McNair Scholar 2020 Mai Kao Xiong
Mai Kao Xiong is a junior at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, majoring in Family Social Science. Her research interests focus on providing opportunities for minoritized communities and higher education. Mai Kao plans to pursue her Master’s degree in social work and a Ph.D in higher education.
My dream is to complete my Ph.D. degree and work to dismantle systemic racism and inequities in society in order to provide more opportunities for minoritized communities.
Research project
Hmong Americans’ Attitudes Towards Traditional Funerals and Accounts of the Cost of Putting a Funeral Together
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine what people in the community think of the duration and cost of Hmong traditional funerals, as well as the use of alcohol to show gratitude towards visitors inside the funeral home. The study includes 904 participants from the Hmong community and 23 bereaved Hmong family members in two surveys. The results of the two surveys show that most of traditional Hmong funerals are held for three days, usually start on Saturday and end on Monday, and individuals who do not conform to the binary gender roles and two dominant religious backgrounds are more likely to disapprove of multiple funeral service days. On average, a Hmong funeral costs about $31,843 USD and women and the working age population are more likely to be concerned about the cost of funerals. Part of this high cost extends beyond the funeral to other sociocultural items, which include alcoholic beverages where 65% of the bereaved families use to show appreciation to their guests. The study ends with a few suggestions to plan for a Hmong funeral with an affordable cost.
Faculty mentor
Dr. Zha Blong Xiong received his B.A. degree from Winona State University in 1992, and his M.A. in 1997 and PhD in 2000 from the Department of Family Social Science. His research interests center around strengthening immigrant children and youth development in the contexts of family, school and community. The reason why Dr. Zha wanted to pursue his PhD in Family Social Science was because he saw a significant gap in the literature about Southeast Asian youth and families, and he wanted to do more research to fill this gap in the literature. He chose the Department of Family Social Science to pursue his graduate education because he believed that family is the foundation for children’s successes (or failures) in life, and partly due to a wonderful faculty member in the department, Dr. Dan Detzner, who was willing to mentor him. Dr. Xiong has published widely on Southeast Asian parent-adolescent relationships and Hmong children’s education and often travels to present his research at various national conferences. In addition to his academic work, he also serves on multiple local and national organizations, including the Hmong 18 Council, Hmong National Development, and the Journal of Southeast Asian American Education & Advancement. He has been mentoring McNair Scholars for over 10 years at the University of Minnesota.