ABSTRACT
Decades before my Taiwanese mother and Palestinian father met in the United States, their mothers shared a similar fate; neither Ama Run Chi nor Sitti Tamam Abu Kamleh would earn a college degree. In fact, my Sitti never stepped foot into an elementary school and was a newlywed at the age of 12, and my Ama merely had a sixth-grade education. Yet my grandmothers both ensured that each of their children received an education past elementary school. When my father almost stayed in Jordan to help provide for his family, my Sitti urged him to travel to the United States—amid disapproval from other family members—to receive a college degree and provide better lives for his future children. My ancestors continue to be guiding lights in my journey within the ivory tower, and their perseverance and resiliency remind me that an education will be my path to true wealth.
