Frank Nam
Frank Nam would describe his youth in the Tri-state area as “Korean on the weekends and American on the weekdays.” After graduating from Rutgers as a history major, he never expected to land a job at MSNBC.com as a web developer; later moving on to Microsoft. He then spent the next 24 years in Seattle exploring different sectors within his career before being suddenly laid off during the 2001 recession, thus facing many emotional stressors throughout a year and a half of unemployment. He finally confronted himself and laid out two options – go back to NY or stay in Seattle to explore his passions instead of being what he thought a good Korean American Christian should be.
Frank chose the latter and found joy in ultimate frisbee, meeting people outside the Korean American community, while pursuing his passion for education and immigration rights. As a result, Frank continued on to dedicate 11 years towards public service and working for education-based nonprofits. Frank has now found himself residing in South Korea, still examining his identity as a 1.5 generation Korean American while doing what he loves.