Bravery Over Everything
Friday, December 17, 2021
Media Contact: Samantha Siler | Communications and Marketing Manager | 405-744-2977 | samantha.siler@okstate.edu
When Xin Mei Teng packed everything she owned into two suitcases and moved her life across the globe to pursue her education, she found her home in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Teng, an Oklahoma State University food science senior, plans to graduate in May 2022. She journeyed by herself from Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia, to Oklahoma City before she turned 21. Unprepared for the state’s weather upon her arrival in Stillwater in January, Teng encountered a snow storm and weather sirens sounding.
“I was not expecting it to snow,” Mei said. “My roommate had not arrived yet, and I could not find my community mentor or anyone to ask ‘What is going on?’ The tornado sirens were sounding, and I was scared because I did not understand what was happening.”
Navigating the Oklahoma weather was a challenge, but Teng faced other challenges like maneuvering transportation, learning new cultural norms, and speaking in public, she said.
“Presenting myself in front of people is always a challenge,” Teng said. “Changing the way I speak is slightly different from y’all. It’s the way I word my sentences and sometimes forgetting the English word for what I am trying to say.”
Teng’s native language is Malay, but she is fluent in English and in the Cantonese dialect of Mandarin, she said. Being trilingual and a non-native English speaker, Teng faces multiple forms of adversity, she added.
“People always have trouble listening clearly to what I’m trying to say,” Teng said. “That’s the whole problem with it. I have to walk through life constantly repeating myself.
“Plus, a lot of people think I am actually from China, so every time I introduce myself, I include that I am from Malaysia,” Teng added.
Despite facing daily adversities, Teng has excelled in numerous areas of her life, she said. Her endeavors at OSU include research under animal and food sciences associate professor Ravi Jadeja, participation in a scholarship pageant, and involvement with several student organizations.
“The main three research projects I am working on are the effectiveness of salt in fish roe, which is caviar, antimicrobial treatments for pecans and walnuts, and the shelf life of wheat seeds,” Teng said.
Teng is a determined individual, Jadeja said.
“She is an excellent student,” Jadeja said. “I would rank her in the top 1% of the students I have had the opportunity to interact with. She takes initiative and is hardworking.”
Teng sought the research opportunity with Jadeja after her first class with him, she said.
“I did not come to OSU with the mindset of research or even working as a part-timer during my first semester,” Teng said. “But after my first semester, I felt disconnected from campus and thought I should get a part-time job with the mindset of ‘maybe I can learn something from it.’
“I started talking to different professors about it, and Dr. Jadeja eventually approached me and asked ‘Do you need a job?’”
Teng soon realized working and being a full-time student can be stressful, she said. After working as a laboratory technician for a while, she began her research projects.
Her research projects intrigued her, yet Teng wanted to be more involved on campus and share her culture with other students. She then discovered the 2021 Miss Asian OSU scholarship pageant and decided to participate.
In April 2021, Teng earned the first runner-up title and the People’s Choice Award, along with awards for entrepreneur, overall interview and overall talent.
“I value her participation in Miss Asian OSU 2021 and her dedication to serve as a Student Success Leader in the Ferguson College of Agriculture most,” said Yoke Chooi Wong, Teng’s mother. “These experiences have shaped her to be a team player, outspoken, confident and patient.”
The OSU scholarship pageants require contestants to participate in an interview process, build an issue platform to work on throughout the next year, perform a talent and group dance, and display his or her culture and heritage, said Joyce Crawford, OSU Asian-American Affairs coordinator.
Teng’s platform was volunteerism and giving back to the community, Crawford said.
“During the heritage and culture portion, I wore my dresses from Malaysia,” Teng said. “My talent was singing. I wrote my song, and as I was writing it, I cried because it made me think of my grandmother. She taught me how to sing.
“I love the up and down beats of pop music. I relate it to the ups and downs of life.”
Among Teng’s successes at OSU, she serves as a Multicultural Programs Leader through the Ferguson College of Agriculture and is active in the Chinese Language Association, the Food Science Club, the Student Volunteer Center, and the Asian-American Student Association.
“My favorite part of OSU is wearing orange,” Teng said. “I really like the orange colors. It fancies me a lot.”
Like most students, family is important to Teng, she said, and living 9,469 miles away from her parents creates some communication issues because of the time differences.
“Because the timing is totally different, it is daytime here and nighttime there,” Teng said. “I tend to talk to my parents a lot through messaging, but during school breaks, I have more free time so we can video call each other.”
Her parents are proud, excited and nervous for her on all of her adventures, Teng said.
“I treasure her hard-working effort toward an all-round learner to face challenging living situations in an uncharted ground of uncertainties in life,” said Yaw Yeong Teng, Mei Teng’s father. “Whatever she did for the day made me proud of her. She managed to learn so much to uncover to the best of her ability.”
Mei Teng’s parents hold a special place in her life, but so do her friends and professors in Stillwater, she said.
“Dr. Jadeja has been a huge influence in my life and has taught me so much,” Mei Teng said.
Those who have met and know Mei Teng can attest to her determination to be successful and happy, Yaw Yeong Teng said.
“My favorite quality I possess is my bravery,” Mei Teng said. “Everything I do is a risk I take, just like moving to the U.S. by myself. My outlook on life is to take opportunities when they are presented because when you look back you’ll be surprised of the things you have accomplished.”
Upon graduating in May 2022, Mei Teng plans to further her food science and food safety education through a graduate program and eventually work with a food safety company in the United States.
“For her future, I wish for her to follow her dreams, travel the world, and discover the uniqueness of food science,” Wong said.
Story By: Molly Faught | Cowboy Journal