Walking down the hallway, you might see sophomore Bruce Lee Blumenthal, and might not be able to tell he’s from multiple places around the world.

“Usually people guess that I’m either Chinese or Korean. When I tell them I’m Thai, they’re a little surprised. When I tell them I’m also German and Jewish, they don’t even believe me!” said Blumenthal.

His mom’s side is Thai, and his dad’s side is German and Jewish. “I think it’s a cool mix of cultures because I get to eat different food, and am exposed to different culture. Plus who doesn’t think being German and Jewish is cool?”

“My favorite holiday is Hanukkah because my family gathers around from New York, California, and Michigan and we eat a big dinner and catch up. I get to see them once or twice a year, so it’s really special to me. Usually when I tell people i’m Jewish they don’t believe me because of my outer appearance. It’s  hurtful because [being] Jewish is a part of me, and my culture. Why would I lie about something that made me who I am today? Or sometimes I’ll get the “jokes”, such as when people call me “cheap” and such things. Remarks like that are pretty childish to me. In order to stop these stereotypes we need to stop generalizing and making assumptions based on how someone looks,”Blumenthal said.

“Another challenge I face with my mixed race are standardized exams. It’s sometimes difficult and my answers always vary, depending on my mood, some days I’ll put European some days Asian, some days I’ll put other. Once I filled in two bubbles. You can’t limit my options, I am proud of both my ethnicities,” he added, “so why do I only have to choose one?”

“At the end of the day, I’m very proud of my unique mix. Especially because there’s so much history to it,” he said. “How many people do you know can say they’re not only Thai, and not only German, but Jewish too?”