Elevating Asian Voices in the South
Story #2Sona Isharani and Steven Hatcher met while in dental school at UNC-Chapel Hill nearly 20 years ago.
Their relationship endured long distances while continuing their post-graduate work. She furthered her training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a residency at the University of Maryland, while he served in the U.S. Army in South Korea.
The life they’ve built for themselves since then includes a successful dental practice in Greensboro, their 9-year-old daughter, Sophie, and a dog, a Cavachon (half Bichon and half Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) named Sissy.
While they honor their multicultural backgrounds – she is Indian, he is half Korean, half Caucasian – they are not defined by their ethnicity.
More of Their Story
Steven’s response to the frequent question of “Who are you and what do you do?,” is this:
Sona proudly describes herself as “a mom, wife, pediatric dentist and Greensboro native.”
Their wedding ceremony was an opportunity for both families to showcase their heritage.
The artwork on Sona and Steve’s invitations represented symbols of both their Hindu and Christian faiths. Sona and the women in her family wore colorful saris and Steven’s mother and aunt wore traditional Korean dresses, or hanboks. The couple also lit a unity candle at the end of the ceremony.
“I feel like our wedding was like the U.N. wedding,” Sona says. “That was the start of our life together.”
While American culture is the dominant one in their family, Sophie, celebrates Indian holidays with Sona’s family. They also got the chance to visit Korea before the onset of the pandemic. That trip made Sophie feel more connected to her Korean identity.
Recent backlash against Asians haven’t directly impacted them or their families, but they have had conversations with Sophie about how to respond to others who might say or act unkindly.
It’s not to say that Sona and Steve haven’t encountered negative stereotypes for being Asian, it’s that they choose not to dwell on it. Sona has even faced some discrimination for being a female in dentistry. But they press forward.
“It’s more of ‘How can I turn this around?,’ Sona says. “There’s always going to be people who say mean things. I can’t control that, but you can choose how to respond.”
She tells her daughter that it’s okay if someone doesn’t want to be friendly. She can just walk away from them.
“There are always going to be rude or mean people. But I’m trying to make her strong from within. I try to make her feel strong and confident in who she is and what she’s about and to make sure she has a strong sense of her culture,” Sona says.
“We’re real big believers in being victors, and not victims,” Steve says. “We’re in control of how we respond. We just take the higher road and have a victor mentality.”

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Sona & Steve's Podcast
Story Collaborators

Maria Sollecito, Maria Sollecito Photography
Photography
Maria Sollecito is also known as The Munchkin on a Mission. She specializes in beauty portraits and weddings.
For portrait clients, she takes beauty to another level with a hint of class and elegance.
There’s much in store for my wedding couples on their special day. Listening attentively to your opinions, and focusing on bringing your vision to life.
Her “loving to keep it fun” demeanor has helped diffuse some of the most stressful situations. She takes full advantage of her munchkin-ness in capturing the best shots by: climbing trees, standing on rocks, laying on the ground, etc. Whatever it takes, consider it done!

Dave, Maunaleo Ventures
Media Production
Dave is a builder, fixer, and protector of digital things. He has worked for small businesses and Fortune 200 companies across multiple industries, including financial services, manufacturing, and defense.
Dave was born in the District of Columbia but considers the Districts of North Kohala and Hamakua his spirit home [once from the District, always from a District]. Dave does not do social media or answer the phone very often, so if you want to reach him, you will probably need to go analog. Brah, dasswhyhard!

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