Tag: Maryland

MiRan Powell was born in Texas in 1964 to a Korean mother and a white father. At the time of her and her sister’s birth, anti-miscegenation laws were still in effect across parts of the United States. She recalls how their dual heritage brought them grief and confusion throughout childhood. Hoping her daughters would better assimilate into American society, her mother did not teach her Korean beyond a few folk songs. Because her maternal relatives lived in North Korea, she was never able to meet them. The stories her mother told of Korea felt like little more than fairy tales.

In her career as an actress, MiRan has played a wide range of characters, including a British heiress, Japanese maiden, and a Greek Princess. However, regardless of the roles she was cast in, MiRan tells us that her goal was always to just become “the best actress that she could be.” On stage, she has had to find and command a confidence she hoped she possessed as a child while navigating the anxieties of her identity. She has since transformed this confidence into a sense of responsibility, advocating for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Jennifer Lee, 24, recounts her journey from Seoul, Korea, to North Bethesda, Maryland, where she now resides after immigrating to the United States with her mother and brother. She speaks about what it was like to be raised by a resilient mother who worked to provide for her young family in a new country and reflects on the love, support, and sympathy extended to her following the loss of her father at a young age. She talks about navigating college and career aspirations while switching from pre-health to computer science, where she found an interest in Human-Computer Interaction. Although initially conflicted on whether to pursue UX research and design, as this would mean more schooling rather than directly entering the workforce, her mother encouraged her to follow her passions instead of feeling burdened by the impossible weight of giving back to her family. She says that if she could give her younger self any advice, it would be to have confidence in yourself and what you do, because no matter how you feel toward yourself, there will always be those around willing to show you love and care.

Alex Pryor was born in DC, grew up in Maryland, and spent many Sundays in Virginia. Being half Black and half Korean, Alex describes his story as “perpetually on a bridge” – often having felt lonely and the need to fit in. When he entered college and joined a group for mixed-race students, it gave him an insight into where he belonged and the tools to understand race, ethnicity, culture, and nationality. Living in Korea has always been a dream, and now that he’s been living there since 2020, it’s been a liberating experience to navigate life on his own terms.