Asian/Pacific-Islander Students

Hi! My name is Christina Shih. I am the faculty fellow for API students at West Valley College. I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I have a bachelor’s degree in business administration from U.C. Berkeley and I worked in the corporate world for couple of years after graduation. When I decided to start a family, I returned to school to pursue a master’s degree in experimental psychology at San Jose State University. I started to teach at West Valley college soon after. I love to learn and I just completed my Ph.D. degree in psychology –- so I know what’s like to be a student and the challenges of trying to balance work, school, and family at the same time.

In terms of my cultural background, I immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan when I was in high school. I hardly spoke any English at the time and I remember vividly many late nights when I felt hopeless spending time looking up practically one out of every three words of the textbook in a English-Chinese dictionary--that’s before the Internet!. Not in a million years that I would imagine myself standing in front of college students teaching psychology! Looking back at my life, I realize that I couldn’t be where I am without the kind people who were willing to support me along my journey. Yes, there was intolerance back then and it still exists today. From my experiences, I developed three important attitudes in life: (a) accepting that we don’t live in an ideal world, (b) working to change the world and make it a better place, and (c) be grateful for what does work in the world despite its imperfections!

I am interested in your experiences and please feel free to stop by at the Center of Identity Exploration and Inclusion during my office hours (MW from 7:30 AM – 9:00 AM), starting in September for Fall 2019.