Personal Narrative: Growing Up In A Vietnamese Family

Growing up in a Vietnamese family in America, the value of life is highlighted by working hard and knowing your roots. Stories about family hardship and history told from the older generation in my family are mostly ones of war. I have heard many different elements of war: war crimes, anticommunist sentiments, and the escape from Vietnam. Hearing these stories has always resonated with me, motivating me to work hard for the sacrifice of those before me. In that sense, I worked rigorously to provide myself an education from the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas and was excited about pursuing a professional health career. However, during my sophomore year I experienced a lapse in production. I attribute this lack in performance and concentration to grief from the passing of two of my closest family members both of whom told me many of the family stories. During that point, I was …show more content…
Looking at pictures of Vietnam, I like to imagine myself there to help clean up the tragedies of the past. Growing up, I always was aware of and affected by these stories I would hear from my family about the public health atrocities caused by the war in Vietnam, but didn’t fully realize how much I wanted to be a part of improving the lives of those affected. I’m excited at the opportunity to be a part of the cure through extended studies at UT School of Public Health. My interests in public health are to continue epidemiological research on the impact of exposure to Agent Orange to human health and statistical research on its impact on the environment. I hope to apply the skills and abilities required in this endeavor to other chemical catastrophes in the future. Collecting value data for these catastrophes in order to influence policy and create an effective liaison between governments and development or aid organizations is another important challenge I want to pursue in the field of public