Gary Sham was born in Houston in 1963 to second-generation Chinese American parents. Mr. Sham graduated from Rice University in 1985, with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematical Sciences. After university, he worked as a seismic geophysicist at Shell Oil Company and as a flight controller at NASA. He has since worked at Compaq/HP for 25 years. While raising his two daughters in Sugar Land, Mr. Sham currently resides there with his wife. He serves as a deacon at Houston’s Chinese Baptist Church.
This interview covers Mr. Sham’s family background, childhood as a “latchkey kid” in Houston, time at Rice University, career, involvement in the Chinese Baptist Church, and reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic.
View interview transcript PDF — Full interview materials on Rice Digital Scholarship