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So, today is July 14, 2014, and uh, we are here at Fondren Library room 203 with Miss Joanna Po. And uh, this interview is conducted by Caroline Zhu and--

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Mini Bhattacharya. Very good. Nice to meet both of you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. So um--so let us start out with your childhood.

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So um, could you tell us a little bit about your childhood, like where you grew up? Yes, you want me to include my birth also? Yeah! Just--

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I was born on September 11, 1943 in a small town in Balasan, Iloilo, Philippines. And I grew up with nine siblings--five girls--actually ten of us--ten

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of us--and five brothers and five sisters, including me. A total of ten. And my parents have a business that--

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we have a grocery. We have a big Korean candy factory. And I was very active helping them from my eight to four years old that I can't remember.

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I was already travelling with them, just to--to go--go with the business things. On the days that my parents would not allow me to go, I would leave the house early.

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It is a big disappointment for me. And um, when I finished high school--I finished high school, I had my older brother, that is about a year older

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than me 'cause I caught up with him when we were in elementary school. And so when we both graduated from high school, we have another brother that was already in college.

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And my parents thought that it's too much for them to send the three of us to college. They areboys so they can go to college. And for a girl, you have to stay home because you're just gonna get married

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anyway. You don't need the additional education 'cause two of my older sisters did not. They just finished high school and didn't want to pursue college. But I had this ambition

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within myself that I really wanted college education. And so I was asked by my parents to manage our business for about three years. So I did. And then our oldest brother,

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the oldest of the family, came home and said, 'Would you like still go back to--to--do you still want to go back to school?' I said, 'Sure.' And he said, 'OK, I will help you, if you are

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willing to work hard.' I said, 'Sure.' So he asked me what I would like to be. I said I want to be an agriculturist. And hesaid, 'Oh no, you are not going to be an agriculturist.' 'Cause our father was a farmer and you don't want the experience 'cause he grew up in

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a farming environment--'cause he being the oldest. So he said, 'Why don't you just go to nursing?' My goal was just to go to school and have a degree. I said, 'Sure.' So I was

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uh--he took me with him, and I left our hometown, and that was in early--in the early sixties. And went to Manila. And help him in his business with the gas station.

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At the same time, I was enrolled in the University of the Philippines, which is one of the hardest school to get in. But luckily enough, I didn't have to take any entrance exam or

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anything. I was just enrolled in the pre-nursing school. So I was there for two years and I finished my prerequisite to become a nurse. And I was accepted in one of the

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hospitals to do my proper for the training and everything being a nurse. And unfortunately, one of our sisters died. So I had to go home so that delayed--they could

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not keep the spot for me so that they laid me for about another six months. So I ended up going to another schoolinstead of the University of the Philippines affiliated hospital.

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I got there, in three years, I finished my nursing degree as a diplomat graduate. I passed the state board. And it was not enough for me to just to be a diploma

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graduate. In the Philippines, students at that time--we have only a diploma, which is here called associate degree for, uh, nursing and you go to a bachelor's degree. But in the Philippines, you go into a diploma which is about five years of training, focusing on the clinical nursing.

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And um--and I wanted to get my bachelor's degree. And to be--to be qualified take your bachelor's degree, you need to be a registered nurse already.

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And then you have to--to enroll in a university based school. So that's what I did. At the same time, after I passed my board, the, uh,

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hospital where I trained to be a nurse. All the clinical trainings, all the clinical trainings I had--we had in the hospital. They offered me to be a clinical instructor.

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So I became a clinical instructor at the same time I wasgoing to school. So I was a clinical instructor working at night, following nursing students. And at the same--during the day, in the

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afternoon, after I slept for 8 hours, I went to the school for my bachelor's degree. I finished my bachelor's degree in one year. And once I finished that, I was recruited

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by three hospitals. One in Victoria, Canada; one in, um, New Jersey; and theMethodist Hospital Houston, Texas.

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My mentality during that time was--I read a lot. I know Philippines is very hot and I know that Victoria, Canada is very cold, and so is New Jersey. So I said, 'I just want to go to, uh, Houston, Texas.' So that's why--that's how I

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came here, in Houston, Texas. And in one of the questions that you all have there about discrimination and something: when I landed, in my group there were ten of us, when we

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landed at the Hobby Airport, I was very disappointed. You all don't remember Hobby Airport, the airport on that side of town, which is now much bigger too. But anyway I said, 'Oh, we have a better airport in the Philippines than

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this.' So we got a taxicab took--took us to the nurse's dorm. Right between TWU, the old TWU building and the neurosensory building at Methodist.

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That is where the nurse's dorm used to be. The driver did not drop us in front of the building. He just took us on the side of the road and dropped us off there because I think he realized

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that we are all so brand new and we do not know any difference. So I said, 'Why don't you just drop us over there?' He said, 'I can only drop you here.' I said, 'That's fine.' So we paid him.

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Anyway, we got to the nurse's dorm. And uh, we asked for the matron 'cause that's all the instructions that we were given. And when the matron came out, she said, 'Oh, we are not

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expecting you until next week. We don't have--we don't have rooms for all of you, ten of you. That was in April of '69. And I said, 'Ok, can you just tell me where the

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human resources of the Methodist Hospital?' 'Cause I was carrying the letter and all the other nurses with me, I ended up acting like a leader for them. So she told us where to go. So we went there. So when we got there, I asked the, uh,

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ladies. I said, 'Where is, your manager--' And you know, coming from a country that you are protected, and that you don't have to do anything--somebody else will do it for you.

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It was really hard. So we got there and I talked--I was--I became the spokesperson. I talked to the manager and said, 'OK, we were told that there's no room for us.

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But according to the letter, this is what we were-- we were supposed to be here.' And he said, 'Well, let me just do some callings.' And after he did some callings, we went back. And finally, we get our room.

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Out of the ten of us, luckily--and luckily and fortunately--or fortunately, I was the only one who had an American roommate. And as I wheel my suitcase in the room.

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The room was a small room, probably a little bit bigger than this. You know, there is a twin bed and another twin bed. There's a center aisle.

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There's a bathroom. And there's no continuum to go to the centralized area. When she walked in and she saw me, she just kinda did like this. So I stood up and I introduced myself.

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I said, 'I will be your roommate.' And I said, 'I just came from the Philippines.' I said, 'I am not really familiar--I said I read about the American way of life, but I'm not really familiar of how--once I get here, it's a different perspective that I see.'

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That's what I told her. And shejust kinda ignored me. So she went her way. I went my way.

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So I started my, uh, training at Methodist, my orientations and everything. And uh, during the orientation, I was asked what kind of specialty I would like to get. And I know I'm very good when it comes to psychiatry, psychology

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that thing, so I asked for psychiatric nursing. And I was told that they don't allow--'cause at the time I came in, it was an exchange, as an exchange student. And uh, you only stay

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here for two years. And after two years you have to go back to your country of origin. But as we were--as we stayed here, President Johnson approved a bill that all exchange

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students can stay. And the reason I came to this country was that I just wanted to get my master's degree, go back to the Philippines and continue with my teaching 'cause I already have a position waiting for me.

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But--you know--we can do that later. Let's go back to my roommate . And finally, as the week went by--as the weeks went by, I

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used up all my uniforms 'cause we were required to wear white uniforms and we have on a cap--nursing cap. And--so I used them all up. So I stopped by the laundry.

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And I don't know what to do with it. So I closed the bathroom door and looking at my pile of laundry. I don't know what to do. The next day I have to go in and pick up a

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uniform. And my roommate walked in and she heard I think me crying. Just--nothing hits me until that time that I have nobody to do this except me. She said,

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'What's the matter?' I said--and I feel embarrassed--I said, 'I have this laundry but I don't know what to do with it.' 'cause I said, 'I don't know how to clean clothes.' She kinda looked at me and she said, 'You have never done laundry?' I said, 'No.' And she said,

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'Why?' You know just--'cause she's from East Texas . And I said I have somebody to do it for me, even in the dorm and all of that. And I think she realized

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then that I really was so ignorant, a novice when it comes to these things. She said, 'No no no no. Joanna, pick up the box there of, uh, detergent. We are gonna go to the basement.' She showed me how to use the washing machine

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and the dryer. She said, 'You don't have to iron anything. Once it's washed, you can put in the laundry. We will hang it and then tomorrow you will have a uniform.' And I think that broke the ice between the two of us.

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And uh, after that, since then, she had showed me--she had a car, so she drove around. And she--I was always with her. And the first place that she

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took me was the Burger King in Kirby. 'Cause it's been there since 1969. So we get there. And she asked me what I would like to eat. In the Philippines, during that time, we

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didn't have hamburgers. It's just all Philippine food. So I said, 'Oh, go ahead and order 'cause I don't know what I'm going to eat.' She said, 'I'm going to order Burger King.' I mean the, uh, Whopper.

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I said, 'OK, make it two.' So this Whopper came. I said, 'Martha, what will I do with that.' She said, 'You eat it, you bite on it and you chew it.' I said, 'Martha, this is too huge.

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I cannot finish this.' So she said, 'Cut it in half. And if you still cannot finish that, cut it in fourth. So you can eat whatever then we can take the thing home--back to theapartment.

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And we can--we can eat that later.' And that's what we did. But few months later, her parents came. And I think during that time, East Texas did not see any Asian people.

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So they knocked at the door. And I happened to be--Martha was there. She told me that her parents were coming. I said, 'I would love to meet your parents.' And I think the--the

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homesickness then started to come out. And her parents walked in and saw me sitting in one of the beds. The parents backed off.

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They don't want to go inside the dorm. So Martha had to go out with them. And uh, when Martha came back, she apologized. I said, 'Martha, is

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there anything wrong with your parents?' She said, 'Oh no Joanna. It's just that they are not used to seeing an Asian person.' I said, 'Well, I cannot change my nation.' And so, it took another six months and finally her parents came, cameback.

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And, they came inside the room. Both her parents apologized. And do you know that Martha and I are still friends until now? Every time, 'cause she used to work at

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Methodist also. Even I left Methodist, and uh, she had came to look for me at MD Anderson. So I hope that gives you those things--but out of the ten kids, I am the only who came to this

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country. All my brothers and sisters stayed in the Philippines. Now I have my older brother, no--my younger brother who is living with me 'cause I petitioned him, I petitioned

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once I became U. S. citizen, that is another story. I don't know if you will experience it. If I jump , you will remind me to--straighten me out .

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I met my husband here through his sister. He is also a Filipino Chinese. During that time in--in 1969, there were only a few Filipinos here.

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There's about a hundred fifty of us, nurses, engineers, doctors, lawyers, that were major technologies. We met every month in the Hermann Park.

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And that's how I met my future sister-in law. And I think what happened is she went back to her place and she called her brother, 'I met a Filipino nurse that she will be your wife.' So she gave my number to him and he

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kept on calling and all of that things. And finally he called, and so we talk, and when we met. That time my roommate was already a Philippino, Martha had moved

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on 'cause she got transferred. And uh, so I thought--because I mentioned it to my roommate that I met this guy. She said, 'Oh I know him.' So all the while I was

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thinking that he was calling because of my roommate. So he came over and we went out, the three of us, and I told my roommate. I said, 'You know what?

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Your friend is very stingy. He didn't even ask us to have--if we would like to have a Coke or refreshment or something. He just let us play mini-golf and then he took us back to our place.

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And she just started laughing and everything. And so that passed and everything. And--I think a few weeks later I have to have an emergency tonsillectomy.

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So at that meeting--he volunteered to take me to the hospital and my roommate was there and other friends were there. And uh--and so during the--the interview foradmission,

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so I gave my name as Joanna Villarena--Joanna Malada Villarena. That's what I said. The lady could not pronounce my last name. And so my husband, who is my

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husband said, 'Oh she would change that to a shorter later on.' And I said--I looked at him and said, 'What is this man talking about?' So anyway, after my surgery, when I woke up, I saw

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this man in black suits sitting at the corner. Actually he was wiping my mouth 'cause I was bleeding from the tonsillectomy. I'd been to the operation room couple of times because of the bleedings, finally they

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got it under control but I still had residual bleeding. Then I looked at in the dresser. So in the hospital, they always have a dresser at the foot part of the bed. I saw the Madonna figurine.

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And I look up--and I said--I couldn't even remember his name during that time 'cause that was our second meeting--third meeting. And so things went on. And then I recovered and then finally they assigned me to go home and he

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volunteered to take me home again. And so I said ok. And my roommate, Rose, was there too. A week later he called, and he--I said,

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'Rose is not here.' And he said, 'Oh I just want to call you and talk to you if you want to go out with me.' And I said, 'Wait a minute, Rose is the one you are courting, not me.' So I said, 'I'm not interested.' And he

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persisted and so--I realized then that I was so naive . But few months later, we got married. So--two girls, six grandkids.

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So what questions do you all have there, I don't want to--'cause I know you have a limited time. So you had so many siblings. Did you get along with everybody?

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Oh yes, 'cause I was the one who handled the money all the time. I have access to the money. And yeah, we had a very, very good relationship. And um, right

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now there are only five of us left. I have two older brothers in the Philippines who are lawyers, CPA, and the younger sister still in the Philippines, and then I have a younger brother here with me 'cause there's only five of us.

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Two girls and three boys are alive. But um, you know, you heard me say that I sponsored my brother to come here. Actually my brothers and my sisters--out of the nine

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siblings left there, only two of them responded. So I got both of them here. But our oldest brother who is now eighty-five years old decided this is not the life for him.

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So he went back to the Philippines. But my younger brother is here with me and he works also at the MD Anderson. And um, one of the reasons why I became a U. S. citizen--I got my immigrant status because

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of the bill that got approved. And um when I married my husband, we had two kids one after the other, three years apart--two girls. And we went to the Philippines 'cause his

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mother died. And coming back to the United States, we were separated because they were U. S. citizens. I was not. I was an immigrant.

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Gee, why is that? And that's when I said, 'No, it's time for me to become a U. S citizen.' And that's what I did. That's why I was able to sponsor my--my uh, brothers to

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come here. And um been here since then. I think there's a question about the discrimination about the workplace and all of that in your question--in your questionnaire. You got the file--I think there was

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another one. But anyway continue with your questioning please. I'm sorry. So--was your husband born in the U. S.? No, my husband was born and raised in the Philippines.

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He was already an-- electrical engineer before he came to this country. Before he came to this country, his brother was a graduate of medical school.

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And he was recruited under war here also, in Tennessee. That was of the early sixties. He joined the army and that's how he was able to sponsor his siblings also to come.

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So that's how my husband came here. You also mentioned that he is a Filipino Chinese? Could you tell us what it means? So he was originally...

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Originally, his father came from mainland China, and then migrated to the Philippines because of business of the parents. And that's where he met my--my uh, mother-in-law, who is also half Chinese.

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When I say half Chinese, it is a Chinese couple, it's a Filipino mother and Chinese father and that's why I called him half Chinese. So basically, my mother-in-law is almost 75% Chinese because she already

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has half Chinese and she married my father in law, who's pure Chinese from mainland China. And my husband he--he speaks for the over 13 years.

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And uh, he speaks fluid Fukien, Mandarin and Cantonese. And also Filipino. And can you tell us a little about your schooling when you were little in the Philippines? What was that like?

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In the Philippines, we have our elementary school comprise of--from grade one to grade six, and we use all English. Philippines' education systems at that time were all patterned after the United States.

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We used the same book. We usedeverything the same--curriculum and everything. And then from--when you graduated from grade six, you are going to high school, First--uh first freshman all the way to senior

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year. So that's a total of ten years. Then from there you go to college, depending on your specialty or what focus you want to get. You can stay there fours year or five years depending.

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What kinds of social activities did you do as a child? As a child, I was, as I said--I was very involved with my parents' business. But, I'm glad you brought that up. 'Cause when I was small, I was very athletic.

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Even until now can you tell I am almost seventy-one years old, I still do hot yoga and everything. And you saw me walking very very fast. And um, in the elementary school, throughout high school and even in college, I was doing

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softball, volleyball, running, high jump, long jump, hurdle, and dancing. I did all of that. Except, my older brother's work,

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his office was close to the elementary school, he went to the school one time and he didn't want me to join any of these athletic activities 'cause during that time, 'that's only for the boys. You can not ride bikes.

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That's only for the boys. No girls can do that.' But--I just--I had a good time. You might say I'm sneaky but sneaky in a

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way that my parents know what I was doing. I mentioned earlier one of my older brother, I caught up with him in the uh, first grade 'cause he had torepeat first grade.

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He had-- somebody was beating him in school one time when we were still in elementary school. I was the one who fought for him. I jumped when that--he was a tall boy. I jumped on his back, and started beating him from the back to

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the point he can not see. So you can say I grew up like a tomboyish type of thing and I don't put up with anything. Because I was brought up by parents

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that if you believe you're right, you stand on your own two feet, but if you believe you're wrong, be the first one to apologize, and accept it, and move on with your life.

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And throughout my life, even here in this country, every day I always remember that. So that guided me, all my interactions and there's another one that I learned from my father.

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You might both listen to this. I can control or I can manage my action and reaction but I cannot control your action or reaction. Just think about it.

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Okay. If you get mad, for example, to Mini? Mini. --if you get mad with Mini, Mini don't know anything about it. So it's suffering. So

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it's very simple but those are the two things that guided me in my life and my passion to be educated. And that I think growing up

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with four other girls that only finished high school, and didn't want to finish college. Even my younger sister, when I came here I financed all her education.

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But she did not really want to really go to college and she got married and everything. I cannot force anybody all I can do is offer and uh, help them out.

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So going back to--I accomplished a lot of things. In high school I did the same thing. We used to compete, you know, regional high school to high school, you know, just like here high school to high school,

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regional, it can be individual competition or it can be a group competition--the same thing I went through. And in--when I got to college that's when I started doing the swimming also.

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'Cause in the Philippines we were required to--to learn how to swimbecause Philippines is surrounded by water. And we were also required to learn Spanish.

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It's part of the curriculum that you cannot graduate from any degree without finishing twenty-four hours of Spanish. 'Cause Philippines was under Spain for so many years. And uh, as I said,

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English was our language of instruction. And they're still doing it. And I should do not say was, it still is. But there was a time when I was already in this country there was a

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movement of being nationalistic. So they started to convert the English books into our national language. But what happened to the public school was that the uh, people

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who have money--they ended up sending their children to private schools because they wanted them to learn English. So that's what--but I was always helping my parents with the business . I used to open our store at four o'clock in the morning,

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and my mother would come at around 8 o'clock so I could go to school. And I finished school at noontime go to store--I don't go home until that time and have my

00:31:49.450 - 00:32:03.450

lunch there and go back to school again. And after school, go back to the store and help out until closing time and we'll go home and have our dinner. The majority of my brothers and sisters just

00:32:03.450 - 00:32:20.410

stayed at home because of the candy factory and the bakery, but I was the one who was managing every decisions that need to be done. I was always beside my mother making the decision. My mother never even finished even elementary school

00:32:21.720 - 00:32:31.680

and um, so is my father. But I can tell you this that makes me so proud of her. If you have a group of

00:32:32.820 - 00:32:47.260

grocery items she can look at each one of that, and the she will tell you what's the total-- . so I did that one time--you know.

00:32:48.170 - 00:33:02.110

'Cause in the Philippines we didn't have calculator at that time. We grew up and you have to memorize the multiplication table and the addition table. So there's the big thing we always carry with us.

00:33:02.110 - 00:33:13.240

You have to memorize that. That way if you can--if you get questioned about numbers, you will be able to come up with the answer immediately. And uh, she did that.

00:33:14.520 - 00:33:27.950

And the other thing was that I had to teach her when I was a third grader--I had to teach her how to sign papers because she did not know how to write, and so was my father.

00:33:27.950 - 00:33:40.900

I think from thevery beginning, they realized that how important education is and that's how their goal was also for all of us to at least finish high school. But there were several of us that

00:33:40.900 - 00:33:55.370

wanted more and out of the five girls I can say that I was the one who finished college. Eventually my younger sister--the younger sister is still alive--finished college but she never used it. She just became a housewife.

00:33:58.110 - 00:34:11.240

I never became a housewife. So, what was college like? College was very uh, competitive. You really have to be in the forefront of what's

00:34:11.540 - 00:34:24.150

going on, especially the first two years of my college, trying to get the preparatory. I was in a university bigger than Rice University. The biggest university, public university in the

00:34:24.270 - 00:34:35.420

Philippines. It's the University of the Philippines. The hardest to get in also. So there were so many scatteredbuildings just like this and you have to walk. It's just like what

00:34:35.480 - 00:34:50.460

you are all doing, but it's much, much more distance. And uh, again because my focus was just schooling. I go to school; I come home; I help my brother in the gasoline station.

00:34:50.840 - 00:35:03.850

I became a cashier in the gasoline station during my--if I'm not in school, I help there. Saturday, Sunday, it's my free days so I can do whatever I want. So basically I--I tried to catch up with my schooling.

00:35:05.700 - 00:35:17.630

That's how my school was. It's always been a focus thing that--that I have a goal in life that I want to accomplish. And my mother used to say

00:35:17.630 - 00:35:31.790

that you have--in your mind you're way, way ahead because you are always thinking what you can do better. When I was in nursing school, preparing for all my formal training to

00:35:31.790 - 00:35:47.290

become a nurse, we were kept--we were kept in the dorm from my first year of nursing school up to my senior year. I was the class president of our

00:35:48.510 - 00:36:05.330

class. In my junior year, one of our instructor in the Pharmacology--the study of drugs-- decided to court me. So when I realized what he was doing, I said, "No, I am not dating any professor or

00:36:05.460 - 00:36:21.130

any teacher." I said, "If you want me to go out with you, you have to give up teaching 'cause I don't want my classmates say, 'hey she got a high grade because she's dating Dr. so-and-so.'" And he

00:36:21.130 - 00:36:35.190

respected my--my--my uh, reasoning. He gave up his teaching. That's how I started dating him. Through him I learned so much, during my school in the

00:36:35.190 - 00:36:50.280

Philippines, during that time, nurses cannot start intravenous lines. And you cannot insert tube in the nose to go to the stomach . You cannot--as a female you cannot

00:36:50.450 - 00:37:05.150

catheterize a male patient to pull the urine out of the bladder. But he taught me working in the emergency room with him side by side, as a student, I

00:37:05.150 - 00:37:11.590

learnt so much. He said, 'I'm here supervising you. I'm the doctor. I'm going to show you the technique and

00:37:11.590 - 00:37:24.020

the second time I want you to do it. And that way youwill do it by yourself.' And I was not afraid 'cause I know he was always there. And then my head nurse knows about it, my

00:37:24.280 - 00:37:37.660

principal knows about it in the school that he really spent time not because he was dating me. It was because it's more of a student--student instructor relationship. 'Cause

00:37:38.460 - 00:37:53.290

to me the dating is separate from where we are right now. And during the surgery experience I have, my--the surgeons always asked for me as a student to assist them.

00:37:53.290 - 00:38:06.550

And I think because I'm left handed it's easier to--to just give things to them. So, I enjoy my uh, nursing school days, but again it's all--dating was secondary.

00:38:08.930 - 00:38:24.410

I only dated him during that time and I just focused on my study. See when--during that time as I said we stayed in the dorm and you cannot go out unless--'cause if you're

00:38:24.410 - 00:38:39.320

restricted that you cannot go out, you cannot leave the campus or youcannot leave the dorm without your brother or any member of the family, you cannot, they will not allow you 'cause we have a matron right there watching us.

00:38:40.610 - 00:38:56.040

So when, if--when he came and wanted to visit me. We're just in the visiting--visiting room. That's all we can do. But I had fun because I know I was going to finish this in three years, and I'll be a

00:38:56.040 - 00:39:14.370

nurse in three years. That's it. How did your family react when you decided to come to the United States? It was really tough on them because the doctor I was dating--we were engaged to be

00:39:14.370 - 00:39:27.650

married. But unfortunately, I hate to use that word, he was uh, called in the army service. So he went to Vietnam. That was the beginning of the Vietnam War.

00:39:28.680 - 00:39:41.930

And he went to Vietnam. And I understand about--any type of war. Soldiers always meet women and all of that thing. And uh, so he met somebody there and, you

00:39:42.990 - 00:39:57.690

know. And he did not face me because I said I understood that and blah blah blah until the woman sent me a letter. I never--my fiancé never told me. Mind you we were engaged to be married.

00:39:58.810 - 00:40:15.920

Announcements had already been out and everything. And so when I saw that, the day I received it, he just arrived from Vietnam, I confronted him. I said, 'Now, tell me about this.' And

00:40:17.010 - 00:40:31.170

he said, 'Don't believe whatever you receive.' I said, 'I normally don't.' But I said, 'What is this?' So he finally opened up. And I said, 'You know what? I cannot trust you now.

00:40:32.560 - 00:40:43.700

I cannot trust you again.' So I said, 'I call off the marriage.' And he thought I was just joking. And he went back to Vietnam because it was only a limited

00:40:43.820 - 00:40:59.450

leave. His parents and my parents were at the airport when the Philippines coming to this country. But um, going back to your question about growing up and all of that things.

00:41:00.700 - 00:41:13.240

It's really--it's really a decision as an individual that you have to make what you want to do with your life. But I have fun along the way. And I always remember to look back

00:41:13.470 - 00:41:26.690

where I came from. I never forget that. I grew up in the small town and so when I go back to the Philippines I always try to visit. But the last time I visit was before the bad

00:41:26.860 - 00:41:40.260

typhoon--they call it Yolanda. And I think it's just about a couple of months when I came back to the United States when our island got hit. And my parents' house where we all

00:41:40.330 - 00:41:56.240

grew up was really damaged. So I have to rebuild them and it's just finished rebuilding. And uh, people that I grow up with when I was there don't even recognize me because

00:41:57.570 - 00:42:09.080

they all look so old. You know, it's a hard life. It's really a hard life. And I don't know if you have been to India, and um, I don't know what's your

00:42:09.080 - 00:42:20.220

status of your parents--both of you, even in China. That you can see the difference between people who have it and people who don't have it.

00:42:21.460 - 00:42:37.880

It's really--you can really--if you have been outside of your country, coming to the United States and you see things here, you can compare the difference also.

00:42:39.310 - 00:42:54.710

I go to my school, when I came here, I remember that all Filipinos, any Asian, either assigned working nights or 2:30 to 11.

00:42:56.040 - 00:43:12.500

And there's no promotion during my time--my early times at the Methodist Hospital. And during--In '69, coming here, there was still a black cafeteria in the basement

00:43:14.110 - 00:43:26.260

and a white cafeteria on the first floor. When you go--when we went down to the basement, everybody look at us. When we went up to the first floor, everybody look

00:43:29.190 - 00:43:43.830

at us. And uh, what we realized early on that when we go down to the basement, the food is cheaper andbetter quality. So that's where we eat.

00:43:43.830 - 00:44:05.940

We learn fast. We learn very, very fast. So--how did the end of segregation change your life--in Houston? You mean being... So when African

00:44:05.940 - 00:44:19.340

Americans and Caucasians started to dine together or things like that. I think it took a while 'cause even now there is still segregation, you know. Most of the Asian here.

00:44:19.340 - 00:44:34.250

Most of the Pakistani there. Most of the Indian people here. And uh, in my situation, when my husband and I decided to buy a

00:44:34.430 - 00:44:48.520

house in the Alief area, we were the first Filipino family in that neighborhood. When my daughter turned three years old, we put her into the nursery school.

00:44:49.190 - 00:44:57.980

She was the only Asian. And what had happened was she stayed there for two years. So she stand out all the time.

00:44:58.140 - 00:45:14.640

She just stood out all the time as an Asian. And one day I got a call from work, that she bit somebody. And so when I picked her up, I asked her, 'Jo.' Her name is Joanne.

00:45:14.740 - 00:45:27.600

I'm Joanna. I said, 'What happened?' She said, 'Mommy, she bit me first so you know I--I bit her.' But the teacher only focused on her.

00:45:28.670 - 00:45:47.910

Not the white girl. So I said, 'Okay.' Nothing was done. Two days later, when we came home, I told my daughter, 'If somebody hit you, hit back. If somebody bit you, bit back.' Two days later the same girl bit her again.

00:45:49.370 - 00:46:01.000

And then my daughter bit her back. She started crying. So I got this call again. I said, 'Let me tell you something.' I said, 'Did you really see that

00:46:01.070 - 00:46:20.510

my daughter bit her--bit that girl?' And she said, 'No, it's just because she cried.' I said, 'Okay, do you know that two days ago she was the one who bite--who bit my daughter and my daughter did not respond.' So I said- -'I told her that if she bit her again, to

00:46:20.890 - 00:46:33.750

bite her back. That's what she's doing.' I said, 'Do you have a problem?' By then the parent--the parent of that girl came. And she said--you know, they called her also.

00:46:34.380 - 00:46:51.120

She said, 'What happened?' I toldher the story and come to find out that it was a habit of her daughter. She don't like you, whatever color you are, so bite you. She ended up apologizing to me because

00:46:51.440 - 00:47:08.780

I said my daughter reacted because of what your daughter did. And I said, 'It's because of this.' And that was the first discrimination we had. What year was it? That's in the early seventies.

00:47:10.090 - 00:47:25.820

Early seventies. Yeah. As you were working at a nurse, did a patient ever react to you because of your skin color? Yes. As I became pregnant with my first child,

00:47:26.780 - 00:47:37.490

my husband and I decided that it's time for me to work days because as I mentioned earlier, it's always either 11 to 7 or 2:30 to 11. So I requested for that.

00:47:37.590 - 00:47:51.810

It took awhile for me to get that shift. But once I got there--and I think people realized that I can offer a better service and a better care to my patients than any of the white nurses.

00:47:51.860 - 00:48:03.820

'Cause I was the only Filipino nurse during the day shift. And so I always got the har--hardest load. I worked in the cardiovascular floor unit.

00:48:04.040 - 00:48:13.260

It's a step-down unit of the end of the open heart surgery. And so those patients have not taken a bath. They can not really walk.

00:48:13.450 - 00:48:26.790

They still have all the tubings, they still have all the dresses. All of that. . On this particular day during report, they mentioned about this man who was next to the

00:48:26.790 - 00:48:40.300

nurses station. Any hard patients--their position in the room is the closest to the nurse's station. So if there's any issue, somebody can respond immediately. That was assigned my team.

00:48:41.500 - 00:48:59.540

And we were saying that this's a really hard patient to handle. So it was given to me. As I walked in, he looked at me and he screamed so loud that all the nurses came

00:48:59.540 - 00:49:14.610

running. He said, 'I told them not to give me any Asian looking--blah blah blah...' And he started cursing--I don't know any four letter words. I just stood there and I was just--I

00:49:16.160 - 00:49:29.030

wasshocked. 'Cause that was the first time that I have been shut up--shut up by a patient. So I back off. The other nurses back off.

00:49:30.230 - 00:49:44.600

The head nurse came. And then she went inside and you know when she came back, 'cause she said, 'Go take care of the patient. Joanna you go back to nurses station.' So she uh, talked to the patient.

00:49:44.600 - 00:49:58.600

When she came back, she said, 'Do not go to that room anymore. I told him that we're gonna get him a nurse for him.' And unfortunately there was nobody else at that moment that

00:49:58.680 - 00:50:15.410

can take care of him. And then the head nurse said, 'You know and I know that you're the only one who can really handle all the things that he needs.' But I said, 'I'm afraid of him.' And she said, 'I

00:50:15.410 - 00:50:32.750

told that patient that you need to come back one more time that you need to do what you need to do for his physical needs and then somebody will come later on to replace you.' I said, 'Fair enough.' So I went back

00:50:32.900 - 00:50:44.190

there. I introduced my name and I said I'm from the Philippines and blah blah blah.' I said, 'This is what we need to do. Get you out of the bed. I have to clean you. I have to soak your feet in warm

00:50:44.190 - 00:50:58.340

water, with soapy water while you're sitting on the chair.' I think he looked at me because supposedly no one had offered him and explained to him what needs to be done, before

00:50:58.340 - 00:51:10.650

it's--before I touch him. I asked permission before I touch him. So that went on. So I finished and clean his bed and put his dressing on and got him all

00:51:10.730 - 00:51:18.630

taken care of and put him back in bed. I said thankyou. I didn't say anything else. I just said thank you. He didn't say anything either.

00:51:19.290 - 00:51:30.730

I walked out. So few--few minutes later his wife walked in, went into the room. 'Cause at that time the visiting time was restricted on the particular unit.

00:51:31.380 - 00:51:43.100

And when the wife came out and said, 'I need to talk to the head nurse.' And I happened to be in the station. So I said, 'Sure I'll call her. I'll gether.' So

00:51:43.100 - 00:52:00.690

anyway they were talking and they kept on looking at me--they kept on looking at me. And then she came--the wife came to me and said, 'Mrs. Po, my husband wanted you to come back to the room and he wanted you to be his nurse.'

00:52:01.950 - 00:52:14.380

But I said, 'He really told me that I cannot go back anymore. He didn't want any Asian looking nurse.' Then the wife said, 'The reason he reacted to you when he saw you--because

00:52:15.160 - 00:52:29.340

he was stationed in Japan and he was engaged to be married to aJapanese woman. But his parents objected.' He said he's a

00:52:30.150 - 00:52:45.780

Jewish guy from New York. And so I said, 'I'm really afraid of him. I don't think I can continue today with him.' And the wife said, 'Just come with me please.' And so I went with the wife, and my head nurse was also with me.

00:52:46.900 - 00:53:07.020

That man sat uh--sat straight on his back and apologized. And he said, 'I got it--I try to take it out from any Asian that I can see because of the frustration I went through.' He said, 'It was not your fault.' And he said, 'Of all the nurses that took care

00:53:07.070 - 00:53:21.400

of me, you're the first one who had really given me all what needs to be done, and let me understand what needs to be done.' That's the--the thing that I remember talking about discrimination.

00:53:22.330 - 00:53:36.770

And after that, every day I have a free breakfast, I have a free lunch, delivered to the nurses station from him until he got discharged. When he left the hospital, he uh,

00:53:37.290 - 00:53:51.570

donated money to the hospital because of the care that he received and sent me a huge--I said, 'No, this is not for me--it's for the whole unit.' So that was the worst thing I have ever experienced.

00:53:52.250 - 00:54:08.330

But in the workplace itself, uh, as I mentioned earlier there was no Filipino or any--any colored nurses who are on the leadership role. I became a charge nurse.

00:54:09.050 - 00:54:23.190

My head nurse got promoted to be a supervisor. And so, we don't have a headnurse in our unit. But I was the one doing the schedule. If there's any problem, the doctors will call me.

00:54:23.840 - 00:54:35.570

If they have any challenging patient they always want their patient to be on my team. And so I ended up training other nurses how to take care of their patients. So it would be--the

00:54:35.570 - 00:54:48.680

way with the care of the patients in that unit--there's only 24 beds and there's always 24 patients. It will be uniform--wherever the patient goes or wherever the nurse goes that

00:54:48.680 - 00:55:02.110

the same care will be provided to the patient, and not just me. So I did that. But anyway, so what this director--what this nursing director did, she kept on bringing in a white head

00:55:02.250 - 00:55:16.790

nurses. But the white nurse didn't last long because every time there's a problem they don't know what to do. They always looked for me even though I was with the patient. Without me knowing it, the

00:55:16.850 - 00:55:32.060

white nurses, the doctors, and even the nephew of Mr. Binta--do you know that Mr. Binta lived in the unit where I used to work--petitioned that I needed to be promoted as the head nurse.

00:55:34.250 - 00:55:52.890

So the director called me and said, 'Can you really speak fluent English?' This is from the director. I said, 'Why did you ask?' He said, 'I just want to be sure, because all of these people are asking me to promote

00:55:52.890 - 00:56:05.440

you as the head nurse--can you do the job?' So I said, 'Well, it's up to the people that I work with.' Finally, she said, 'Okay Joanna, we give you a promotion but this

00:56:05.440 - 00:56:25.260

is against my will.' And so I said, 'Is it because of this?' I just did like that . I said, 'Is it because of this?' She got so red. What was so funny after I became a head nurse, that time it was also building up about

00:56:25.380 - 00:56:37.580

the equal opportunities. She did not last long after I got the promotion. So I can say that in the history of Methodist that I was the first Filipino head nurse.

00:56:38.390 - 00:56:54.270

And it opened the doors to other not only Filipinos but to the Chinese and Asians--other Asian nurses over there. But it's just one of the things that I have to deal with, which we all don't deal with

00:56:54.330 - 00:57:08.030

anymore. 'Cause at MD Anderson I'm a diversity champion. And when I hire nurses, it doesn't matter to me what color you are, if you speak fluent English, or not and you are

00:57:08.030 - 00:57:24.610

just learning. As long as you can do the job and I'm there to help you. But guys I can tell you this. People who really provide the best nursing care to the patients are the Asian nurses.

00:57:26.520 - 00:57:39.400

And I'm so proud to say that. 'Cause if you go to the medical center right now you're gonna see that all the nurses are hard-working. All Asian nurses are hard-working

00:57:39.450 - 00:57:58.740

nurses, Be it Chinese, Filipinos, Asian, Islamic all of those things. So that's where--so talking about discrimination. When my oldest daughter graduated from high school,

00:58:01.220 - 00:58:18.120

and she interviewed at HBU, Houston Baptist School, University. She was trying to major in English, and also minor in--'cause in HBU you have to have two

00:58:19.870 - 00:58:29.250

majors, English and biology. She went to the English department. As she walked in, she was asked to sit down. So she sat down.

00:58:29.840 - 00:58:45.410

And then the professor, the guy who interviewed her was the head of the English department said, 'Can you speak English?' My daughter stood up and said, 'Not only that I can speak fluent English, I was born and

00:58:45.500 - 00:58:59.410

raised at the Methodist Hospital. I was raised--I am a native Texan.' And that was not too long ago. That was the early,

00:59:00.280 - 00:59:14.500

middle 80s. And the professor was shocked because they have this um, what you call it, generalization that if you have the color, you have the small eyes, you have long

00:59:14.870 - 00:59:31.130

hair, and you have big eyes, they say that you cannot speak English. But that changes the whole thing also HBU because of that. So there's a lot. I think your generation--

00:59:31.130 - 00:59:44.710

you're all so lucky now because it's more diverse and it's more open now. And I think it took a while for Houston, especially Houston. But now Houston is very diverse.

00:59:46.530 - 01:00:03.590

It's more of--you see more so many different types of people now. But going back to your question about segregation, I think gradually different races are blending and intermarriage and all of that are happening.

01:00:05.330 - 01:00:14.850

'Cause my brother-in-law is a doctor, as I said. He met his wife in a hospital in Tennessee who was related to one of the senators before.

01:00:15.440 - 01:00:27.960

They did not marry in Tennessee. They had to get out of Tennessee to get married because of discrimination. So--did that answer you, or did I

01:00:28.420 - 01:00:44.180

confuse you? Could you elaborate on that? Like why did they have to get married in Tennessee? Because--They had to get married outside of Tennessee not in Tennessee

01:00:45.040 - 01:00:58.850

because in Tennessee during that time they do not allow an interracial marriage. Oh, I see. Yeah, there was no interracial marriage. So as you were raising your children here, did you try to integrate Filipino culture at

01:00:58.910 - 01:01:14.120

all? Yes, I did. We spoke to them--actually in our dialect and also our national language when we were teaching them. But once they get into--intermingle

01:01:14.120 - 01:01:30.380

in school and uh, it became a different story. They were coming home, they started speaking fluent English and all of that. So it gradually get dropped but they can still understand when I get mad and I talk in Tagalog,

01:01:32.170 - 01:01:45.750

they know exactly what I'm saying? My children, especially my uh--both of them--my oldest daughter. When she was in high school, she tried to be with the Filipino

01:01:45.750 - 01:02:02.590

students. But what had happened was that they went out one time, they were teaching her dirty words. So she came home, I opened the door. Probably you don't want to record this.

01:02:03.750 - 01:02:18.370

And she uh, she said a word that means, in our dialect that in English it means you are a whore. She can see--she saw my facial expression and all of that.

01:02:19.050 - 01:02:34.700

And she said, 'Mommy, what's wrong?' So I had to sit down with her and explain to her. And since then, she had avoided. But my youngest daughter who is now in Harvard she

01:02:34.700 - 01:02:46.680

is um--she intermingled with so many different races. When she finished high school, she went to the St. Edward's in Austin.

01:02:47.460 - 01:03:04.100

And then from there she went to Boston College 'cause they offered her a scholarship for a master's degree. After she finished her master's degree in English and also education, they offered her a Ph.

01:03:04.190 - 01:03:19.470

D. During her master's program, she created a program about opening an office for IT--the uh, training--computer

01:03:21.660 - 01:03:34.360

training, all computerized. And so the school adopted that. That's why she got extended for her Ph. D. So the uh, the

01:03:35.630 - 01:03:52.830

IT learning center was opened in Boston College. Instead of her becoming the director, you know, the white person, and she became--the white director realized that she knows my daughter that she knows more than she does.

01:03:54.400 - 01:04:12.870

She doesn't want to accept the directorship because of the school ruling and all of that. She became the director and my daughter became the assistant director. She was doing that for several years and then after that Harvard University recruited her.

01:04:12.930 - 01:04:27.240

She didn't want to leave. But then we talked about it--any promotion or anything that my daughter does we talk about it. They consult me and I respected that. And I'm sohonored that they still seek my help.

01:04:28.790 - 01:04:46.150

So I--she finally made the decision. She moved. So she is now the director of the uh, IT creative and innovative learning center in Harvard University, medical--no medical, it's business

01:04:48.360 - 01:05:01.430

school. So that's-- but the two had some discrimination but right now if you talk about discrimination and challenges it's subtle but it's a still there.

01:05:03.170 - 01:05:16.420

I do not know about the two of you. Are both of your daughters married? Yes. Did they marry Filipinos or no? No. My oldest daughter her first husband--married

01:05:20.500 - 01:05:29.950

uh--German descent. They met in school at HBU. And then--I'm going to share this with both of you. After she graduated

01:05:29.990 - 01:05:40.460

from HBU, she got accepted at Baylor College of Medicine. She was the only one who got accepted from HBU. We put the down payment and everything.

01:05:40.640 - 01:05:52.080

Before graduation, she eloped with her boyfriends. OK? So now after 15 years, she realized that this man is just taking advantage of her.

01:05:53.690 - 01:06:06.910

She said that they--when they moved to Atlanta, she was driving him to the interview. But instead, they offered a job to her. And so she said,

01:06:06.960 - 01:06:24.530

'I'm not going to accept this job--because,' she said, 'he was the one who was looking for the job, not me.' So they offered both of them the job in order to get her. And after 15 years, she realized that she cannot prove to

01:06:24.640 - 01:06:38.300

me anymore that this man was reallyworth her while. So she divorced him. Now she's remarried to a Texan which is also--which is also a divorcee.

01:06:38.520 - 01:06:49.360

He also has two kids. So they have now four kids. But the two kids are my son-in-law's first wife, don't stay with them.

01:06:49.360 - 01:07:03.340

They only stay with them every other weekend. And uh, they stay with--during summertime, they stay with them right now. But the father of my two oldest two current

01:07:04.590 - 01:07:21.330

kids--he went back to Florida. While my youngest daughter, she married an Irish family and they have two kids. And they are in Boston. So they are happy.

01:07:22.950 - 01:07:37.940

Irish--I think the Irish culture is similar to the--to the Asian culture. They're very, very family oriented, and hard-working also. And my son-in-law with my

01:07:38.830 - 01:07:59.090

oldest daughter Joanna--Gini is my second daughter-- is married to a Texan guy who was born and raised in West Texas. And so he knows how hard work is all about. So are you involved in the jewelry business?

01:07:59.280 - 01:08:10.590

Yes! Tell us about that. Very much involved. My husband, as I said, was an electric engineer. He worked at

01:08:10.680 - 01:08:27.050

Dow Chemical and then he worked at Victor Park Operation. When he turned 50, again it's in this early--early seventies, late seventies, early eighties--when he turned 50,

01:08:28.530 - 01:08:47.990

because he was making more money he was terminated--and he was terminated and they replaced him with 3 new graduates. And--I think 6 months

01:08:47.990 - 01:09:04.570

later, while he was terminated, it's the hardest for any Asian to go to the um, to ask for--even though he paid

01:09:04.570 - 01:09:22.450

for the benefit for jobless benefit, he refused to go there to ask for--for--for support. So every time I sent him--and this is in the Chinese--especially Chinese, the Chinese

01:09:22.450 - 01:09:38.430

men consider themselves as the head of the family. Because he was not bringing check and I was only one who was bringing my salary 'cause we have a combined checking account. And our funding is all--we make all the decision together.

01:09:39.270 - 01:09:57.730

And uh, he felt so embarrassed that he cannot contribute to the fund. I said, 'No'--I said--'if I lost my job you're gonna support me too.' So I said 'this is ours together.' And finally what he decided to do is to withdraw all his retirement, at that

01:09:57.810 - 01:10:09.700

time it was doing all stock markets. So he got all those funds. And he decided not to go back to engineering. And uh, the

01:10:09.700 - 01:10:29.010

beginning of my jewelry business was--you are all so young--when lapis lazuli first came out--the beads first came out, Houston Jewelry Store--used to be a huge one here in

01:10:29.010 - 01:10:42.690

Houston. So I asked my husband to go with me and see if I can get something. We get there. It was fifty percent discount. So I said, 'I want that.' And he said, 'Mommy,

01:10:43.070 - 01:10:57.640

we cannot afford it.' And I think his feelings got hurt 'cause I said, 'I make money. How can I not get what I want.' So we went home. Very resourceful. I went online, and I was

01:10:57.700 - 01:11:15.930

able to find out where I can find, beads and the supplies and I can make my own. And when my order came, I don't have enough money on my--'cause we put our

01:11:16.060 - 01:11:27.340

money together in a pool--there's always an allowance between the two of us--I get a certain amount; he get a certain amount. He spent all his because when we go out I cap him!--I

01:11:28.230 - 01:11:38.510

don't have enough to pay for the 300 dollars. So when the notice came and said that your package is here and you have to go to the post office to pick it up now. I said, 'Dad,

01:11:38.570 - 01:11:49.970

can I borrow 300 dollars?' He didn't ask anything. So I said, 'I just need to go to the post office.' So we picked it up. When we got home, I was so excited because I have all

01:11:49.990 - 01:12:03.200

the jade, the multi-colored jade--I have the lapis--I have all the supplies that I needed. I started making necklaces. I realized that there are two different types of beads. One with a bigger hole and the other one with a smaller hole.

01:12:03.650 - 01:12:14.190

The bigger hole is the one that you do the add on--it is not popular anymore. While the smaller holes are the one that you string. And I have to--I taught myself how to string

01:12:14.320 - 01:12:26.150

necklaces. Every time I wore it at work, people always want to get it and buy it off my neck. It was building and I was enjoying because I was getting ordering blah blah blah.

01:12:26.970 - 01:12:40.360

And so when my husband went out, when he got laid off, my business there on the side was actually booming. People are asking--friends are asking for gold, diamonds and all of these. So I told my husband.

01:12:40.360 - 01:12:56.150

I said, 'Dad, I have these.' I said, 'What can I do with this?'--'cause I said, 'I cannot concentrate on this.' He said, 'Oh, I know what to do.' He made me draw all my money and we

01:12:56.150 - 01:13:10.800

opened the business at the same place we are still, after thirteen years I'm closing by the end of this month. And that's how we opened the business. And uh, he--he

01:13:11.540 - 01:13:23.520

managed the business, but when it comes to buying, selection of all the jewelries and making all the bead strings, all the purse and things, and designing. I did all of those.

01:13:23.520 - 01:13:33.960

That's how I enjoyed them. So he died over thirteen years ago and I thought I was going to close the business 'cause I was still working full time as the director of nursing.

01:13:37.080 - 01:13:48.910

I did not close it 'cause people are still coming. So what I did was every Saturday I opened the store,and that's where friends started coming and buying them. That's how my jewelry business.

01:13:49.890 - 01:14:01.320

But I'm closing it, unfortunately, I'm closing it by the end of this month, as I said, 'cause after thirteen years it's at the same site--it's on the high rise at Arena Tower.

01:14:02.620 - 01:14:10.240

And we are registered at the jeweler's board of trade. It's hard to register on that. Do you know any jewelry?

01:14:11.810 - 01:14:21.010

It's hard to get there and be registered. And uh, I don't want to do it. But on the other hand, I'm almost 71 years old.

01:14:21.080 - 01:14:32.460

In two months, I will be seventy-one. I'd like to spend more time with my uh, grandkids and to travel. Since I retired, I have travelled.

01:14:32.950 - 01:14:50.070

I have been to Rome, Italy, Bosnia, Herzegovina. I have been to--this year I have been to uh, holy land, I went to Israel before all this bombing. Jericho and Jordan--and I just came back from

01:14:52.460 - 01:15:07.890

Budapest, Vienna, Hungary, I mean Prague, Dachau and Munich. And I've helping my youngest daughter also. Every time, like when school--this is

01:15:07.920 - 01:15:20.480

summertime--but when school opens in--elementary school opens in Boston--that's after Labor Day, she asked me to go up there to stay with the kids. And that's what I've doing

01:15:20.480 - 01:15:31.590

since my granddaughter who is now, she will be nine this month--since she was three years old she started going to school. So I have been very busy.

01:15:31.590 - 01:15:48.210

I have been very, very busy with my uh, the radiology nursing group. As a cardiovascular nurse--As a head nurse in that unit in 1978 I had the opportunity to

01:15:48.580 - 01:15:58.410

create and open the radiology nursing service at the Methodist Hospital. It's a new problem that I fully developed and responsible for it.

01:15:59.390 - 01:16:12.690

And then I got--in 1981 I got involved in the national organization as a charter member--we put together a national organization, and uh, it's now an international organization.

01:16:13.900 - 01:16:33.810

And last March--this march, I just came back from San Diego, because out of the 34 charter members, I'm the only one who is still alive and very active. And so they started the uh, Joanna Po Leadership Series as a

01:16:33.890 - 01:16:52.140

yearly presentation--that's named after me. So, and I'm the only nurse also to have been recognized and contributed to the celebration and have given lectures to international

01:16:52.220 - 01:17:07.710

group of technologists, nurses, radiologists, physicist--you name it, anybody that works in radiology. In 1995, it was the uh, celebration of the hundred years discovery of x-

01:17:07.710 - 01:17:24.670

ray. And until now, I'm the only nurse. And so the manuscript of my presentation is buried in the vault, which will be open in 2095. So, when I was preparing for this,

01:17:25.180 - 01:17:41.870

I didn't realize how much presentations I have done. And it was--it's not just for the nurses, I have done presentations to managers, I have done presentation to all radiologist technologists. And I became a consultant in many organizations even the

01:17:42.440 - 01:17:57.070

bord of nursing organization. There's a bill 1116 that focuses on the practice of nursing in radiology and I was the one--the consultant that the board had called out

01:17:57.100 - 01:18:09.150

to help them out. So this--your invitation, your project had helped me really look back of what I have done. All these certifications I have accomplished.

01:18:10.670 - 01:18:26.690

I'm a diversity champion. I'm also a mentor and I do a lot of consulting, even until now, when people invite me to-- for things I give it to them freely--'cause to me, money, yes

01:18:26.760 - 01:18:40.790

money means a lot, but it's the parting of knowledge, the sharing of knowledge that's very, very important to me. I can't take it with me if I die. But at least if I can share it, people will know

01:18:41.990 - 01:18:57.670

and remember. And I can say that when I retired, all the nurses and all the people I worked with, not just technologies, even the radiologists, still call and they will ask for things,and I help

01:18:59.050 - 01:19:15.490

them. But at the end, they are the one who have to make the decision, not me. So I enjoy my career as a nurse, as a mother, as a jeweler, as a friend, and a counselor and

01:19:15.490 - 01:19:33.320

as a mentor. And I'm glad I have this opportunity to share with you all. So I brought some examples of my stuff. Yes, I got my master's degree at Texas Woman's University. And I'm also an advanced nurse practitioner.

01:19:34.800 - 01:19:50.960

So there's a lot of certifications that they do. So what else do you want to know about me? Do you have anything else? Yeah, actually--since you've both worked in the Philippines and the United

01:19:50.960 - 01:20:07.450

States, could you compare the medical systems here and over there? In the Philippines, basically, I worked as a student and also one year as a clinical instructor. All of my nursing career really is here in this country.

01:20:08.340 - 01:20:25.900

But I can say that what we have, what we have during my time was that the curriculum that I mentioned earlier, whatever the United States have, that's what we used in the Philippines. The only difference is that, we have so manyequipments

01:20:25.900 - 01:20:42.130

in here, majority disposable, during my times in the Philippines, we have to clean the needles, we have to sterilize it, we have to sharpen it, we have to reuse a lot of things. All the expensive equipment we have right now, we know the principles, we know the

01:20:42.220 - 01:20:55.930

theory behind it, we put together three models instead of the actually thing 'cause we don't have it but we learn how to use the gravity to pull--to suction whatever drainage in your body.

01:20:57.010 - 01:21:17.400

So basically I can say it's theory, principles, technologies--theory and practice are almost the same, with the exception of the availability of equipments. And Ihave not been to any hospitals in the Philippines

01:21:17.930 - 01:21:31.310

since I have been practicing here. Mostly I go for clinics like when my nieces and nephews wanted me to go with them I go with him. But I have several doctors in the Philippines who are practicing--nieces and

01:21:31.520 - 01:21:39.780

nephew who are nurses. I have several nurses in this country also. And I have one in Canada, who is also a nurse.

01:21:40.940 - 01:21:57.150

I was the first nurse--I was the first medical person in our family also. And now there are so many of my nieces and nephews that followed. So, um, anything else guys?

01:21:58.450 - 01:22:15.030

Okay, so just to like wrap up as the final question, what would you like to impart on the following generations about your immigrant experience? I think what I can say is this--that it's much, much better for the immigrants now

01:22:15.540 - 01:22:31.710

compared to our generation. The uh--it is more open now, and there's more available things and there's more rules and regulations that support the success of that.

01:22:32.610 - 01:22:44.420

The diversification and also the togetherness of the people that yes, we have different colors but we are all human being. The color of our blood is the same.

01:22:44.720 - 01:22:57.390

The only difference is the color of our skin, how ours eyes are shaped, and all of that. But it's much, much better this time--so the future generation really need to continue to learn from the past

01:22:57.800 - 01:23:13.170

in order to improve in the future. And I think when you look back where you came from, what have you done there, and look forward to what you can do and contribute to the future, future generation.

01:23:14.010 - 01:23:22.260

Don't hang onto it, share it. Okay? Thank you so much. Thank you very much guys. You have been so patient.

01:23:23.090 - 01:23:25.220

And thank you for the confusion that we have!