Thursday, May 6, 2010
2 to 3 pm
Kerckhoff Hall State Room 131, UCLA
AKASIA, Alliance of Korean American Students in Action with the Korean Resource Center and NAKASEC is proud to host Simon Cho, U.S. Olympian for short track speed skating and the winner of a bronze medal for 5,000m men’s relay on his first visit to Los Angeles.
On Thursday, May 6th, at 2pm, Simon will be at UCLA for a meet-and-greet and speak about his support for immigration reform. Simon will be sharing his experiences as an immigrant and Korean American who overcome great challenges to achieve his dreams. He believes that by sharing this story, young people, regardless of race or immigration experience can begin to empathize with each other. Simon is passionate about giving back to his community and hopes to inspire young people to never lose sight of their own dreams.
After a few years in Chicago, Simon’s family settled near Upper Marlboro, Maryland. While his parents worked long hours running a small seafood takeout shop, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, Simon devoted much of his time to speed skating. After graduation from junior high school, his parents sold their business in order to send Simon to Salt Lake City where he could practice full time with the US Olympic team. With Shani Davis and Apollo Anton Ohno as his mentors, at the age of 18, Simon was the youngest member of the US Olympic speed skating team.
Please come to hear his inspiring story and to be updated on the current immigration reform movement. To RSVP or for questions about this event, please contact Hemi Kim at hkim@nakasec.org or (213) 503-0942.
