DENVER — Capt. Kimsua Chay's family survived the genocide in Cambodia. Growing up in Colorado Springs, he never thought that his childhood dream of flying an airplane was something he could do.
"Growing up, I built model airplanes, I watched 'Top Gun' and all the TV shows and everything, but the reality was I never saw anybody that looked like me," he said.
When you don't see yourself represented in movies or television, sometimes it takes a while to realize that you could be the first. Chay has been a pilot for almost 24 years, and he said representation and diversity matter in all industries.
"Nobody ever came to me and said that I could be a pilot," Chay said. "It was tough. I got picked on a lot. I was really the only Asian in a lot of my schools."
Even though he was born in a refugee camp in Thailand, Colorado has always been Chay's home.
"When your family goes through the trauma they went through and surviving genocide and watching other loved ones brutally murdered or starved to death, I think it just builds a bond that you want others to be successful," Chay said. "You want your family to be in a better position than what you're going through now."
His family's story is one of incredible resilience and love. He said that his uncle fought against the Khmer Rouge and found other Cambodians who were trying to escape. He helped them cross the border.
Chay said his parents gave him everything they could.
"It was just unconditional love," he said. "They always supported everything I wanted to do."
Even with that support and his passion for aviation, he still didn't think his dream of becoming a pilot was possible.
"At the end of the day, it really just boiled down to: I don't know what else I'm going to do that I would love and enjoy that much," he said.
He decided to go for his wings, when he was forced to make a decision about his future in high school.
"I think the biggest thing is never let anybody tell you no," he said. "You could be the person that paves the way."
And he did help pave the way for another pilot, Mardi Tan.
"I wanted to make sure that she understood the sacrifices that needed to be made and she was going to spend a lot of money and there might not be a reward for that," Chay said.
After 14 years of mentoring, they made history together, as the first two pilots of Cambodian heritage to operate a United flight together.
"It became a friendship-mentorship at the same time, and I watched her struggle but I watched her never quit," he said. "Very similar to my story."
The elders in Chay's family like to point out this photo of him as a child:
"It really wasn't until later on, after I got to United, that everybody kind of pointed out that, 'Hey this looks like you're an aviator,'" he said.
It wasn't intentional at the time, but in the photo he looks like a baby pilot.
"I think it was just donated clothes from the church and our sponsors," Chay said. "It was a pair of overalls, some cowboy boots, and some glasses."
He said now they honor that snapshot as a premonition of his future, as he brings others forward with him.
"When people think of Cambodia, they think about the suffering that our country went through and our people went through and the trauma, and in reality nobody ever celebrates the accomplishments," Chay said. "I know they're out there. and I hope that they get to share their story as well."
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