Cheng Vang, State Farm agent of Madison
I'm Hmong and I'm American
I'm Hmong and I'm American
(L-R) Cheng Vang at the Hmong Townhall meeting discussing the effects of Gov.
Walker's budget repair bill on the Hmong community; at his new State Farm
Office along Sherman Avenue in Madison; front view of Cheng's office.
Walker's budget repair bill on the Hmong community; at his new State Farm
Office along Sherman Avenue in Madison; front view of Cheng's office.
By Heidi M. Pascual
The story sounds familiar if you listen to a Hmong refugee--now American citizen—talk about where he came from and
how he hurdled similar pains as any other Hmong who fled the Pathet Lao during the Vietnam War. It is because most of
these Hmong refugees experienced the same persecution in Laos, for being considered traitors to the motherland when
they, or their parents, husbands and brothers joined the CIA-led military insurgents against the communists who claimed
victory after the war.
Thousands of Hmong died during the war and while fleeing for their lives through the jungles of Laos and the raging
Mekong River. Those who were lucky avoided bullets while submerging themselves in mud, hiding in the wild, or
swimming with all their might to cross the river to Thailand. Luckier were those who miraculously made it across and were
herded for several years in Thailand refugee camps, and later were sponsored by churches in the United States to
become Americans and taste the kind of freedom that they never had.
Stories of the Hmong would only differ between and among individual refugees when they have settled and found their
own paths in America. Cheng Xainou Vang of Madison, Wisconsin, is a success story -- one that reflects many of those of
his Hmong contemporaries – for he worked so hard to adjust to the American way of life and to keep the Hmong culture
alive in his heart, his family, and his community.
“I was five or six years old when our family fled Laos in 1975,” Cheng Vang started his story in an interview by this writer.
“We had to flee because my father … and everybody … fought in the war. My brother and I got separated from my mother at
that time. We were placed in a Thailand refugee camp and it was a month later when my mom and sister showed up in
the camp. We were there until 1979.”
Being young and thinking of nothing but play and games at the camp, Cheng didn’t remember ever going to school. He
also thought the camp was the new home for the Hmong. It was when he arrived in the United States that reality set in.
They were transients in Thailand and they had to travel far to reach their new home – America. But would there be a
Hmong community to welcome them?
“There were no other Hmong families in Rockford, Illinois, where we landed,” he recalled with an emptiness reflected in
his voice. “And it was hard because we didn’t know how to speak English. We lived in a house but we didn’t see anybody
around during the day. ‘Where are all the people?’ We’re not used to that. In Laos, we saw people every day walking on
the streets. In Rockford, there was nobody to socialize with.”
School was another nightmare to Cheng and he admitted not understanding a thing during his early schooling in the
States; he was just going through the motion. “I was in 6th grade, I think, and that time I didn’t know any English, so I just
went to class despite not knowing anything,” he chuckled. “I remember my teacher asking me ‘Do you understand?’ and I
always nodded my head. Looking back, I didn’t really know the meaning of that. But I really didn’t know what was being
explained.”
Cheng, however, credits the teachers who tutored him and other refugee children after class. He admits they made a big
difference in his early adjustment in school. “I learned day by day, and these extra teachers who saw us after school really
helped me a lot. At that time there were no ESL classes to help minority students. That was how I passed elementary.”
Sponsored early on by the Lutheran Church, Cheng’s family survived on lots of support from the Church and the
government. The struggle would be etched in Cheng’s memory. “My mom and my dad separated, and my mom didn’t
work,” he said. “The church signed me up for work delivering newspapers door to door. It was hard, especially during
winter. I was just walking. Later on, I asked my sister to help me deliver newspapers, and the work became lighter.”
The Vang family moved to Madison, Wisconsin as soon as they heard that some relatives were already residing in the city.
They joined their relatives and like them, lived in Bayview apartments, many of whose residents were people of color. In
Bayview, Cheng felt community especially since many Hmong families were there. It was the beginning of a smoother
adjustment for Cheng in America. He continued his studies and graduated from East High.
Love arrived early for Cheng, 20, when he met his future wife, then 16 years old, in Appleton. Their marriage interrupted his
schooling at MATC and of course caused him to find a job to support his family. “I got a job at United Refugee Services as
interpreter and I also helped in the youth program,” Cheng recalled. “I worked there for 10 years.”
While he worked, his wife went to school and became a nurse, and when she became employed at a local hospital, it was
his turn to go back to school. The give-and-take part of the couple’s relationship truly helped them execute a plan for a
successful future for they now have two children to take care of.
“I left United Refugee Services and went to take Police Science at MATC,” Cheng continued, adding that it was his wife who
supported him for four or five years. “I transferred to Upper Iowa University where I got my business degree.”
The few years that followed after his college graduation were training years for Cheng for ultimately he would become his
own boss.
“I must be in my 30s when I graduated in 1999, and then I worked for AnchorBank for about a year as personal banker, “
Cheng said. “ Then I went to work for my Insurance Agent who was looking for a replacement for his staff who had
resigned. So I applied and got the job. My insurance agent was a State Farm Agent.”
Cheng worked for a State Farm Insurance Agent for two years, all the while looking forward to learning the trade and
possibly following the footsteps of his new boss. He liked what he saw, especially the benefits of being in control of your
own business, your time, and your life in general.
“I didn’t see myself as working for somebody else forever,” Cheng said matter-of-factly. “After two years and I’ve learned
about the business, I decided I wanted to become an agent myself.” He’s thankful he found the right business he wanted
to get into, the insurance business, and although the path was rough at first, he made it. Determination, patience,
perseverance and hard work – values that came natural to him like some other former Hmong refugees he knew, finally
paid off in 2002.
Cheng has lots of good things to say about State Farm Insurance, the mother company he represents. “They trained me,
like their other new agents, to make sure we learn about their products and culture,” as he recalled several weeks of
training sessions in Minnesota and Madison. “They helped a lot when I opened this business, and they made sure I’d
succeed.”
He is sold to State Farm’s goal of building a successful business by helping people in the community. And most
importantly, he is his own boss. “It is not money principally,” Cheng says although he admits, that’s very important, as
well. “It is the fact that I have time for my family, which I can’t do if I work for someone else. “
The Vang family has two children, a boy and a girl, and the couple is trying to inculcate the Hmong culture in them,
something that’s increasingly getting difficult. It’s an experience that all Hmong parents born in Laos are experiencing
today.
“We have those cultural values -- family and respect for elders, but for those who grew up here, we’re kind of losing it,”
Cheng lamented. “Most have become Americans, and we see that change, you know, including our language. For
instance, with my kids, I speak Hmong to them and they would respond in English. I’d always remind them, ‘Answer me in
Hmong,’ but you can tell from their tone they’re not as good Hmong speakers as those born in Laos.”
Coping with this cultural clash, Cheng and his wife can only try. “We take them to Hmong cultural events and my daughter
is involved in a Hmong Dance groupe, which is good ,” he said, a ray of hope marking his face. My son is something else.
He’s just like me at first, on and off at MATC. He now works for a call center.”
Being actively involved in the Hmong community, Cheng hopes that Hmong issues would be listened to by local
authorities and that Hmong youth be likewise involved in them. He was happy to note the initiative of several Hmong youth
in making the recent townhall meeting at the Urban League about Gov. Scott Walker’s Budget Repair Bill possible.
Finally, Cheng hopes that his business would grow to enable him to buy his own building to house his office and possibly
to help some people get jobs.
With Cheng’s determination, perseverance, patience, and hard work, that dream is not far behind.
The story sounds familiar if you listen to a Hmong refugee--now American citizen—talk about where he came from and
how he hurdled similar pains as any other Hmong who fled the Pathet Lao during the Vietnam War. It is because most of
these Hmong refugees experienced the same persecution in Laos, for being considered traitors to the motherland when
they, or their parents, husbands and brothers joined the CIA-led military insurgents against the communists who claimed
victory after the war.
Thousands of Hmong died during the war and while fleeing for their lives through the jungles of Laos and the raging
Mekong River. Those who were lucky avoided bullets while submerging themselves in mud, hiding in the wild, or
swimming with all their might to cross the river to Thailand. Luckier were those who miraculously made it across and were
herded for several years in Thailand refugee camps, and later were sponsored by churches in the United States to
become Americans and taste the kind of freedom that they never had.
Stories of the Hmong would only differ between and among individual refugees when they have settled and found their
own paths in America. Cheng Xainou Vang of Madison, Wisconsin, is a success story -- one that reflects many of those of
his Hmong contemporaries – for he worked so hard to adjust to the American way of life and to keep the Hmong culture
alive in his heart, his family, and his community.
“I was five or six years old when our family fled Laos in 1975,” Cheng Vang started his story in an interview by this writer.
“We had to flee because my father … and everybody … fought in the war. My brother and I got separated from my mother at
that time. We were placed in a Thailand refugee camp and it was a month later when my mom and sister showed up in
the camp. We were there until 1979.”
Being young and thinking of nothing but play and games at the camp, Cheng didn’t remember ever going to school. He
also thought the camp was the new home for the Hmong. It was when he arrived in the United States that reality set in.
They were transients in Thailand and they had to travel far to reach their new home – America. But would there be a
Hmong community to welcome them?
“There were no other Hmong families in Rockford, Illinois, where we landed,” he recalled with an emptiness reflected in
his voice. “And it was hard because we didn’t know how to speak English. We lived in a house but we didn’t see anybody
around during the day. ‘Where are all the people?’ We’re not used to that. In Laos, we saw people every day walking on
the streets. In Rockford, there was nobody to socialize with.”
School was another nightmare to Cheng and he admitted not understanding a thing during his early schooling in the
States; he was just going through the motion. “I was in 6th grade, I think, and that time I didn’t know any English, so I just
went to class despite not knowing anything,” he chuckled. “I remember my teacher asking me ‘Do you understand?’ and I
always nodded my head. Looking back, I didn’t really know the meaning of that. But I really didn’t know what was being
explained.”
Cheng, however, credits the teachers who tutored him and other refugee children after class. He admits they made a big
difference in his early adjustment in school. “I learned day by day, and these extra teachers who saw us after school really
helped me a lot. At that time there were no ESL classes to help minority students. That was how I passed elementary.”
Sponsored early on by the Lutheran Church, Cheng’s family survived on lots of support from the Church and the
government. The struggle would be etched in Cheng’s memory. “My mom and my dad separated, and my mom didn’t
work,” he said. “The church signed me up for work delivering newspapers door to door. It was hard, especially during
winter. I was just walking. Later on, I asked my sister to help me deliver newspapers, and the work became lighter.”
The Vang family moved to Madison, Wisconsin as soon as they heard that some relatives were already residing in the city.
They joined their relatives and like them, lived in Bayview apartments, many of whose residents were people of color. In
Bayview, Cheng felt community especially since many Hmong families were there. It was the beginning of a smoother
adjustment for Cheng in America. He continued his studies and graduated from East High.
Love arrived early for Cheng, 20, when he met his future wife, then 16 years old, in Appleton. Their marriage interrupted his
schooling at MATC and of course caused him to find a job to support his family. “I got a job at United Refugee Services as
interpreter and I also helped in the youth program,” Cheng recalled. “I worked there for 10 years.”
While he worked, his wife went to school and became a nurse, and when she became employed at a local hospital, it was
his turn to go back to school. The give-and-take part of the couple’s relationship truly helped them execute a plan for a
successful future for they now have two children to take care of.
“I left United Refugee Services and went to take Police Science at MATC,” Cheng continued, adding that it was his wife who
supported him for four or five years. “I transferred to Upper Iowa University where I got my business degree.”
The few years that followed after his college graduation were training years for Cheng for ultimately he would become his
own boss.
“I must be in my 30s when I graduated in 1999, and then I worked for AnchorBank for about a year as personal banker, “
Cheng said. “ Then I went to work for my Insurance Agent who was looking for a replacement for his staff who had
resigned. So I applied and got the job. My insurance agent was a State Farm Agent.”
Cheng worked for a State Farm Insurance Agent for two years, all the while looking forward to learning the trade and
possibly following the footsteps of his new boss. He liked what he saw, especially the benefits of being in control of your
own business, your time, and your life in general.
“I didn’t see myself as working for somebody else forever,” Cheng said matter-of-factly. “After two years and I’ve learned
about the business, I decided I wanted to become an agent myself.” He’s thankful he found the right business he wanted
to get into, the insurance business, and although the path was rough at first, he made it. Determination, patience,
perseverance and hard work – values that came natural to him like some other former Hmong refugees he knew, finally
paid off in 2002.
Cheng has lots of good things to say about State Farm Insurance, the mother company he represents. “They trained me,
like their other new agents, to make sure we learn about their products and culture,” as he recalled several weeks of
training sessions in Minnesota and Madison. “They helped a lot when I opened this business, and they made sure I’d
succeed.”
He is sold to State Farm’s goal of building a successful business by helping people in the community. And most
importantly, he is his own boss. “It is not money principally,” Cheng says although he admits, that’s very important, as
well. “It is the fact that I have time for my family, which I can’t do if I work for someone else. “
The Vang family has two children, a boy and a girl, and the couple is trying to inculcate the Hmong culture in them,
something that’s increasingly getting difficult. It’s an experience that all Hmong parents born in Laos are experiencing
today.
“We have those cultural values -- family and respect for elders, but for those who grew up here, we’re kind of losing it,”
Cheng lamented. “Most have become Americans, and we see that change, you know, including our language. For
instance, with my kids, I speak Hmong to them and they would respond in English. I’d always remind them, ‘Answer me in
Hmong,’ but you can tell from their tone they’re not as good Hmong speakers as those born in Laos.”
Coping with this cultural clash, Cheng and his wife can only try. “We take them to Hmong cultural events and my daughter
is involved in a Hmong Dance groupe, which is good ,” he said, a ray of hope marking his face. My son is something else.
He’s just like me at first, on and off at MATC. He now works for a call center.”
Being actively involved in the Hmong community, Cheng hopes that Hmong issues would be listened to by local
authorities and that Hmong youth be likewise involved in them. He was happy to note the initiative of several Hmong youth
in making the recent townhall meeting at the Urban League about Gov. Scott Walker’s Budget Repair Bill possible.
Finally, Cheng hopes that his business would grow to enable him to buy his own building to house his office and possibly
to help some people get jobs.
With Cheng’s determination, perseverance, patience, and hard work, that dream is not far behind.
