华人世界 | 莱镇人文：Sophia Ho & Larry Ho

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今年夏天，莱镇中心增添了许多美丽的紫色旗帜，每一面旗帜代表着一位为本镇和社区做出重大贡献的莱镇女性。莱镇以这样的形式向三百年镇史中最杰出的42位女性表达敬意。其中的一面旗帜属于胡小非女士(Sophia Ho)。她是众多公益组织以及活动的早期发起人，参与创建了莱镇华协(CAAL)，莱镇马丁路德金服务日等组织，并以4800小时的义工奉献赢得总统义工终身成就奖，也是迄今获得Minuteman Cane Award 莱镇最高荣誉奖唯一的华裔女性。

胡小非的先生何毓琦教授（Yu-Chi "Larry" Ho) 是哈佛大学的著名学者，可谓桃李满天下。“可我更乐于被视作 Sophia Ho 的丈夫” 每次谈到Sophia的时候，Larry总是充满自豪。他的博客，有相当一部分记载着Sophia为社区建设以及华人社区所做的一切，也记载了人们对于这位致力于开拓和探索，热心公益的女性长者发自内心的尊敬与爱戴。

这一对在莱镇居住了半个多世纪的华裔夫妇，用他们已经走过的七十多年的移民生涯告诉我们，其实他们所恪守的，恰恰是这个国家最最基础的价值观：自由、平等和爱。

Sophia Ho & Larry Ho

早期移民

1948年Sophia随父亲从大陆移居台湾。在台湾完成了中等教育之后，在一位神父的帮助下获得了美国Annhurst College 的奖学金，成为这所私立天主教女子大学的第一位中国学生。

"Annhurst 给了我全额奖学金，否则我是不可能出国接受教育的。" 谈起母校，Sophia充满感激。

虽然Annhurst 地处偏僻，管教甚严，但Sophia与室友们的朝夕相处不仅让Sophia很快建立了友谊和通过了语言关，也让她迅速适应了美国的生活。而女孩子们邀请Sophia去自己家，也让Sophia得以近距离接触和了解美国普通人的生活。

同一年，Larry正离家在外寄宿于香港一所英国学校读高中的最后一年。年方十五的少年彼时已经开始表现出对数学和物理的天赋：“听说美国有一所著名的大学叫麻省理工学院。所以在对麻省理工学院一无所知的情况下，我写了一封信询问录取情况。”

他很快收到了一个航空邮件，里面装满了学校信息以及申请材料。虽然完全没有人协助，但十五岁的Larry不仅独立提交了申请，而且竟然也被录取了。

1950年春天，收到了录取通知书的Larry迫不及待把这个好消息告诉了当时在香港的唯一亲人 - 他的教父。那个周末全家人都非常兴奋，争相浏览这份弥之珍贵的录取通知书。然而，申请麻省理工学院的成功也决定了何妈妈要将她唯一的儿子送到万里之外的异国他乡。但母亲的理解与支持，在很大程度上决定了这位未来大科学家的成就。

Larry获得了麻省理工学院电气工程学士与硕士学位，之后进入哈佛大学攻读应用数学博士。

1959年情人节，刚刚研究生毕业的Larry向正准备大学毕业的Sophia求婚。原本已经获得BC的奖学金准备修习生物学的Sophia答应了 Larry 的求婚。

大学时期的Sophia - 前排中

刚到达美国的Larry - 1950 年

扎根融入

Larry在科学的王国辛勤耕耘。Sophia在相夫教子的同时，也找到了她终身为之奋斗的事业寄托：服务社区。

Sophia 和 Larry 于1966年搬入Lexington镇。“我们很幸运来到了一个新建的社区，邻居是一对犹太裔夫妻，我们很快就成了朋友。他们经常参加镇里的会议，他们也鼓励Sophia参与社区活动，Sophia从他们身上学来了很多。其中最重要的一点就是参与。为社区贡献，同时也发出自己的声音和诉求。

当时的莱镇华裔很少，甚至整个波士顿地区华裔也不是很多，只有一个共同的华裔组织GBCCA，但主要活动是给孩子学习中文的中文学校，地点在牛顿。之后，莱镇也成立了自己的中文学校，这就是后来于1983年成立的莱镇华人协会（CAAL）的雏形。

Sophia 也是传播中国文化的大使

Larry 和 Sophia 参与No Hate 活动

何教授夫妇联合从各地来的华裔，捐赠了许多中文图书，让图书馆里的中文书越来越多，也让镇上能讲中文，能了解中国的人越来越多。最可贵的是，他们打破了台湾，大陆的界限。在这里，大家都是华裔，更是美国人。

今天，莱镇大约有31%是亚裔，其中有许多的华裔家庭。而其他族裔的居民们对于中国文化的接受与认同也越来越与时俱进了。

作为莱镇华协的奠基人之一，Sophia当之无愧是CAAL的灵魂人物。经历了那么多年，Sophia亲手制作的CAAL Banner还在被传承着。心灵手巧的她从母亲那里学来的“手艺”，用这样的方式来凝聚了一代又一代的华裔移民。

莱镇华人协会部分成员 - 2013

服务社区

Sophia致力推动华人参与社区和选举。八十年代，她发现华裔注册选民非常少，就开始了一场一个人的选民登记活动。她一个名字一个地阅读镇书（Town Book），看见没有登记注册的华裔姓名，就查阅电话然后与对方通话，告诉他们参与选举的重要性并敦促对方积极参与。对意识不到参与的重要性的华人，Sophia就慢慢地解释、劝说。就这样，Sophia依靠一本镇书和一本电话黄页，在华裔社区播下了参与社区的种子。

与此同时，华协也积极向其他族裔学习，邀请竞选人来到华裔社区讲述他们的竞选纲领，之后通过讨论选出一名大家认为最合适的候选人一起投票给他。后来的事实证明这种集中投票的方式对于人口稀少力量微薄的少数族裔是最适合的参与方式。尽管当年华协所支持的一个候选人落选，但成功的竞选人当天就致电华协，以了解华裔社会的诉求。

CAAL Candidate Forum at Larry & Sophia Home -2009

CAAL Candidate Forum at Larry & Sophia Home - 2018

夫唱妇随。2008年的总统选举，Larry供职董事会成员的全国性华人组织80-20也采用了同样的集中投票方法。他们和奥巴马竞选团队、麦肯竞选团队分别联系，奥巴马团队很热情地回应了华裔的诉求，麦肯的团队则没有回应。80-20组织倡议集体投票给奥巴马，获得胜利的奥巴马政府提拔了三名亚裔法官。Larry说，那是80-20最辉煌的时刻。

何教授也指出：随着华裔的增多，诉求的不同，让集中投票也渐渐越来越不可能。但是华裔依然需要有一个共同的底线，在此基础上团结一致。

2012年，莱镇房屋委员会出现一席空位。微软员工王卫东博士答应了华协的招募愿意参与竞选，为房屋委员会贡献出自己的精力与时间。Sophia担任了卫东的竞选经理。具有丰富竞选经验的Sophia提前三个月就开始了竞选准备活动。她最大限度地调用了多年努力获得的人际关系，带着卫东拜访镇里有影响力的领袖、官员以及其他活跃群体，取得他们的支持。她安排卫东召开并参加众多候选人会议和论坛，详细介绍执政纲领，让选民熟悉卫东。并用各种方法提醒并帮助有困难的选民去投票站投票。

Sophia 帮助王卫东成功竞选 - 2012

CAAL主办的选举论坛到现在已有38年的历史，过去一直在Sophia和Larry家举行，直到2015年新的社区中心成立。Larry指出: "选举论坛不仅给候选人提供了直接面对选民展示自己资质以争取他们的投票的机会，而且这是最纯粹的民主，不受任何党派的影响。"

另外一个琐碎但非常有效的活动是给已经登记投票的选民发送明信片。Sophia组织一群敬业的义工书写明信片, 甚至亲自把明信片送给选民。"手写部分是至关重要的，一个候选人愿意花时间和精力来写地址和一条具有个人特色的信息，这一事实通常会影响犹豫不决的选民。"

整个竞选过程中，Sophia认为，很重要的一点是竞选活动不以代表少数族裔的候选人的身份进行，而是以恰好属于少数族裔的候选人的身份进行。也就是说，大部分选票应该也必须是来自于非华裔选民。最后卫东赢得了选战，成为莱镇第一位全镇范围的华裔民选官员。之后他在那个职位上得以连任，如今在服务第10年。

可以说，这是一次教科书式的专业竞选活动。从候选人、组织、筹款、现场操作、广告和沟通，以及志愿者支持，一切都近乎完美。通过努力、诚意与善意成功说服多数人投票给占人口少数族裔的未知候选人，这样的奇迹只可能发生在美国。

Sophia与Larry致力于推动华裔参与美国的民主政治，但是他们的眼界并不局限于华裔世界。Sophia很敬佩MLK博士，她一直牢牢记住MLK博士的名言 “ What are you doing for others?" 并时常问自己：“我们为他人做过什么？”

她参与创立了莱镇的MLK服务日。通过Waltham YMCA 接城里的孩子来莱镇打球游泳，让他们享受有人关心有人爱护的陪伴；也组织高中生志愿者看望老人，帮助老人铲雪、扫叶子、购物；联系餐馆、超市以及其他慈善组织为有需要的群体捐赠食品衣物。Sophia甚至亲自编织了数以百计的手套帽子捐赠给老兵医院。在她的带领下，镇里很多华裔以及他们的孩子都成为了MLK服务日的志愿者。

“MLK非常伟大。” Larry说，民权斗士以他们的流血和生命为我们（少数族裔）争来了权力，我们不该忘记。

Sophie 参与 MLK Day Walk - 2018

Sophia 和 Peter Lee 同时获总统义工终身成就奖 - 2016

Sophie 获莱镇授予Minuteman Cane Award - 2017

架起中美发展的桥梁

当Sophia在莱镇和社区建设中挥洒自如的时候，Larry在积极为中美关系添砖加瓦。Larry是美国工程院院士，也是中国工程院院士以及中科院的外籍院士。早在二十一世纪初，何教授就被聘为清华大学的客座教授。他差不多每年都要去北京一两个月，为清华做指导工作。身为哈佛终身教授，Larry培养了很多华裔博士生，他们中间有些继续留在美国做科研，为人类发展也为华裔被美国社会的认知继续努力，也有相当一部分的人回到了中国，作为中美科技交流的使者，贡献了他们的力量。

我们首先是美国人，这是何氏夫妇共同的认知。我们从十几岁来到美国，虽然至今还喜欢吃中国菜，也能用中文交流，但是我们骨子里认同的是美国的价值观。我们也希望未来的华裔新移民们能够认识到这一点：那就是不是仅仅拿一本美国护照而已，而是在内心里承认自己已经是这个国家的一份子了。

当然，他们又是两个非典型的美国人。Larry曾经开玩笑说“我过着非常不‘美国’的生活”。那是因为他来到美国至今，似乎所有的事情都是“唯一”：

首先一生只从事了一份工作（大多数美国人一生有几份工作）；其次至今依然与结伴了62年的妻子同行（在美国，三分之一的婚姻以离婚告终）；一生只买了一栋房子住到现在（美国人因为工作和机会一直搬家）；所有的孩子都上同一所幼儿园、小学、中学、高中和大学。

为了证明自己如此“专一”，何教授还补充到：我一直只有一个保险代理人（为我的家庭、汽车、责任和人寿保险）超过 54 年（直到对方去世，现在与接管业务的儿子一起工作）；我是我律师的第一个客户。他现在退休了，他年轻的律师合伙人继续为我服务；我至今使用相同的 CPA 报税超过 54 年(91岁的会计师刚刚退休，继续请儿子来帮助何教授夫妇报税)。

Sophia 和 Leona Martin 在莱镇人权委员会的”种族融合日”论坛

Sophia LexSeeHer 旗帜

Sophia 在 LexSeeHer 旗帜获奖现场

执子之手

在他们的金婚纪念酒会上, Larry说道 “五十年前我向 Sophia 求婚时，做出了一份寻常的承诺：‘爱、尊重和服从（至少大部分时间）’。但我又做出了一个不同寻常的承诺，我喜欢旅行，喜欢去访问遥远的地方。所以我对Sophia说：“我是信封，你是邮票，与我一起，我们可以同去世界各地”。在接下来的50多年里，我可以诚实地说，就像在电影《EVITA》中演唱主打歌的麦当娜一样：我信守诺言。我们或许可以写出我们自己版本的畅销书《死前必去的 1000 个地方》。

那一晚，Sophia也给了Larry最大的惊喜，她唱起了两人第一次见面时唱的那首歌《红豆相思》：“是这首歌决定了我们的命运。” 他们甜蜜地回忆道。

Sophia & Larry 庆祝50周年结婚纪念日

在Larry的心里，一生的最重要的决定就是娶了Sophia为妻，因为没有人比她更了解我，当我攀登事业和成功的阶梯时，会听到越来越多的“是”和越来越少的“否”。我的妻子是唯一的用知识和动力给我诚实、坦率，而且免费的建议。虽然两个人的生活不如一个人简单，但两个人绝对可以活得更久，而且效率更高。通过分担家庭、孩子的职责，和事业，每个人都可以满怀信心地追求自己的事业，相信我们的另一半会负责其余的工作。同时也享受家庭带来的乐趣和支持。我们可能是爸爸挣钱妈妈掌管的最后一代，但其他方面都是公平的划分。

“她是贤妻良母，与她一同成长你永远不会无聊并且可以随时和她说话，我们一生都是同床同梦。” 何教授望着身边的妻子，眼里是满满的温柔与骄傲：“我们既有各自的又有共同的兴趣。就我们而言，是她对音乐的热爱以及我对研究的痴迷。我们都相信回馈社会，同时喜欢一起去远方旅行。她就像大使夫人一样美丽迷人，乐于助人。我以前的许多学生都知道，他们从她那里学到的东西和我一样多。她勤勤恳恳操持家庭，却将自己的才能、美貌和职业可能性置于次要地位，所以在我心目中，她可能就是那个时代的章子怡。”

Sophia & Larry 在 CAAL 中国新年晚会

2007年，作为对母亲四十多年来为这个镇所做出的贡献，何家的孩子共同捐赠了一个显眼的展示柜给镇上翻新的图书馆。记者很好奇孩子们为什么会选择只孝敬母亲？他们的答复很有意思：因为他们的父亲在他的一生中获得了许多公开的荣誉。孩子们希望母亲对她自己有一种特殊的认可。

对此，何教授全心全意支持和赞同。做为一个著作等身、荣誉满身的院士级学者，他始终以妻子为荣，甘作“Sophia的先生”。虽然都已是就是高龄，何教授夫妇依然精神矍铄，每天关心着各种大事小事，乐观的精神和温暖的性情也给身边的人带去了无限的力量。这一对自称“非典型美国人”的华裔夫妇，用他们已经走过的七十多年的移民生涯告诉我们，其实他们所恪守的，恰恰是这个国家最最基础的价值观：。

Sophia Ho ’s Award

2016: Presidential Volunteer Service

Lifetime Achievement Award

2018: Minuteman Cane Award

2021：LexSeeHer Women Visibility Banner

Larry Ho 履历

Yu-Chi Ho 获得 BS 和 MS 麻省理工学院电气工程学位和哈佛大学应用数学博士学位。1988 年，他被任命为哈佛大学 T. Jefferson Coolidge 应用数学教席和 Gordon McKay 系统工程教授，并担任德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校 Cockrell Family Regent 工程教席的客座教授。1955 -1958年期间，Larry 在工业界从事全职并获取了三项专利。2001 年从哈佛退休后成为研究教授（2001-2006 年）、名誉教授（2007 年至今），并被任命为清华大学智能与网络化系统研究中心的讲座教授和首席科学家（兼职）。

何教授在控制理论、模式识别以及博弈论等数个领域都造诣不凡。他发表了 140 多篇文章和 6 本书，其中一本（与 A.E. Bryson, Jr. 合著）已被翻译成俄文和中文，并被列为引文经典，成为该领域被引用次数最多的著作之一。

The Story of Sophia Ho & Larry Ho - English

From the Editor

This summer, many beautiful pole banners were raised in Lexington Center, each representing a Lexington woman who has made significant contributions to the community. Initiated by LexSeeHer, a group dedicated to raising the visibility of women, the banners pay tribute to 42 outstanding women in the town’s 300-plus year history. One banner belongs to Sophia Ho, the initiator of many charitable activities and founder of several organizations in Lexington including the Chinese American Association of Lexington (CAAL) and Lexington’s Martin Luther King Day of Service. She won the Presidential Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award with 4,800 volunteer hours and the Minuteman Cane Award in 2017.

Sophia's husband Professor Larry Yu-Chi Ho (Larry) is a well-known professor at Harvard University but, he says, "I'm more happy to be regarded as Sophia Ho's husband." Whenever he talks about Sophia, Larry is always full of pride. A considerable part of his own blog records all that Sophia has done for community-building and for Chinese groups. It also notes people's sincere respect and love for this female elder for her long-time public service.

In over a half century in Lexington, this Chinese couple has demonstrated that the values they hold dear and abide by are fundamental American values: freedom, equality, and love.

Sophia Ho & Larry Ho

Early Immigrants

Sophia moved to Taiwan from the mainland with her father in 1948. After completing secondary education in Taiwan, and with the help of a Catholic priest, she won a scholarship from Annhurst College in the United States and became the first Chinese student in this private Catholic Women's University.

"Annhurst gave me a full scholarship and provided all living expenses. Otherwise, it would be impossible for me to go abroad to receive an education," Sophia says gratefully of her alma mater.

Annhurst is remote and disciplined, but Sophia's time with her roommates allowed her to quickly establish friendships, overcome the language barrier, and adapt to life in the United States. The girls invited Sophia to their homes, which also let Sophia to get close to and understand the lives of ordinary Americans.

That same year, Larry was away from home and boarding at a British school in Hong Kong. The fifteen-year-old boy had already begun to show his talent for mathematics and physics: "I heard that there was a famous university in the United States called Massachusetts Institute of Technologies (MIT). So without knowing anything about MIT, I wrote a letter asking about admissions."

He quickly received an airmail, which was full of school information and application materials. Although he had no assistance at all, fifteen-year-old Larry not only submitted the application independently, but was also admitted in the spring of 1950.

Larry couldn't wait to share the admissions letter and good news to his only relative in Hong Kong at the time - his godfather. The whole family was very excited that weekend and eager to read this precious admissions letter. However, the success of the application also meant that Ho’s mother would send her only son to a foreign country thousands of miles away. Yet his mother's understanding and support largely determined the achievements of this future great scientist. Larry received bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and then went to Harvard University to pursue a PhD in applied mathematics.

On Valentine's Day 1959 Larry, who had just finished graduate school, proposed to Sophia, who had also just graduated from college. Sophia, who had received a scholarship to Boston College to study biology, agreed to Larry's marriage proposal.

Sophia in college - First row, middle

Larry arrived in US in 1950

Taking Root

Larry worked hard in the world of science. While supporting her husband and raising her children, Sophia has also found her life-long career and passion: serving the community.

In 1966, Sophia and Larry moved to the town of Lexington. "We are very lucky to have come to a newly-built community. Our neighbors were a Jewish couple. We quickly became friends. They often participated in town meetings. They also encouraged Sophia to participate in community activities.” Sophia learned much from them, one of the most important aspects being civic engagement. “You can only be heard if you participate,” Sophia said.

At that time, there were very few Chinese living in Lexington, and only one common Chinese organization in the Boston area - GBCCA (Greater Boston Chinese Culture Association - whose main activity is a Chinese school for children to learn Chinese, located in Newton. Later, Lexington also established its own Chinese school, which served as the predecessor of the Chinese American Association of Lexington (CAAL), established in 1983. As one of the founders of the association, Sophia is the inspiration of CAAL. The CAAL Banner, embroidered by Sophia, has been passed down for many years. The ingenious "craftsmanship" she learned from her mother was used this way to unite generations of Chinese immigrants in Lexington.

Sophia at Chinese Culture Event

Larry and Sophia paticipated "No Hate" event

Larry and Sophia also organized Chinese book drives and donated the books to Cary Library. Their activities increased the number of Chinese books in the library, allowed more people in the town to understand China and Chinese culture, and broke the boundaries between Taiwan and the mainland. Here, everyone is Chinese American: both Chinese, and American.

Today, more than 23% of Lexington's population is Asian. Among them are many Chinese families. The acceptance and recognition of Chinese culture by residents of other ethnic groups has also kept pace with the times.

Key members of CAAL - 2013

Serving the Community

Sophia is committed to promoting Chinese participation in the community and elections. In the 1980s, she discovered that there were very few registered voters of Chinese descent, and started a one-person voter registration campaign. She read the Town Book line by line, and when she saw the names of unregistered Chinese, she checked the phone number and called. Sophia patiently explained the importance of participating in elections and persuaded many Chinese to do so. In this way, Sophia relied on a town book and telephone white pages to plant the seeds of community participation in the Chinese community.

The Chinese Association is also actively learning from other ethnic groups, inviting candidates to come to the Chinese community to talk about their campaign platform, and then through discussion, select a candidate that everyone agrees is the most suitable and vote for them. Later facts proved that this concentrated voting method is the most suitable way of participation for the sparsely populated minority ethnic groups. That year, the candidate supported by the Chinese Association was defeated; however, the winner called the Chinese Association on the same day to better understand the concerns of the Chinese community.

CAAL Candidate Forum at Larry & Sophia Home - 2009

CAAL Candidate Forum at Larry & Sophia Home - 2018

In the 2008 presidential election, the 80-20 national Chinese organization where Larry served on the board of directors also adopted the same concentrated voting method. They contacted the Obama and McCain campaign teams separately; the Obama team responded enthusiastically to the concerns of the Chinese, but the McCain team did not respond at all. The 80-20 organization endorsed Obama, and the Obama administration ultimately appointed three Asian court judges. That was the most glorious moment of 80-20, Larry said.

Professor Ho also pointed out that with the increase of ethnic Chinese and their varied demands, concentrated voting has become increasingly difficult. However, the Chinese still need to establish some basic consensus and unite on this basis.

In 2012, there was a vacancy in the Lexington Housing Authority. CAAL drafted Weidong Wang to run for the position and contribute his energy and time to the Housing Authority. Sophia, who has extensive campaign experience, served as Weidong's campaign manager and began campaign preparations three months in advance. She made the best use of the interpersonal relationships she had obtained over the years, and brought Weidong to visit influential leaders, officials, and other active groups in the town to gain their support. She arranged for Weidong to convene and participate in numerous candidate meetings and forums to introduce the ruling program in detail and to familiarize voters with Weidong. Sophia also used various methods to remind and help voters having difficulties to go to the polling station to vote.

Weidong Wang won the election with Sophia's help - 2012

The election forum hosted by CAAL has a history of 38 years. It used to be held at Sophia and Larry's house until the new community center was completed in 2015. Larry pointed out: "The election forum not only provides candidates with the opportunity to directly face the voters, to show their qualifications in order to win their votes, but it is the purest democracy and is not affected by any party."

Another tedious but very effective activity is sending postcards to voters who have registered to vote. Sophia organized a group of dedicated volunteers to write postcards, and even personally gave them to voters. "The handwriting part is crucial. The fact that a candidate is willing to spend time and energy to write an address and a message with personal characteristics usually affects hesitant voters."

Throughout the campaign, Sophia believed that it was very important that the campaign not be conducted with a candidate representing a minority ethnic group, but rather a candidate representing the entire town, and happened to be a minority ethnic group. In other words, most of the votes should and must come from non-Chinese voters. In the end, Weidong won the election and became the first elected official of Chinese descent in Lexington. He was re-elected in that position multiple times and still serves.

This was a textbook-style professional election campaign. From selecting the candidates, organization, fundraising, on-site operations, advertising and communication, and volunteer support, everything was conducted almost perfectly. The minority, which accounts for 5% of the population, succeeded in persuading the majority to vote for an unknown candidate of this minority through hard work, sincerity, and goodwill. Such miracles can only happen in the United States.

Sophia and Larry are committed to promoting Chinese participation in American democracy, but their vision is not limited to the Chinese world. Sophia admires Dr. Martin Luther King tremendously and often asks herself: "What have we done for others?"

Sophia participated in the establishment of MLK Day of Services in Lexington. She works with Waltham YMCA to pick up children from the inner city to play ball and swim, so that they can enjoy the activities and the company of caring volunteers. The service also organizes high school student volunteers to visit the elderly, help them shovel snow, sweep leaves, and shop. Through restaurants, supermarkets and other charities, the organization donates food and clothing to groups in need. Sophia even knitted hundreds of gloves and hats and donated them to the Veterans Hospital. Under her leadership, many Chinese and their children in the town have become volunteers for MLK Day of Services.

"MLK is a great person!" Larry said. Civil rights pioneers used their blood and lives to fight for our (minorities) rights. We should not forget.

Sophie at MLK Day Walk - 2018

Sophia and Peter Lee won the Presidential Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award - 2016

Sophie won Minuteman Cane Award - 2017

Building Bridges

While Sophia is busy working in Lexington building community, Larry is actively contributing to Sino-US relations. Larry is an academician of the American Academy of Engineering, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. As early as the beginning of the 21st century, Larry was appointed as a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, traveling to Beijing for a month or two every year to serve as advisor. At the same time, as a tenured professor at Harvard, Larry has trained many Chinese doctoral students. Some of them stayed in the United States and continued to contribute their talents to their new country. A considerable number of students have also returned to China and served to facilitate the Sino-US scientific and technological exchanges.

We are Americans first. This is the common understanding of Larry and Sophia: “We have been in the United States since we were teenagers. Although we still like to eat Chinese food and can communicate in Chinese, we agree with American values in our bones. We also hope that new immigrants of Chinese descent in the future can realize this: it is not just about obtaining a US passport, but rather to identify with this country; they are already a part of it.”

Nevertheless, they are also two atypical Americans. Larry once joked that "I live a very non- American life.” That's because since he came to the United States, everything seems to be "the only one":

First, Sophia and Larry have had only one job in their lifetime (most Americans have several jobs in their lifetime); secondly, they are still traveling with their one and only spouse of 62 years (in the United States, one-third of marriages end in divorce); they have bought only one house and have lived there until now (Americans move often because of work and opportunities); all their children went to the same kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school and university.

In order to prove that he was so "unique,” Professor Ho added: “I have always had only one insurance agent (for my family, car, liability and life insurance) for more than 54 years (until the death of the agent, and now working with the son who took over the business); I am the first client of my lawyer. He is now retired and his young lawyer partner continues to serve me; I have used the same CPA to file tax returns for more than 54 years (the 91-year-old accountant has just retired and continues to ask his son to help file tax returns).”

Sophia with Leona Martin at the "Race Integration Day" forum

Sophia's LexSeeHer Banner in town center

Sophia at LexSeeHer banner award ceremony

Holding Hands

At their golden wedding anniversary reception, Larry said: "When I proposed to her fifty years ago, I made a usual promise: 'love, respect and obedience (at least most of the time).’ But I made another unusual promise. I like to travel, I like to visit faraway places. So I said to Sophia: "I am an envelope and you are a stamp. Stay with me, we will go to places together." In the next 50 years, I can honestly say, just Like Madonna sang in the title song in the movie ‘EVITA,’ "I have kept my promise." We might be able to write our own version of the best-selling book "1000 Places to Go Before I Die".”

That night, Sophia also gave Larry the biggest surprise. She sang "Acacia Acacia" the song the two sang when they first met: "This song forged our destiny." They recalled it sweetly.

Sophia and Larry danced at their golden wedding anniversary reception

In Larry's heart, the most important decision in his life was to marry Sophia “because no one knows me better than her. As I climb the ladder of career and success, I will hear more and more "yesses" and fewer and fewer "nos". My wife is the only one who uses knowledge and motivation to give me honest, frank, and free advice. Although the life of two people is not as simple as that of one person, two people can definitely live longer and be more efficient. By sharing the responsibilities of family, children, and career, everyone can pursue their own career with confidence. We may be the last generation that fathers are the bread earners, and mothers take care of home. But it is a fair division in all other aspects.”

"She is a good wife and mother, she grows with you. You will never be bored and you can talk to her at any time. We have lived in the same bed, and had the same dream throughout our journey." Professor Ho looked at his wife next to him, his eyes full of tenderness and pride: "We have our common interests, and also some separate interests. As far as we are concerned, it is her love of music and my joy in research. But we all believe in giving back to society, we like to travel far away together. Sophia is beautiful, charming and caring. Many of my former students know that they have learned as much from her as from me. She diligently manages the family, and puts her talents, beauty and career possibilities in secondary. So in my mind, she may be Zhang Ziyi of that era."

Sophia and Larry at CAAL Chinese New Year Gala

In 2007, to celebrate their mother's contribution to the town for more than 40 years, the children of the Ho family donated an exhibition display case to the town's library. This reporter was curious why the children chose to honor only their mother? Their answer was very interesting: Their father has won many public honors in his life. The children now hope that their mother will also have special recognition herself.

Professor Ho agrees and wholeheartedly supports this. As an academician-level scholar who authored many books, with numerous awards and honors, he is always proud of his wife and willing to be "Mr. Sophia.” Although they are both very old, Professor Ho and his wife are still very energetic, caring about all kinds of big and small things every day. The optimistic spirit and warm temperament has also brought infinite strength to the people around him. This Chinese couple, who claimed to be "atypical Americans," used their seventy years of life as immigrants to demonstrate to us that what they abide by is precisely the most fundamental values of this country: freedom, equality, and love.

Sophia Ho ’s Award

2016: Presidential Volunteer Service

Lifetime Achievement Award

2018: Minuteman Cane Award

2021：LexSeeHer Women Visibility Banner

Larry Ho

Yu-Chi Ho received BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate in applied mathematics from Harvard University. In 1988, he was appointed to the Harvard University T. Jefferson Coolidge Chair of Applied Mathematics and Gordon McKay Professor of Systems Engineering, and served as the visiting professor of the Cockrell Family Regent Chair of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. After retiring from Harvard in 2001, he became a research professor (2001-2006), an honorary professor (2007-present), and was appointed as the Chair Professor and Chief Scientist (part-time) of the Center for Intelligent and Networked Systems at Tsinghua University.

Professor Ho has outstanding achievements in several fields such as control theory, pattern recognition and game theory. He has published more than 140 papers and 6 books, one of which (co-authored with AE Bryson, Jr.) has been translated into Russian and Chinese, and has been listed as a citation classic, becoming the most cited work in the control theory field.

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