For the majority of his life, Chia lived in Cameroon. He taught History, Economics and English Literatureat a boarding school for seven years following graduation and received a bachelor’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. His teaching style was very open and honest, and in the end this personality trait would threaten his life.
In most of his History lessons, he openly spoke of the injustices that plaguedCameroon. He addressed the corruption of the government, and the oppressive way in which the country was administered. News of his teaching style spread. During one of his History lessons in which he compared thesuccess of the French Revolution of 1789-1791 and the American War of Independence in a manner that encouraged revolution in Cameroon, under cover police appeared. They were in civilian dressing and he thought they were parents coming to pay tuition and feesHe tried to escape, but was captured and taken to jail. He was then tortured before eventually being released. Chia needed to leave the country. He knew he was in danger, and he didn’t believe in hiding the truth from his students.
Chia learned of an opportunity to come to America and enroll in a master’s degree program. Chia applied to attend the University of Minnesota to receive an M.Ed in Human Resource Development. After waiting for some time, he was ecstatic to learn that he had been accepted in the program! Chia excitedly prepared to move to Minnesota.
Chia attended the University of Minnesota for two years. While performing his coursework, he was able to find employment in the Security and Parking department. He enjoyed his time there, finished up hisM.Ed and came to understand that he needed to stay in the United States because his life would be threatened if he returned home. Severe oppression faced his people, which forced Chia filed for asylum and made the Twin Cities his home.
After being granted asylum, he knew that employment was going to be of the utmost importance. Chia spoke with his current employer in the parking office and was told that most students employed by the university had to be dismissed within a few weeks of their graduation. But, due to the extenuating circumstances that Chia had, the office talked it over and decided that he should be kept on for another year! This was quite a relief for him.
Toward the end of that year, Chia knew that his work would be ending and that he had to search for a full-time job that he could turn into a career. He had no experience looking for jobs in the United States and didn’t know where to start. He then received a referral from The Advocates for Human Rights for Refugee Services employment counselor Mike Zaslofsky. The two began to meet and discuss the working world of the United States. Over the course of a few months, Chia learned about the ways to approach new jobs, what different work atmospheres were like, how to make useful connections and what attributes he should show potential supervisors. In a recent meeting, “friendliness and enthusiasm!” were a few characteristics Chia mentioned.
Due to his background in Parking Services, when Mike heard about a position opening up in security in a nearby medical center, the two of them applied right away. Chia received an invitation to interview and was offered the job very quickly after that! He began work in the spring of 2006 in the parking office and has enjoyed his time there. And, because of the extensive education he has in human resources, Chia is currently being considered for a new volunteer Human Resource position in his current workplace!
That’s not all of the good news in his life. Chia’s daughter was able to come to Minnesota to live with him in April 2007, and his wife joined the family in February 2008!
Chia still keeps in contact with Refugee Services and Mike to discuss the occurrences in one another’s lives. He is happy at his workplace and becoming very excited about the potential of the volunteer Human Resources position at Fairview. In the future, Chia hopes to use his work experience in a teaching position at the collegiate level.
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