Fu Jiangxiu (aka Sue Google) was born in 1972 in a small village in a remote mountain valley in Qiongzhong County, Hainan Island, China. There was no running water or electricity there, and the village was separated from the town by two rivers and two steep mountains. The villagers lived a primitive life of slash-and-burn farming, almost completely cut off from the outside world.
Yet, the young Chinese woman displayed extraordinary talent from a young age. Although her parents were illiterate, they knew that “only through education can one stand on one’s own.” They spared no expense, even selling their household belongings, to send her to a prestigious county high school as a boarding student.
She loved reading and would sneak off to the library during class whenever the teacher wasn’t looking. She was constantly immersed in Tang and Song dynasty poetry and classical literature, and she also read extensively in popular science. She demanded of herself to understand astronomy and geography. However, while her Chinese grades were among the top, her Math was a complete disaster.
During the college entrance exams, she narrowly missed qualifying by a few points. She had no choice but to attend a vocational school at her own expense, and her parents borrowed the meager tuition fees after much humbling themselves. Seeing her parents’ humility and hopes, she resolved: she must achieve great things.
At school, she worked even harder. Not only did she excel in every subject, but she also taught herself the content for the CET-4 and intermediate Japanese courses. After graduation, she landed a job as an accountant at a foreign-owned company in Guangdong. In her spare time, she bought audio tapes to study Japanese on her own. She realized that a willingness to learn and work hard would lead to greater opportunities. As her horizons broadened, she decided to experience a true international metropolis.
In 1995, armed with only her technical school diploma, she set off alone for Hong Kong. Drawing on her accounting experience, she surprisingly landed a job at the Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong. She had made it into Hong Kong, but in this high-stakes environment, a technical school diploma meant she was relegated to menial tasks — copying documents and running errands between offices. The slightest misstep could make her the target of her superiors’ harsh scolding. Many newcomers couldn’t endure it and left in disappointment, but her inner stubbornness was ignited.
She worked tirelessly day and night, completing all her tasks with meticulous organization while carving out time to continue her studies. She believed that knowledge changes destiny. In 1997, she earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Hong Kong and, simultaneously, became a top performer in the workplace. Yet, just as her dreams came true, she turned her back on the glory before her, for she believed even more strongly: “The bigger your heart, the bigger the stage of your life!”
Her next destination was set across the ocean in the United States. Fu Jiangxiu’s decision to pursue her career in America did not come out of nowhere. During her years in Hong Kong, her horizons broadened, and she witnessed the world change at a rapid pace. She often heard her friends in Hong Kong talk about the opportunities and education available in the U.S. Deeply convinced that “education changes one’s destiny,” she was determined to pursue higher education in America.
In 1998, armed with an offer to study web programming at the University of North Carolina, Fu Jiangxiu set off on her academic journey alone. Like every Chinese newcomer, Fu Jiangxiu’s “American Dream” was fraught with hardship. She lived in a basement that saw no sunlight all day, struggling through difficult English courses while working part-time at a small restaurant to cover her living expenses.
However, accustomed to a life of wandering and adventure, Fu Jiangxiu refused to be defeated by the difficulties before her. “The word ‘give up’ simply doesn’t exist in my vocabulary,” she said. From stumbling through her English to communicating fluently with Americans, from having zero computer knowledge to typing code with her eyes closed, she persevered in software engineering.
While studying in the U.S., Fu Jiangxiu met the man who was destined for her — Ross. Introduced by a mutual friend, Ross was immediately drawn to Fu Jiangxiu’s stubborn spirit. He didn’t mind that she was a poor international student without a green card; he simply wanted to give her his full support and protection.
One evening, after finishing her classes and work for the day, Fu Jiangxiu dragged her weary body back to the basement apartment she had rented, which was less than 5 square meters. To her surprise, she found freshly cooked dumplings on the table, her clothes washed spotlessly clean and neatly folded by the bed, and the flickering light bulb had been fixed. Ross stood in the room with a smile. Fu Jiangxiu, who had always struggled on her own, was deeply moved. Having shouldered everything alone for so many years, she suddenly realized just how wonderful it was to be loved.
After the two tied the knot, Fu Jiangxiu basked in the warmth and happiness of family life, while continuing to pursue her professional path. In 2007, when the real estate market was booming, she had a sudden insight: Why couldn’t I get into this business? So she immediately took the real estate broker’s license exam and registered a company. Over the years, her real estate business grew stronger and more solid, and she went on to serve as Program Chair for the Chinese Entrepreneurs Association of North Carolina and Executive Vice President of the RTP Chapter of the North and South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.
As her social circle in the U.S. expanded, she discovered a new frontier that set her heart racing: politics. Fu Jiangxiu observed that while Chinese Americans generally excel in the economic sphere, they are virtually absent from the political arena. She said, “We’re all focused on managing our own lives, but in reality, many government policies affect every aspect of our existence. If we have no say in the formulation of these policies, then we’re simply forced to accept them passively.”
Fu Jiangxiu decided to step into politics. “Even if I fail in the end, I can serve as a cautionary tale for others.” Fu Jiangxiu had always been unpretentious and sharp. In February 2015, she became chair of a grassroots Republican election organization. For several years, she has held multiple roles simultaneously; she is currently the head of a real estate investment firm in North Carolina and a software engineer in the tech industry, while also serving as a member of the Wake County Republican Party Committee and district chair.
Starting in 2005, Fu Jiangxiu, working as a software engineer, joined the world’s fourth-largest defense contractor and the largest electric utility in the United States, becoming a core network technician for these industry giants. In 2008, she took the stage at an internationally renowned Internet technology conference to deliver a keynote speech as an expert. As Internet programming professionals from around the world listened intently to this Chinese woman’s address, they surely never imagined that she had once been nothing more than a vocational school student born in a remote mountain village. It can be said that education changed her destiny, and America made her dreams come true.
Translated by Audrey Wang and edited by Laura Cozzolino
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