Grace Moua, 20, is in her third year at Fresno State majoring in business with an emphasis on marketing. She also minors in media arts.
As someone who is attending Fresno State as a Hmong student, “finding that opportunity to socialize in Hmong club or just with other Hmong students is kind of hard to find sometimes, just making the time. Although I don’t have the time for commitment in the club, I still have the opportunity to get to know other Hmong individuals, during late night library sessions.”
However, “I don’t see too much trouble with socializing just in general because as a Hmong student I get to tell other people from diverse cultures about my own culture.”
Moua, a second-generation college student, is one of about 1,172 Hmong students enrolled at Fresno State during the fall 2023 semester, according to data from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. She wants to help her friends learn about the Hmong culture and she wants to share her campus experiences to help create pathways that her younger siblings can follow.
Communicating opportunities is a big development in understanding and looking towards a better future not only for her but her younger siblings in college or future careers. Moua’s motivations, she said, are “intrinsic motivation because that is genuinely something that could keep me going without being tired and thrive off intrinsic values.”
Moua currently works at the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning as the RCSL – Student Leadership Team.“It just feels fulfilling and I get to create these opportunities,” she said.
She has also worked in non-paying internships on campus and was part of Spotlight Events on campus.
Moua’s advice to fellow and future students is to “find something that makes you happy or content. It would just be nice to be able to find peace in doing, whether in yourself or your own solitude.”
Moua was in a movie called “The Enigma Report,” directed by Mathew Menchaca. There is a need for more Asian representation in media arts, Moua said. “Honestly, I was kind of like ‘standing man emoji’ hearing that I got the role.”
Being in the movie was “one of the many opportunities of being a part of someone’s vision. I just think that is such a beautiful thing, being a part of someone’s vision and trying to execute it to the best of my abilities.”
Moua is an example of someone who empowers the Asian community here at Fresno State and continues to help build a stronger Asian community on campus.
