Ignatius Vong

Ignatius Wan-In Vong grew up navigating the delicate balance between two distinct cultures.

Wan-In, who goes by Ignatius or Iggy (and uses she/they pronouns), spent their early life in Macau—a Special Administrative Region of China akin to Hong Kong—steeped in a rich fusion of Asian and Western influences. This bicultural backdrop painted their formative years with diversity and complexity, setting the stage for a deeply personal journey of seeking identity and belonging.

“I grew up in a culture in between Asian and Western,” they shared, fostering a sense of being perpetually in-between—neither entirely one nor the other but a mix that often left them always searching for a place to fit in.

After growing up and attending school in Macau SAR until they were 15, Iggy embarked on a journey to Australia to continue their education, which was a leap into an entirely new world. Suddenly, the vast cultural differences made Iggy feel like an observer, rather than a participant in both identities. They began finding themselves wondering where they truly belonged.

In being thrust into a new culture, Iggy also felt a new unconscious bias developing. “I started to unconsciously learn that ‘being Caucasian was better than being Asian.’” As a result, Iggy felt like the best way to blend in and focus on their education was to blend into the middle. “I realized this world is so big, and I seemed to fit only in the middle of all.”

For Iggy, it was a poignant reminder that the quiet presence of the "stereotyped quiet Asian kid" at the back of the classroom is not a simple matter of choice or personality but often a manifestation of deeper, unspoken fears and insecurities, born from a world that subtly, yet persistently, elevates one culture over another. They explained that often, when someone isn’t speaking up, it isn’t because they are shy, it’s because “they are scared and don’t feel welcomed by people around them, because somehow they are being ‘taught’ by their Caucasian peers” because of the unconscious biases that shape their self-perception and illuminated the broader societal constructs that influence such beliefs.

It was in this context that Iggy’s quest for belonging took on a new dimension. As their quest for personal and cultural identity became more pronounced, Iggy began their search for a place to call home where their complex identity was fully embraced and understood.