Pa Yong Xiong

EdLd 651: Ethics in Leadership

Personal Code of Ethics
Background
The source of my thoughts, emotions, and actions stem from my values and ethical
beliefs. My experiences, my family, the Hmong community, and education plays a profound role
in shaping my values and beliefs. My family fled from the war-torn country of Laos to Thailand
and then to the United States to seek refuge. In 1992, my parents and I were able to come to the
United States, landing at the Minneapolis airport. We were lucky to be one of the few that
escaped the persecution in Laos. Arriving in the United States, my parents were optimistic about
being able to provide a brighter future for my siblings and me.
My parents married very young. Traditionally, bride kidnapping was socially accepted by
the Hmong community in Thailand and Laos. My mother was kidnapped and was forced to
marry my father. My father married my mother at the discretion and direction of his parents. As
farming was the main way to support one's family, early marriages were encouraged in order to
have more children to help with farming. The more hands to help, the better off the family would
be. Thus, Hmong families tend to be very large.
Growing up as the oldest in my family of 6, I was used to living in a cramp house with
one bedroom, one bathroom and a pull-out sofa in the living room for the kids to sleep at night.
Because there was not the initial love in my parents relationship, I often saw my mom and dad
argue about things. I remembered my mother packing all of our things and had us leave to go live
with my uncle because things got out of hands. At the time, I was not sure whether us leaving
was permanent or just temporarily until things were figured out. I dont even remember how long
it was until we were able to go back home. Through all the struggles my mom had, she put her

children first and decided to patch up her marriage so that we would have a father role model.
Due to both my parents struggles, I often played the parent roles to my siblings, making sure
that they were doing their homework, going to classes, and getting the things they needed.
I attended the St. Paul Public Schools. I was also placed in ESL classes. This was where I
met other kids who understood similar struggles. I dont remember having the concept of
schooling until 1st or 2nd grade. Even so, I didnt know why it was important. My mom dropped
out of high school to watch the kids while my dad completed high school. My dad was able to
get a low-paying job in a medical assembly and eventually my mom found something in the
same field too. English was the foreign language in my family at the time. We all spoke Hmong.
In third grade, I had a Hmong friend who was very smart. Half way through the year, I
began picking up on English. She helped me realize what going to school meant, motivating me
to want to excel in school. Eventually, in middle and high school, I enrolled in all the IB classes.
During this time, I made another friend who was as ambitious as I was. Together, we were able to
help challenge each other to do well academically.
Doing well in middle and high school, I knew I was going to college. My parents had no
money, but I knew college was the next step after high school. I didnt understand how I was
going to be able to go or how to pay for tuition but I was determined to go. I heard that only the
smartest people can go to college. For the Hmong community, only a handful of women were
able to get a college degree. Women are supposed to get married and start supporting their
husbands. My parents didnt think that way. The only requirement for them was that I dont go
too far away from home.

After high school, I made the decision to enroll at Hamline University. My experience at
Hamline was eye opening and I did a lot of growing. At Hamline, I was made aware of social
justice issues regarding race, gender, sexual orientation and religion. There were instances in my
younger days that I know I have been treated differently because of how I looked and spoke but I
never knew racism at face value. At Hamline, I had great mentors that was able to teach me
about these issues. I was able to seek out classes that interested me and find great professors who
worked hard to educate the community and fight against racial and social injustice. Also during
this time, I discovered that the religion that I thought my family practice was really not a
religion. Shamanism, instead is a ritual and sometimes may serve as a ceremony for good health.
However, I have learned to pull ideals from different religions to guide my faith and actions.
Hamline University is affiliated with the Methodist church. Although, not a religious school, I
often relate to John Wesleys quote: Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all
the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can.
As long as you ever can. I use this as a guiding principle when dealing with students or
everyday situations.
I was never too fond of the Hmong culture. Everything seems to be working against the
success of the Hmong women. We seem to be putting everything up for the men to succeed.
Although my dad loves me, I later knew he was disappointed that his first born was not a son.
This allowed me to want to become a better person, to be able to do everything that a son can.
Unfortunately, there is just a handful of Hmong women leaders working within the Hmong
community because of the expectations and sexism that still exists in the Hmong culture.
Although the leadership opportunities for Hmong women are limited within the Hmong
community, many strong Hmong women have taken on leadership roles in the larger community.

Code of Conduct
The following are my code of ethics that guides my conduct:
1) Respect
I will respect everyone I encounter. I will respect and recognize that we all have
different experiences and not one experience is more important or valued than
another.
2) Life-long learner
I will continue to educate myself to be more aware of changes and so I can
improve myself and my community.
3) Access to Equal opportunity
I will offer all information I have to help students/ people for an equal opportunity
to obtain what they are seeking to obtain regardless of ability, disability, religious
beliefs, learning style, age, socioeconomic status, race, gender and ethnicity.
4) Be truthful
I will do my best to seek the truth and relay it to people without fabrication.
5) Be kind
I will acknowledge that everyone is doing their best given their situation and
empathize when they need it.
6) Responsibility
I will take responsibility for all my actions and non-actions and not place blame
on others for my actions.I am responsible to myself and my community to hold
myself with high regard and integrity.
7) Evaluation and Feedback
I will continuous seek improvement to myself and to my work by actively asking
for feedbacks when appropriate.
My Code and the Real World
As an admission advisor, I found the Statement of Principles of Good Practice (SPGP) by
the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). I agree with all the core
values of the SPGP and found it to be consistent with my own beliefs. The SPGP was founded to

ensure principled conduct among professionals in the recruitment of students and the transition
to postsecondary education. (NACAC, 2013, p. 1)
The six core values of the SPGP are: Professionalism, Collaboration, Trust, Education,
Fairness and Equity, and Social Responsibility. Two of the core values that really resonate with
me is social responsibility and collaboration. Social responsibility states: We believe we have a
duty to serve students responsibly, by safeguarding their rights and their access to and within
postsecondary education and collaboration states, We believe the effectiveness of our
profession, college counseling, admission and enrollment management is enhances when we
work together to promote and protect the students and their best interests. (NACAC, 2013, p. 2)
From other codes of ethics, the SPGP really place the emphasis on the students. Even though we
are all coming from different institutions, we all seek to work together to support our students
best interests. I think this is very important. Before working in admissions, I felt that schools try
to steal other schools students. I probably was under this impression because I know that
schools need to meet a quota of students and students are scarce. However, working in
admissions, I have often seen other college reps direct students to a college that have the
program the student is interested in. This really illustrates that we are all for the best interest of
the students.
Conclusion
From my background, I care deeply about equal opportunities for both male and female. I
believe that everyone is doing their best in their current situation. That by obtaining a higher
education, it can open many doors and could move a person through the socio-economic level. I
have high expectations for myself to never stop learning and wanting to be a better person. The

actions that I take are a reflection of myself so it is important to honor the following
commitments whether it is in my personally or professionally setting:
A commitment to reflecting and doing what feels right and just to me.
A commitment to giving my best and be helpful when in need.
A commitment to ongoing nurture in building my relationships with family, friends, colleagues
and the community at large.
A commitment to respecting and meeting people where they are at.
A commitment to seek continuous trainings and workshops to better myself and my community.
A commitment to inform others about my educational path and the accessibility and affordability
of a higher education.
A commitment to keep an open mind so I can further improve and change my ethic codes and
commitments as needed.