I was born on June 9th, 1995 to my father, Douglas Tam, and my mother, Nancy Tsoi. They immigrated to New York when they were in their early teens, just when the Chinese American population was changing around them.
I grew up running away from my older brother, Eric Tam, whose favorite past time was wiping boogers on me. But he became my guardian when my parents separated in 2001. We used to go to Central Park for snow sledding and Chelsea Market to sample Fat Witch brownies and and drink New England clam chower from bread bowls with our dad. I grew up in Maspeth, New York, a very Italian and Irish neighborhood, but my family's Chinese culture greatly intrigued me.
In the 6th grade, my dad remarried but despite the changes, I went above and beyond in school. I received an award for reading the most books in my class, a 100 in math, social studies, and English. I rewarded myself for the good efforts by baking brownies and pumpkin cookies, which my adopted pet hamster, Muffin, really enjoyed sniffing. The 7th grade is when I first started giving back to the community, by participating in Builders Club.
In the 8th grade, I took the SHSAT. The Bronx High School of Science became the gate to my future. I joined Key Club and found my niche. "Giver". "The one who volunteered all the time". "Ms. President" (of Key Club). I took a dead language, Latin, and learned about U.S. history and the environment amongst other things. Two new half brothers were born into my life and my older brother was miles away from me, fighting for our country in Iraq, Texas, and Utah.
Now I am at Stony Brook University, on the zebra path to my future, eagerly awaiting to participate in the world as a first class social worker.
___________________________________________________________________
1. I may appear 5 feet tall, but I am actually 7 feet tall in spirit.
2. Pumpkin cookies are my absolute favorite.
3. If I were escaping a fire, I would grab my Canon Rebel XS to capture future memories, my pink Kitchen Aid Mixer to make memories, from my brother, and my Key Club scrapbook to keep memories.
4. My favorite holiday is Christmas.
5. Volunteering is life.