Song was welcomed to the Shea family and settled in Boston as one of the family members. He lived in a community where the majority of people are either the second or the third generation of immigrations whose English were way more fluent than their native languages. The Shea family were also immigrants, from Ireland. Thus Song was not alone. Song also smoothly emerged into local society as well as a church. Fluent in Latin, Song was involved in a local church and sang the mass every Sunday.
Song attended Newman Preparatory School and completed a two-year designed curriculum within less than one year by taking advantage of the knowledge that he learned from Father Schiffer in Dairen. After graduation, Song was accepted by Dartmouth College Class of 1953 Mathematics Major with a full scholarship. Song explained that the motivation for selecting Mathematics Major was to avoid politically sensitive content because he was an immigrant and a minority in the U.S. during the Cold War Furthermore, he was one of the first Asian-born students to receive full scholarships from American colleges. Song’s achievement was so groundbreaking that a local newspaper in Boston —Hyde Park Tribune reported Song’s life experiences as well as excellent academic performance in the United States.
Other than studying, Song dedicated himself to part-time jobs and the development of hobbies. According to regulation by Dartmouth College, students receiving full scholarships had to work in student dining service, and Song also did just like other students. During summer and winter break, he worked in a resort hotel as a cook, and he reflected that working provided different experiences since he never cooked during his childhood (in Japanese culture at that time, men should not step into the kitchen, the “battlefield of women”). Song had several hobbies and especially loved reading books and paintings. Song was talented at painting, and he earned money by selling his paintings.
After graduating from the University of Michigan, Song assumed the position as a librarian at Oakland University, where he was responsible for affairs of the library, and was a lecturer of Chinese history, and Chinese philosophy courses. Then he moved to CAST of Wayne State University, Yale University, and ended up at Bryn Mawr College as the Associate Librarian. As an expert in math and computer technology, Song played a crucial role in introducing the computer system to Bryn Mawr College Library and the expansion of book collections.
However, Song’s success in his career and naturalization as a U.S. citizen did not result in smooth sailing. Although Song did not include so much information about his struggles with being gay, other records illustrated that the status of a homosexual was one of the most significant issues for Song. Song attempted to receive psychological treatments and even married the 2nd generation of Greek American women to establish a family following the advice of a doctor. His marriage life was generally satisfying, but the conflict of whether or not to face his sexual orientation troubled Song. Eventually, Song determined to divorce with the understanding of his ex-wife and two daughters; Song started to live with his partner and took care of their parents together. Song’s solution to his struggle was to accept his sexual orientation, and it made the real stabilization of Song’s life
