A local doctor who has overcome many obstacles to be successful in America credits her proud Asian heritage.

Dr. Gye-Yee Shin has an accomplished primary care practice with St. Vincent's Medical Center and Hartford Healthcare in Bridgeport. But she says it wasn't easy.

Shin and her husband were both doctors in their native South Korea. They left their jobs and their families to start a new life in this country.

"When I came here, nobody knows me and I couldn't speak any English," said Shin.

Shin had to complete a residency program in Brooklyn while raising her daughter and living for a time without her husband, who was in New Haven.

"We watched "Sponge Bob" together, and that's how I learned English," she laughed.

Shin traveled the United States to learn as much as she could, but she says it was hard to get to work because she didn't know how to drive.

"I had to ride a bicycle day and night and rain or snow. Some days I was soaking wet. I didn't go back to Korea for a while because I was ashamed of myself. I have nothing. My family there, they are something. Me nothing," said Shin.

Shin says the values of the South Korean people got her through tough times in America.

"They don't put themselves first, they always put their family or the community or country first. So, they have the power of working together," said Shin.

Shin now wants to help the less fortunate get health care.

She has also been recognized by the local Korean community.