#13. Ron Chan, My Gift to America
I stood before a packed library audience, my voice steady, but full of emotion. “They say you die twice—once when you take your last breath, and again when your name is spoken for the very last time.” After losing both my parents within a year, I refused to let their names fade. I documented their stories—their struggles and triumphs as children of immigrants shaped by the Great Depression and World War II. In doing so, I found my purpose: helping others preserve their family legacies. Over the past two years, I’ve spoken at 52 libraries and conferences, even traveling to China to teach how to use digitized photos and video to tell stories. By leveraging artificial intelligence, I’ve made storytelling more accessible, ensuring that ancestors’ voices live on. A young woman raised her hand. “How do I start?” I smiled. “By telling your story.” This is my gift to America—to bring past voices to life, one story at a time.