I knew I did not want to be a doctor; my parents kept talking to me about that. I wanted to be an NBA player, but around freshman and sophomore year, I stopped growing, so that was the end of that.

Growing up poor taught me a lot. It instilled in me the ethics of hard work.

Parents will be parents. Even now, my mom asks me sometimes, 'When are you going to go back and get a real job?'

It was tough times in Ohio when we lived there. My dad was between unemployed and just selling random knickknacks at a flea market. My mom was a cashier at a Chinese food restaurant. They both had awesome careers back in Taiwan, and they came here for my sister and I.

Jesus was a teacher, in a way. I mean, essentially, Jesus was a teacher. He was teaching people. He was helping them see themselves for what they were. He was helping them see their power, their strength, their beauty, what they're capable of.

I had an Edinburgh, middle-class childhood and a public school education.

Both of my children - my daughter Caroline, a public school teacher, and my son Elliot, an Army Ranger - are dedicating their lives to public service; thus, they have inspired my own decision to run for Congress.

As Governor of North Carolina for two terms, I made improving education a top priority.