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Kai Chitaphong '97 (Psychology)
Kai Chitaphong ’97, ’02 was four when his father woke him up in the middle of the night and told him to grab his things because the family was leaving Laos. He accompanied his parents, older sister and brother, younger sister and aunt to the shoreline of the Mekong River and climbed into a canoe. Despite the spotlights and warning shots and shouts to turn back, the family, with Chitaphong’s father guiding the boat from the water, made it to Thailand.
But the journey didn’t end there for Chitaphong, who now holds a B.A. in psychology and a master’s in social work from Roberts Wesleyan, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in counseling and human development from the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education. After his father bribed border soldiers with money and jewelry to spare their lives, the family was sent to prison for three months before being released to a refugee camp, where Chitaphong remembers playing in a pond, watching for the trucks that came once a week to drop off rice, and listening from his tiny hut at night to crimes being committed outside. After about a year, three churches from Geneva, N.Y., teamed up to sponsor the family.
Chitaphong to this day is unsure how the churches learned about his situation. But he has been committed ever since—and has demonstrated that commitment throughout his adult life—to assisting others in times of great need. The importance of being a good steward was reinforced during his time at Roberts.
“Accepting Christ was a very emotional process for me. Simply accepting Him is not enough though. At Roberts, I found the friends and fellowship I needed to continue to develop and explore my faith,” he said.
He vividly recalls the moment he heard that terrorists had toppled the Twin Towers.
“I just had this weird feeling of physical pain, like I’d experienced something like this before,” he recalls. “I was immediately able to empathize emotionally and sense what these people were going through. At the time, the only thing I could think of was I had to go down there and do anything I could to help.”
Chitaphong, at the time a social worker and program therapist with Unity Health System, joined the 9/11 Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Response team. After returning home, he felt called to do even more, so he enlisted in the military.
“Everybody thought I was nuts,” he says. “I had a good job, a nice family. I was starting on my Ph.D. They wondered why I would do this. But it was very personal for me.”
He flew into Iraq on a cold and rainy Christmas day in 2004 as the officer in charge of a Combat Stress Control team, making sure that soldiers had mental health services when they needed them, wherever they happened to be. He was called again to deploy to Iraq in 2010 and provided similar services as part of Operation New Dawn.
After serving for several years as manager of the Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom program for Canandaigua Veterans Affairs Medical Center, providing health services for soldiers transitioning from the combat zone to home again, Chitaphong was promoted to national director of the VITAL (Veteran Integration to Academic Leadership) Initiative. This innovative program brings mental health and academic support right onto college campuses to help veterans in school with their unique needs. The position is a perfect fit for Chitaphong, who reflects fondly on his own college experience.
“All of my best friends are from Roberts. We’re still very tight because we’re of the same mind, spiritually. Everyone that I met there—from professors to fellow students—was a truly genuine person,” he said.
Today, Chitaphong resides in Scottsville with his wife, Amanda Plake Chitaphong ’00, ’06, and their four children: Kaleb, Ella, and twins Khloe and Kai.
Adapted from the Warner School of Education Website.