bullying workshop for middle school girls at the Girls Inc. Philadelphia’s She Leads Advocacy Summit last year. “I was inspired by how [Stephanie] used pageantry as a vehicle to spread awareness against domestic abuse and encourage young girls to have confidence in their voices and abilities,” Sally said. “Stephanie was Miss High School America a few years ago. I was intrigued by the opportunity to meet more socially engaged young women by competing in the collegiate division this summer.” The Miss High School America organization is devoted to its mission to build respect and values for everyone (BRAVE). As someone who said she felt disempowered and experienced bullying as a young person, Sally is dedicated to the mission of youth empowerment that this organization embodies. Sally is honored to spend the year working with young people to nurture care and empathy so no one feels alone. She plans to use her sash to engage with young people through anti-bullying and history education. The pageant is held in Little Rock, Arkansas, and is sponsored by the city, which is an added bonus for Sally as she is currently pursuing her PhD in 1990s American history and plans to visit the Clinton Presidential Library there. “This is likely my last pageant,” Sally admitted. “I’m 28 now, so I am ‘aged out’ of most systems. I found this to be a phenomenal opportunity. I’m so proud of my growth throughout the past three years, and I am grateful I met so many girls and young women throughout this process.” Sally’s goal as a titleholder is to be someone younger children see as the “Bill Nye of history” — trustworthy, informational, caring and a little silly. “As someone who learned English as a second language, educational entertainment shows like ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ played a huge role in how I thought of myself and the possibilities of what I could achieve,” Sally expressed. Prior to pageantry, Sally received her Bachelor of Arts degree in studies of women, gender and sexuality from Harvard College in 2018, where she was a John Harvard Scholar. While at Harvard, she also completed the undergraduate teacher education program, through which she student- taught U.S. History at a local high school. Sally then worked on Wall Street at Deutsche Bank and the D.E. Shaw Group where she helped the two companies within their human resources departments with their internal diversity, equity and inclusion programming. During this time as an HR generalist, she assisted the companies with immigration cases and paperwork for H-1B visa applications and renewals, and she helped spearhead both companies’ inaugural affinity groups for Asian American and Pacific Islander employees and allies. It was at this time Sally became increasingly interested in the role that the Department of Homeland Security plays in building the talent pool for the country’s businesses at home and abroad. She found herself applying to history programs
to help document the history of the immigrants and government systems that have influenced the digital world as we know it. This led her to Princeton University. Now, Sally is a historian of the recent past interested in how immigration policy, globalization and technocratic authority complicated ideas of Asian American identity in the late 20th century. “My previous life in Human Resources has influenced my interest in exploring these spheres through a labor-centric lens,” Sally explained. “For example, how has the American tech industry influenced immigration and labor policy? Further, how has the H-1B system racialized the notion of technical expertise and perpetuated myths of Asian American class homogeneity? I honestly did not expect to work in HR for so long after college, but it gave me a lot of insight into what working means and sparked my interest in labor and immigration history.” Her current project explores the attempts of municipal officials to ameliorate both tangible and intangible harm incurred by Downtown Seattle residents after the 1999 WTO Ministerial Conference. Sally credited Alpha Phi with bringing her out of her “bubble,” particularly because she was studying women, gender and
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