Jennifer Tang - Going into politics to help students

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Jennifer Tang's parents are survivors of the Cambodian genocide. Growing up with those stories Jennifer had a lot of questions about how societies and government could fall apart like that. She always asked those questions, and she never found satisfactory answers. But that curiosity is what led her to start getting involved in public service.

Before Jennifer moved to  Monterey Park at age 10, she lived in an apartment where her neighbor got shot in their driveway. And when her family  moved to  Monterey Park, she thought, 'oh my goodness, my life looks like a TV show now.' The opportunity to grow up in Monterey Park meant that she had a great education and was able to pursue her hopes and dreams. 

When Jennifer was 21 years old, she went to Cambodia by herself to be a volunteer teacher. After that experience she decided that that is what she was going to do as a career. It made the most sense to her, both for the type of work that she wanted to do in her life and the type of impact that she wanted to have. During her time in Cambodia she taught four hours a day. Her youngest student was 15 years old and the oldest student was 65. The work that she was doing was directly impacting their economic prosperity because if they could speak English, they had more access to resources and jobs. The results were tangible. That experience is what has spurred everything else she has done since. 

Jennifer has been a teacher for five years, and she has worked in education for 10 years. During her recent campaign a lot of people could easily say “Oh, as a teacher she may not have experience in finance and things like that.” However Jennifer has also worked at startups for four years and helped build the companies from the ground up. 

Instagram: @jenniferlovetang


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Music

Podcast Intro and Outro
Everyday, Jason Farnhmam, YouTube Audio Library

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I love you, Vibe Tracks, YouTube Audio Library

Sour Tennessee Red (Sting), John Dewey and the 41 Players, YouTube Audio Library

Dewey, Cheedham, and Howe (Sting), John Dewey and the 41 Players, YouTube Audio Library

Film Project Countdown.flac Copyright 2013 Iwan Gabovitch, CC-BY3 license

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