Gabi Chen was a student within the Saline Area School District until her freshman year, when she transferred to Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor. Between her freshman and sophomore year, Gabi’s family moved to Oakland, California. She now attends Oakland Technical High School, or “Tech.”
You started high school at Pioneer in Ann Arbor after attending Saline Middle School. What were the biggest differences you noticed in terms of going to a school with very low diversity to a school that is much more diverse?
I don’t think I really noticed it at the time, but when I first went to classes and saw other Asian kids and had Asian friends, that helped me a lot. Obviously, there are not a lot of Asian people at Saline, so seeing a lot of Asian and Hapa people too, especially in PTG (Pioneer Theater Group), was surprising. I had never met another Hapa person during my time at Saline, so it was really nice to have people I could connect with on a cultural level.
With the presence of other Asian American and Hapa students, you felt as though there was more of a place for you within your school community?
I would say so. Of course, I never felt excluded at Saline, but I definitely felt different.
You transferred from Pioneer to Oakland Technical High School after your sophomore year. Was that another big shift?
Because I was older--I was sixteen when I moved--it wasn’t that big of a shift. Although, Tech is a lot more diverse. It’s almost twenty five percent Asian, which is a huge difference from Pioneer. I especially noticed it because I am now in my school’s Asian Student Union, and I never had a program like that at Pioneer or Saline.
Would you say there are a lot more opportunities to connect with your own and other cultures at a diverse school?
Definitely. We have the Asian Student Union, which is super active. We do a lot of volunteer work with organizations that benefit Asian people in different aspects. We even have a Vietnamese Student Association that sold Vietnamese coffee during the teacher strike. We have a Black Student Union, a Jewish Student Association, and a bunch of other clubs as well. There are definitely a lot of cultural, ethnic, and religious clubs at Tech, which I think is really great.
Do you feel that the diversity at your school has added to your high school education?
Definitely. I think being able to connect with people of different cultures, and especially people of my own culture, has helped me. I think it has prepared for college and, when I get out into the “real world,” it will help me be able to interact with a diverse set of people.
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