Page 10 - Ohio Vol 5 No 1

“I fell in love with this part of
the law
OUR SPANISH-SPEAKING STAFF
after working on my own visas and those of a few family and friends. It is a complicated process,
but I enjoyed the challenge and I realized that I had the attention to detail to do it
well.”
“We had a good childhood and my father always encouraged all of us to work very hard and always be learning,” she says. “As I grew up, I realized that there were better opportu- nities for me outside of Hong Kong. e nuns in my French Catholic school intentionally did not teach us home economics or typing skills. ey didn’t want us to just become wives, mothers, or secretaries. I knew that in the United States, I could achieve my potential to the fullest; we had always heard of the Unit- ed States as a place where anyone could come and make a life for themselves – the American Dream. I wanted to come and pursue it for myself. I also knew, from the very beginning, that I wanted to help people.”
Wong realized her dream of immigrating to the U.S. in 1969. Aside from the companion- ship of her younger sister, Cecilia Wong, she came with next to nothing. “I had very little money in my pocket and only my dreams, de- termination, and my sister. To ful ll my desire to help others, I originally wanted to become a doctor. I still did not have a lot of money, but I got full scholarships at Ottumwa Heights Col- lege and Western Illinois University. I studied hard and got my degree in biology and chem- istry in 1973.”
Wong seemed to adapt to her adopted home rather easily, taking advantage of every oppor- tunity to expand her knowledge and working hard to earn enough money to support both herself and her sister. By the time she received her bachelor’s degree, Wong’s interest in med- icine had gradually declined. A prefect from her high school had always been something of a role model. As Wong watched her move to Britain to attend law school and eventually build a thriving practice, she realized that law was a career where she could achieve both her dream of serving others while exercising her agile mind. “I watched her and admired her so much,” says Wong. “I thought that I could
do the same. I still wanted to help people and working as a lawyer seemed like the perfect t.”
Now determined to become a lawyer, Wong attended the SUNY Bu alo Law School on a full scholarship, only one of four women in her class. “It was a di erent time back then,” she says. “It was not that common for women to attend law school, let alone women of color. I believe I was one of the rst foreign women be admitted to the New York Bar or Ohio Bar, in 1976. Even so, jobs were nearly non-exis- tent. In those days, ideas of sexism and racism were common, but I wasn’t about to give up.”
CONNECTING IN CLEVELAND
A er graduating and passing the bar, Wong rst worked as the chief legal o cer for HUD- funded projects for the mayor of Bu alo. She moved to Cleveland in 1977 a er Central National Bank o ered her a position in their management trainee program. is experi- ence augmented her already extensive knowl- edge by o ering her training in management and reading numbers that would prove help- ful throughout her career.
“I was recruited by the Central National Bank of Cleveland,” says Wong, “I was a credit analysist, and took three classes at John Carrol University to improve my accounting skills. By the time I had completed those, I could read numbers like nobody’s business. In fact, I found it fascinating how numbers can actually tell a story-a complete narrative. Most impor- tantly, I learned that numbers don’t lie.”
Bolstered by this additional experience, Wong began working at the law rm of Berger & Kirchenbaum. While there, she once again encountered sexism and racism. She boldly decided to take matters into her own hands. A year a er arriving in Cleveland, she opened her own law o ce.
“When I started, the rm consisted of only me alone,” she says. “I thought it might only
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · OHIO · VOL. 5 NO. 1 10