old house back in the village. She told me I should remember that there are people in my village that will always remember me, and so too should I keep them in my thought. I should never forget where I am from, and that the village is where my roots begin, and there will always be people there waiting to see me again. I think in that sense she helped me to feel closer to my roots and that no matter where I am, I\u2019m still part of the Hmong community.\u201d<\/p>\n

At UW-Green Bay, every person has the power to Rise. No matter who you are, where you\u2019re from, or what you want to be. We invite you to\u00a0read more Rise Stories<\/a>\u00a0about people from all walks of life who are blazing a brighter future for our region.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Written by Michael Shaw<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/news.uwgb.edu\/featured\/05\/29\/enduring-heritage-newfound-horizons\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Embracing his family origins, Lolar Moua rediscovers the threads of his heritage, weaving them into the tapestry of his American dream. For Lolar Moua, his journey from childhood to college and beyond spans over 8,000 miles and more than two decades\u2014all adding up to a transformative passage from the life he knew as a child […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":11137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[111],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-11136","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-green-bay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/11136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=11136"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=11136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}