The Housing Market Crash Of 2008

During the housing market crash of 2008, many people lost their homes due to defaults on their mortgages. This incident derived from the greediness of bankers—wanting to profit as much as possible by overlooking key lending requirements—but when the crash happened, poor people and immigrants became the scapegoats. This added to the already bad reputation of these two groups in the United States. It was during this time that Ryan Zhang immigrated to America. Arriving at a tumultuous time, Ryan struggled to survive until he joined the church. It was through the church Ryan Zhang finally found a place of belonging in his new society. Without his faith community, he says, he would not have survived and achieved his current state of academic success. While his experience has been bittersweet—he no longer feels the connection to China is as strong as before—he remains committed to helping new immigrants connect with American culture.
It is every student’s dream to achieve academic success and Ryan is no exception. Hailing from Shenyang of northern China, Ryan, at nineteen years old, went head to head against other students in a competitive environment to get into the best college. Per Ryan, he was an “average student that always eat out with friends.” Despite the rigorous life of a student, Ryan still had strong ties to friends, family and neighborhood. For example, meal times were never a worry in his childhood because the neighbors would alternate cooking duty. Also, whenever