May Hu, from SBS Radio's Mandarin program, received a Medal of the Order of Australia on Monday for her service to broadcast media, women and the multicultural community of Victoria.
"I felt really, really honoured and very happy, certainly. I'm honoured to have an OAM award as a Chinese migrant woman," she told SBS World News.
"That means our [Chinese migrant community's] contribution to the mainstream community [is] recognised by the authority and by the whole society."
May has been working with SBS since she was appointed as the Head of Group Mandarin in 1992.
Today, she works as a casual producer on the Mandarin Radio program.
She is also involved in a number of community and cultural organisations - including the National Council of Women of Australia, and the National Australian Chinese Women Association, which she founded in 2012.
May came to Australia with her family in 1988 after her father had accepted an invitation to study following China's Cultural Revolution.
She learned English and was granted a visa to study interpretation and translation at Deakin University in Victoria.
After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, then-prime minister Bob Hawke issued permanent resident visas to Chinese students and May successfully applied.
Some 20 years later, May says she's grateful for the opportunity to help Chinese migrants better understand the country and integrate.
"The country treats us well. We need to work hard.
"It doesn't matter where you come from, as long as you recognise the value of Australia, and you settle down and you integrate into this society, and work and serve for these communities - not only the Chinese community but also the whole multicultural Australia."
May Hu (left) with former prime minister Bob Hawke. Source: Supplied
