Paw Set Sher

Senior Paw Set Sher is a refugee and a student at Albert Lea High school. Her immediate family were the first to come to the U.S. ten years ago from Thailand.
Sher’s family lived in one of the refugee camps in Thailand. They wanted better education, access to health care and job opportunities that they didn’t have in Thailand.
To come to the United States from Thailand, Sher’s family had to fill out paperwork which took many years. After waiting, they had to have physicals done to see if they were able to come.
“If you are not healthy, then they won’t take you,” Sher said.
Sher is in the process of becoming a United States citizen, but believes the process of becoming a citizen is taking too long. When her and her family first got here, Sher recalls having a hard time adjusting to life in America.
“When you come here, you don’t know any English and it’s hard to connect to people,” Sher said.
Although Sher had a hard time adjusting, over time she started to feel American. When she is with American people she feels American, and when she is with refugees she feels like a refugee.
“I want to be a U.S. citizen,” Sher said. “But I also want people to consider me as a refugee, because that’s me.”