Coming to America

When he was 7 years old, Hong Long emigrated to the U.S. in 1975 with his family from Laos. His father had fought in the French Foreign Legion in Vietnam and later worked for the U.S. State Department in Laos, but they arrived here penniless.

They settled with other Asian refugees in Cedar Falls, Iowa. “We were on food stamps,” says Long, whose Chinese-born parents didn't speak any English.

Meanwhile, in 1990, Felix Lluberes came to Iowa from the Dominican Republic with $50 in his pocket on a scholarship to study at Maharishi University of Management. The grant was a reward for being the top student in his high school class.