Chee mentors to help give back to immigrant and refugee girls like herself

At WISE we recruit mentors for our Girls Getting Ahead in Leadership (GGAL) and WeLEAD programs. One of our mentors this year is Chee Moua. She is a Family Social Science major and Youth Studies minor senior at the University of Minnesota.

Chee Moua, GGAL and WeLEAD Mentor

Chee herself was a born in a refugee camp in Thailand, and her family immigrated to the US when she was in elementary school. Chee knew that WISE was the place she wanted to dedicate her service hours to because of her own lived experiences.

“I chose WISE because WISE focuses on helping immigrant and refugee women and girls to get a higher education. I have been in similar programs when I first got to the United States, and I know how much of an effect those tutors had on me. Now it is like my time to be the one that provides the help. It’s just going back to where you came from, and serving my population.”

Chee is an incredibly strong and determined individual. She has been a mentor for us for a few months now and plans on continuing her mentorship into the spring. Chee stated, “I think WISE provides an opportunity for a lot of refugee and immigrant women to explore what they have, to help guide their strength and to help work on weaknesses. Definitely volunteer here and become a mentor. WISE is awesome and the girls are awesome.”