As a child growing up in Hong Kong with a population of 7.5 million people, Crystal Yau learned hard work from a young age. While in Kindergarten, she learned Cantonese, Mandarin and English and spent most of her time studying and doing homework.

When she was 14, she immigrated to the United States with her family and learned quickly that opportunity was all around her.

“Growing up in Hong Kong, everything was very competitive,” she said. “We had a lot of pressure to do well and to constantly study. I was so surprised when we first came to Georgia and teachers wouldn’t give us homework on the weekends!”

While Hong Kong is a special place to Yau, she is grateful for the opportunities that the United States has provided for her and her family.

Crystal has a master’s degree in Biostatistics from Georgia State University in Atlanta and met her husband – a Georgia Tech graduate – through the Hong Kong Student Association. She currently works at Georgia Power as a financial analyst and is actively involved in the Asian Pacific American (APA) employee resource group. They currently reside in Duluth with their eight-year-old daughter and five-year-old son.

To ensure they have a strong upbringing in their cultural heritage, the family speaks Cantonese – their native language – at home and their children attend the International Charter School of Atlanta’s dual language immersion program.

Crystal ensures that her children realize the same lesson that she learned when she first arrived in the United States – “You can learn anything and explore anything you want here.”

She ensures that she lives that mantra in her everyday life. Yau loves to travel and is a trained scuba diver. Since the start of the pandemic, she has been learning how to ride horses and has been a virtual instructor for a kid’s Kung Fu class. She also enjoys baking cakes for her children, crocheting, and even tried hang gliding a couple years ago.

She knows the past year has been tough for everyone – especially those in the Asian community as racism has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Crystal is thankful to have not personally experienced much of this, but she is horrified by some of the stories her friends have shared. She believes though that above all though, we are all human beings and we can work together to bring peace to our world.

“I often think of a profound quote from Bruce Lee. It says, “‘Do you think of yourself as a Chinese or North American?’ ‘I think of myself as a human being, because under the sky, we are just one family, it just so happens we look different.’” Yau went on to say, “But I believe that little moments of empathy and kindness can lead to change. We can all combat this difficult time by working together.”

When asked how we can all do our part to improve our communities, she said, “If we don’t face our problems, we will never see change. We have to have the courage to face our fears.”

Georgia Power celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 

Every May, Georgia Power joins the community to celebrate the contributions and influence of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. 

On Thursday, May 20 at 6 p.m. EST, the company will host a panel on Facebook Live (www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower) on uplifting the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, as well as resources available in light of the increase in racism and hate crimes across the country. The panel will include representatives from the company and community partners, as well as Younghoe Koo, placekicker for the Atlanta Falcons and 2020 NFL Pro Bowl honoree. Click here to learn more and RSVP.