Countywide : Romanian Emigrant, Others Honored

Violet Jakab Chu was born in a free society. But World War II changed the boundaries of her country and the Hungarian-born woman found herself a citizen of Communist Romania.

Longing to again be free, Chu--armed with nothing more than her civil engineering degree--finally escaped Romania to live in her idea of paradise: the United States.

Chu recounted her escape recently at a banquet, where she accepted an Orange County Woman of Achievement award. Chu, the only female engineering supervisor for the county, was one of 10 women to receive the award.

For Chu, who was raised in Communist Romania, the recognition is yet another example of what is right with America.

“Really, this is the land where people are free to be what they want, and with that you have an obligation to strive to be good at it,” Chu said.

County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder created the award six years ago to spotlight the achievements of female county workers both in their jobs and in the community.

“If you look at the work these women do in their careers, in their communities and with their families, you wonder where they find the time to do everything so well,” Wieder said.

In addition to her position with the county, Chu is a lecturer at Cal State Long Beach in hydraulics, preparing civil engineers for their license examinations. She is also active in helping immigrants by tutoring them in English and helping them make contacts in their career fields. Chu said her work with other immigrants is her way of thanking the people who helped her land her first engineering job in the United States.

She escaped Romania by stowing away in the toolbox of a refrigerator truck in 1970, just 10 days after graduating with her engineering degree.

“It was a small box, and I took with me only my schoolbook that showed the courses I had completed,” Chu said.

After three days, she arrived in Italy, eventually making her way to New York and then California.

“The United States stands for freedom to the entire world,” she said. “There is the opportunity here to do anything. Twenty months ago, who knew who Bill Clinton was? Now he’s president. That is freedom.”

Chu is an engineer supervisor in charge of the monitoring division of the Integrated Waste Management Department. The division monitors ground water and landfill gas. She said her job is a way for her to help her fellow humans.

“We all need clean water and shelter, and that’s what my profession can provide,” she said.

Women like Chu, who are dedicated to bettering the lives of others, are the reason for the achievement award, according to Wieder.

“We, as women, don’t have a level playing field,” Wieder said. “There is only one woman department head in the county. But the fact that you have women in supervisorial positions shows that the men are giving them the opportunity to have more responsibility and successes.”

The other women to receive the award are: Irene Briggs, senior social service supervisor at the Social Services Agency; Mary Gilchrist, deputy probation counselor; Janice V. Goss, administrative manager, Integrated Waste Management; Maureen E. Gunton, contract administrator, Environmental Management Agency; Kathleen Harper, deputy district attorney; Marianna O. Hof, senior administrative librarian, General Services Agency; Rose Juardo, employment service specialist, Community Service Agency; Jody Meador, public health medical officer, Health Care Agency; and Karoline Sheffield, Superior Court administrator.