Andrea: What school do you go to?

Tommy: I go to Roman Catholic High School.

Andrea: How old are you? And what grade are you in?

Tommy: I'm 17. I'm in sophomore year.

Andrea: How long have you been in the Philadelphia Suns?

Tommy:  I've been in the Suns technically now for four years.

Andrea: Four years. Ok. So you started—

Tommy: when I was in seventh grade.

Andrea: What does the Suns mean to you?

Tommy: The Suns is a nonprofit organization where most people from Chinatown or any part of Pennsylvania gather up and just celebrate our culture of Chinese arts. And it brings a lot of joy knowing that there's many people out there that share the same beliefs as me.

Andrea: What Chinese arts are you referring to?

Tommy: Lion dance. There's also kung fu that we don't really do, but during that time of year, there's shows on that, which do particularly happen during the parade.

Andrea: Are you part of any of these activities for the Suns?

Tommy: We do sports, which are basketball and volleyball, and we also do lion dance.

Andrea: How long have you been doing these activities?

Tommy: Lion dance has been four years. Basketball–3, 2, probably two years.

Andrea: And you have siblings, correct?

Tommy: I have two siblings.

Andrea: Are they also part of the Suns?

Tommy: One is Patrick. He does only basketball, but I'm pretty sure he's doing lion dance next year.

Andrea: So tell me more about your lion dance experience and how that's been for the past four years.

Tommy: Well, it started off kind of hard, I guess because I was a bad kid during Mr Harry's lion dance practice. So I would get in trouble a lot. But during many, many practices doing lion dance with Harry, I learned to really discipline myself more and more and just have fun, but on a scale of being serious or not serious.

Andrea: Would you say Harry is like your mentor?

Tommy: Yeah, Harry is my mentor coach.

Andrea: So what does that mean for you? 

Tommy: Harry changed me from like a crazy kid. From now, transforming to a more mature and respectful person now.

Andrea: Has Harry taught you about your own culture in a way?

Tommy: Yes, he's brought me more towards lion dancing. How it started off during like the Qing dynasty and all that stuff.

Andrea: Have you guys performed anywhere or what were your favorite memories from the Suns?

Tommy: So far? My favorite memories are probably during the parades we do every year, where a bunch of members of the Suns gather up and it's one big event and we just have fun.

Andrea: Can you describe in detail these parades? What happens?

Tommy: Well, we start off at Chinese Christian Church + Center and we bring out lions and they scare away evil spirits. We bring out at least four or five of them, and we put them into different groups, pretty much like members of the Suns, like the old heads, the younger group, the college kids, all that. We go around each store that has firecrackers or lettuce and we just run around dancing around the place to banish away evil spirits.

Andrea: You mentioned there's a lot of different ages in the group. Do you think the Suns is a really big community beyond the youth? Could you describe that? How does that feel? What does that look like? How does it feel to be around different aged people? How does that bring you guys together?

Tommy: Well, for many people in the Suns, you get to meet other people and experience stuff you didn't really experience in life and you learn a lot of values from the old heads or the college people. You can also learn how to advance more in high school to get a better grade in college.

Andrea: What values have you learned?

Tommy: One thing I still go by for the Suns is, it doesn't matter if you win or lose. The only thing that matters is you tried your best and that's all you can do–just get up and try to advance more. 

Andrea: So not speaking about lion dancing–how has basketball in the Suns changed you in a way?

Tommy: Well, more disciplined too because Harry makes us run a lot during these practices. When I first started, I wasn't really able to run. I probably threw up at my first practice. But the more I still keep on going, the more I've really improved my health overall and that's changing me too.

Andrea: The Suns are located in Chinatown?

Tommy: Where, if you first enter Chinatown, it should be on the left side of Chinatown where it says Chinese Christian Church.

Andrea: Does that place hold a lot of memories for you? Which memory has been your favorite memory?

Tommy: Well, I started in preschool there and probably my favorite memory probably has to be when Mr. Harry was my PE coach and I accidentally kicked the shoe into, I think I hit him with it and I got scolded. That's probably my most funny memory I can remember from that place. 

Andrea: You still hang around C4 [Chinese Christian Church + Center]?

Tommy: Probably around Fridays or Saturdays.

Andrea: What do you do? Friday and Saturday?

Tommy: I probably help around with Harry or I use the court there at C4. I just hang out with all my friends there.

Andrea: Is there something that decides what you wish you would see in the future?

Tommy: Probably be much bigger than it is now even though it's quite popular. I would like to see it, you know, all over the Internet if that's possible.

Andrea: Have you made new friends or new connections that you admire?

Tommy: I don't recall anything about that.

Andrea: You say you help out with Harry? Is there a younger member who’s like your little brother? I assume this makes sense. Are there any, like, little siblings? Do you mentor anyone now that you're in for four years?

Tommy: Not really. Harry does all of that or the other coaches for basketball, but if I have a friend and he's doing lion dance, I probably help him out a bit on how to do it. Like the specific dances and you gotta do the front lion dance. 

Andrea: You keep mentioning Harry and you helping Harry. What are things you do to help the community?

Tommy: We do spring cleaning, which is when we clean around C4 and other places. We also help out with the other church that we have too around Vine Street. We do cleaning there and that's all I do. I mean, I also help out with fixing up lion heads or cleaning up the lion heads to make them more clean.

Because we do basketball, we have trophies that we hand out when we host these tournaments. So I also help out with making the trophies and getting them prepared for that.

Andrea: Why do you think this spring cleaning is important for Chinatown?

Tommy: It shows an image of how Chinatown is cleaner than other places, showing it’s a nice, safe environment.

Andrea: So do you think Chinatown is a safe environment?

Tommy: Oh, I mean, it still is to an extent, but throughout events now I've seen Chinatown is not really safe, in particular due to many events of shootings. There was a fire last time and many other more.

Andrea: So you mentioned you went to preschool at C4. Did you have elementary and middle school in there as well?

Tommy: Yeah. I started off with Chinatown Learning Center, but I got kicked out. And then my parents moved to C4. And after that, I graduated from that place. I went to Holy Redeemer, which is also on Vine Street, not too far from Chinatown. And that's where I mostly got my connections with the Suns more because Harry also teaches lion dance for us there from sixth grade to eighth grade. And that's how we get more and more involved with the Suns. It wasn't mandatory, it was like an option.

Andrea: So why did you choose to be in it?

Tommy: When I was little, I was really, really interested in doing lion dance. And when I saw that option, I instantly agreed on doing it. After that, my passion started to burn up for lion dancing.

Andrea: Could you please tell me a little bit more specifically what grades were you in C4? So from, like, preschool to fourth grade or you graduated preschool?

Tommy: I graduated preschool.

Andrea: Ok. So you spent your K to 8 years? How was your school life? Did it bring you closer ot Chinatown?

Tommy: Yes, because, well, because Chinatown and Holy Redeemer are quite close. I remember during my sixth grade or fifth grade year, I would sometimes sneak out or go out to Chinatown to venture what was going on, and it was fun, and then I started going and going practically almost for the whole week. It was pretty fun.

Andrea: Do you still spend a lot of time in Chinatown?

Tommy: If my friends are out, then yeah.

Andrea: Have you heard about the arena that's gonna happen? Do you have any opinions on this? .

Tommy: I don't really have an opinion on it. Well, I just don't want it to be built. 

Andrea: Is there a reason why you don't want it to be?

Tommy: Because I feel like right now, Chinatown is not that big anymore from before. So building this mainstream place where tourists are probably likely to come, I feel like the taxes are gonna go up for Chinatown businesses because right now inflation is really high up. It’s already affecting the business people and the people that live there, the stores there. So building the stadium and the more taxes that they're put on to these people, they're gonna run out of business and there's probably no working it out anymore.

Andrea: Going back to your brother. What do they do in Chinatown? Are they in Chinatown?

Tommy: It just affects how much my family members and all this, like how they grew up from Chinatown. If the stadium was built and Chinatown is destroyed, it's just sad to see how they grew up from this place to nothing.

Andrea: Did your parents also go to middle school in Chinatown or?

Tommy: They went to middle school in mccall? 

Andrea: Would you recommend like, do you have any other younger siblings? You have one brother?

Tommy: I have 2 younger brothers. 

Andrea: Are you gonna recommend your other younger brother?

Tommy: Well, right now he’s in fifth grade. I'll recommend it to him but if he doesn't really want to do it, it's fine.

Andrea: Is there anything you would like to say about the Suns or something I didn’t ask  you? Ok quick question. Does your family do grocery shopping in Chinatown?.

Tommy: Yeah. Well, it's a once a week thing. Still now, so once a week every Sunday.

Andrea: So it's like a tradition kind of. Do you go grocery shopping?

Tommy: I just sleep in most of the time.

Andrea: Are there places or stores that are like a childhood memory?

Tommy: Tuck Hing [Food Market].

Andrea: Tell me about Tuck Hing. 

Tommy: When I started to go to Chinatown for my first day, I recall my uncle taking me. I was in the back seat and I was running around trying not to go, but he bribed me to go to Tuck Hing. I never heard of it before, but I was intrigued by it. So after I finished school, he took me to Tuck Hing and there was a little shop in the corner. It's next to Mr Wish. Oh, it brings back so much memory because I still go there now. It's like a little convenience store and it's just the place where you just buy drinks or snacks or vegetables, et cetera and that's probably my go-to place to get drinks. So if you want to see me there, you know, I'll be right there.

Andrea: How do you think Chinatown has changed in the last 10 years?

Tommy: More tourists have came to Chinatown now. I remember when I was little, not really much white or like any other ethnicity except for Chinese over there. So like right now a lot of, you know, a lot of very good.

Andrea: What's your vision for Chinatown? Like what do you envision Chinatown to be? 

Tommy: A lot of Asian stores there and, well, I envision hoping the Suns are still part of what Chinatown is now. So I'm hoping to still see the parades that go on over there and that other stores don't go bankrupt. Like the Tuck Hing has a big one.

Andrea: Have you been to Fashion District? Do you think, what are your feelings about Fashion District being close to Chinatown?

Tommy: I don't really have an opinion on it but I don't really like the crimes that has gone on during those areas. I just hate seeing a lot of crimes near Chinatown because it makes it like, not really safe because crime can start moving towards area, especially Chinatown, making it not a safe environment.

Andrea: If you could invest in Chinatown, what is the first thing you would invest in?

Tommy: Expanding it.

Andrea: What way, like physically or like more exports or like the people?

Tommy: More stores or like? Yeah, probably just more stores.

Andrea: What is one thing you want to be built in right now?

Tommy: Probably like, another place where we can hang out in, kind of like a park next to Chinatown or in Chinatown, where a lot of people can just hang out, chill. Yeah.

Andrea: Some more green space.