Vicki grew up in a musical household. Her early memories involved listening to Chinese music on tapes or her father teaching her scales on a small piano. Her parents were immigrants from Vietnam and China.

Tamara was born in Croatia and moved to Minnesota for her father’s work when she was just seven years old. Though it took her time to learn English, her brilliant nature, and the fact that she was so young, she learned English quickly.

​​When I first met Cindy during our freshman year of high school, I admired her from afar. Her cool and quiet demeanor, so different from other girls our age, captivated me. She exuded an intelligence devoid of arrogance.

Sutina did well academically in high school, especially because she excelled at standardized testing, but she never had a clear career path in mind. In college, she majored in Sociology, studied abroad in South Korea, took courses ranging from accounting to French literature, and volunteered at a crisis hotline.