KAGC Alumni Spotlight: Sarah Gu
From someone who once didn’t even recognize Bernie Sanders when running into him on the elevator at the Capitol, I am proud to have stepped out of my comfort zone and started learning about what I can do to advocate for me, my family, and my community.
Since childhood, I served as my family’s reluctant spokesperson, helping my immigrant parents navigate day-to-day life with a small restaurant that opened with virtually no prior business experience. Not only did they face the language barrier and cultural differences, my parents had to find their own resources to take care of my brother who has special needs. By the time I got to third grade, I finally got a glimpse into my parents’ concerns as I witnessed discrimination against my brother. I saw some kids cornering my brother, throwing snowballs at him during recess.
Tightly gripping bigger snowballs, I charged towards them, shouting to get away from him, knowing that this would put me in trouble. As I got the pink slip summoning me to the principal’s office, I braced myself for some repercussions. But to my surprise, I was praised for not hesitating to go after his rescue. My brother’s teachers apologized to me and promised they would do a better job of watching their students.
This was the moment I realized for the first time that standing up for others during a reasonable moment was acceptable — maybe not with snowballs, though. After countless similar events, I became committed never to hesitate in standing up for my brother. As a child I accepted the role of becoming his voice in those moments when he could not freely express himself.
As an extrovert, I’ve always been outspoken in comparison to my peers. I like to have philosophical debates with my friends and enjoy cracking jokes here and there. However, when it came to politics, I would find myself quickly backing out of the conversation.
Being a DACA recipient, I’ve always had the natural tendency to oust myself from any political discussions to avoid talking about it. I personally didn’t want to get involved because I was mainly surrounded by Caucasian students born with U.S. citizenship.
I remember a class back in middle school, where we had an activity on our birth cities. With high spirits, I held up a self-made poster with the Korean flag and proudly told my classmates that I was born in Seoul, Korea. A peer raised their hand and asked if I was a citizen. Without hesitation, I told them my passport was green and that I was a Korean citizen. However, one classmate blurted that I was an “Alien.” Frankly, it felt weird being called that. For the first time ever, I felt immense humiliation for not having a blue passport like my peers. I had felt just as American as the rest of the class, but from pure documentation, I was deemed an outcast. The voice that I built within myself, to speak for others when they could not, became easily silenced in situations like these. I could not find the voice to stand up for myself.
During my second year of college, I was invited by fellow KSA leaders to attend the 2018 KAGC National Conference in Washington, D.C. I did not really know what to expect, and I was a little afraid — because frankly, I had always distanced myself from anything that had to do with politics, let alone learning more about it.
However, the conference allowed me to meet a lot of other students from all over the states who had similar backgrounds as me. This gave me a huge epiphany where I realized that the Korean-American community goes beyond Seattle, and that we are all a part of one cohesive body in America. With all these policy priorities, I learned how resilient the Korean-American community was and realized truly how vast the voices there were behind the scenes advocating for our own rights. I learned that talking about DACA was acceptable, as it was one of the priority policies that KAGC was advocating for. There were students, citizens, adults, and members of Congress who were utilizing their voices to advocate for a greater change.
After attending the conference, I’ve learned that it is okay to have open conversations about your political opinions, or your own story as long as you are comfortable with sharing. KAGC has given me a political voice that I did not previously have, as well as a more open mind to start learning about politics.
This led me to make a second trip to D.C. in to attend the 2019 KAGC National Conference, this time as an upperclassman. It was truly inspiring to see how passionate the younger generations were to learn more and what steps we could take to become a part of the bigger voice to help initiate change.
I am not perfect. There would still be times when I get as shocked as I was that day in my class. However, I am slowly but surely beginning to embrace every part of myself and have become more resilient: huge thanks to my brother for shaping me into the person I am today.
I am an advocate and an educator — the loud girl in the back who will tell you if you are being a jerk. I make everyone laugh, but that comes from a place of wanting to feel valued myself. I’ve learned that identity is not something you are born with, but rather, a thing to be won every day.
I strongly encourage all of you to attend the KAGC National Conference and other events, as it was my first step into civic engagement and self-discovery.
From someone who once didn’t even recognize Bernie Sanders when running into him on the elevator at the Capitol, I can now proudly say that I am more educated than before! The friends you’ll make at KAGC events and programs, the hardworking staff who put their all to make it all possible, and the empowering speakers you’ll get to hear is a very rewarding experience that can also help equip you with a political voice that can speak for others — including yourself.
KAGC has given me a political voice that I did not previously have, as well as a more open mind to start learning about politics. I’ve learned that identity is not something you are born with, but rather, a thing to be won every day.
Sarah graduated from the University of Washington in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems and Marketing and is currently interning in a marketing and management position at Toyota. Throughout her undergraduate career, Sarah served in the leadership the Korean Student Association at the University of Washington as the Membership Coordinator, Vice President, and Senior Advisor. Sarah has joined the 2018 KAGC National Conference as well as the 2019 KAGC National Conference, where she presented a mock meeting with a congressional office along with several other students and community members attending from Puget Sound.
Click here to learn more about KAGC, the largest nationwide network of Korean American voters, and its programs and events for a rare opportunity to share the Korean American identity, discuss the key issues of our community, and get our voices heard, counted, and reflected in public policy.
