I am a first-generation daughter of 2 Vietnamese refugees. I am a scientist, an explorer, and a dreamer. I will be an undergraduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the fall of 2022, and I will be a trailblazer as a woman in the field of STEM. When people look at me, they only see my success, to which they assume my heroes are the ones that have raised me “right” - my parents. But, my biggest influence is not just my mom or my dad. It is the fact that they go above and beyond than merely taking the responsibility of feeding and sheltering me. The way they raised me to persevere influenced and shaped my aspiration to study chemistry to become a doctor. 9 times out of 10, when someone asks me “What is your major?” they wince and roll their eyes when I tell them I want to study chemistry. Standing before them, I can see that their closed minds can not imagine a low-income Vietnamese woman entering the male-dominated field of STEM. They try to intimidate me by saying that chemistry is the hardest subject out there and that I’ll have gray hairs before I even turn 18. Believe me, I have heard tons of variations of these comments. However, as a student who is passionate about the sciences, chemistry has countlessly provided me with explanations that have deepened my understanding of the world we live in. Growing up in a low-income household, my immigrant parents have always told me, “Don’t worry about money. Just go study.” These are the words of individuals who have sacrificed more than I could ever imagine and have built a life out of loss. For the past 17 years, they have provided me with everything out of nothing. Despite going through the traumatic experiences of escaping the Vietnam war, it is this constant exposure to my parents’ perseverance, strong work ethic, and altruistic mindset that have sculpted me into the college-ready daughter I am today. From these traits, I learned that hard work ultimately pays off and I learned to be open-minded and considerate to care for others, which is why the field of medicine interests me. I was never born “gifted” or “talented”; as a matter of fact, I was always known as the “slow” student in my class. However, from a young age, my parents recognized that no matter if it took 1 week, 3 months, or 5 years, I could accomplish anything so long as I had my mind set on the goal. Raised by brave and hard-working Vietnamese refugees, I have naturally developed a strong work ethic and a determined mindset to constantly persevere through challenges. Being a Vietnamese woman has taught me that as long as I persistently work toward my goals, I will become a doctor and a trailblazer in the field of STEM because there is never a mountain too high to climb.

My “everything” puts me through recurring pains of fresh blisters, peeling fingertips, and raw calluses. Yet, it is the only thing I look forward to holding after seven hours of school and long nights of studying for back-to-back tests. Why do I take care of it with my whole life? You may ask. It is my outlet for self-expression and creativity that perpetually brings color to my black and white world and never fails to give me hope for better tomorrows. It is my light in the dark, my medicine, my identity, my “everything”, my guitar.