Sun, Reika, 1983-
Description
Zhen "Reika" Sun was born and raised in Shanghai, China, during the one-child policy. Because her parents both worked, she was raised by nannies. Wanting a better life for their daughter, Reika's parents immigrated to the U.S. in 2009, choosing to settle in Las Vegas because her mother's sister lived here. However, before Reika could join her parents in Las Vegas, they sent her to an English as a Second Language program at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. After arriving in Las Vegas, Reika worked in a few restaurants before being hired first as a host and then as a server at the Bellagio. Reika talks of Chinese New Year and Moon festivals, superstitions, and foods; anti-Asian hate; Kansas; and her membership in the Culinary Workers Union Local 226.
