My life seems to be like a museum’s exhibits displacing a full spectrum of meaningful colors, emotions, and memories. Visiting the museum always makes me feel recharged because it enables me to be astonishingly amused by masterpieces of art, and - here comes the big “and” - no one can limit my beautiful boundless imagination; no one can disturb me. Let’s have a walk together around my own museum to see how vividly each of my life’s exhibits are and how they all came together to create the best version of myself. The first exhibit room is my hometown in Vietnam—Danang—where my footprint landed on every corner of the city, where I spent hours watching rice paddle fields shine like gold petals under the sunset and played with mimosa pudica - a flower whose leaves instantly close when being touched. In that exhibit, the echo of my childhood laughter was carried by the flying wind, up to the blue sky, and dissolved. When I turned 15, my family and I made a huge leap across the globe to America. The moment we landed in the “Golden State,” despite my excitement of a new journey, all I heard was the continuous “woo-woo-woo” from police cars curving in the howling wind, alarming people of the quarantine. America welcomed us with a pandemic, but my new family’s bond also became stronger than ever, which I later found out was the calm before the storm. One month later, my step-dad left this world, a migraine kept coming back torturing my mom, and my already-overly-shy sister spent most of her day in the closet. I then aimed to be a thousand times more optimistic to cheer up my mother and sister. I am the first child, the hope of my mom and family, and I demanded myself to be the one who carried the weight of the world on my shoulders. I have always served as my mom’s mouthpiece and the English-speaking “Mrs. Pham'' on the telephone, the one who made appointments with the doctors and checked immigration documents, despite my English not being much better than hers. The memory of that upheaval period will never cease, but it also taught me how brave I could become, how to focus on what matters most in my life. In my junior year, my mom, sister, and I headed to Nederland, Texas, a next exhibit where distinctive challenges and opportunities awaited. As Americans gradually returned to their new “normal,” I also began to attend a “real” school. Therefore, this Texan exhibit was filled with countless people speaking in slang at an accelerated speed. It was so hard to make friends with people who were so unlike me and came from different cultural backgrounds. The talkative girl unexpectedly became a mimosa pudica, isolating herself, being invisible in that bustling, heaving crowd. As a result, my mind was constantly under the weather, like Texas: always humid. Fog on the trees, fog on the streets, fog in my mind. This newfound fear of school had grown into a large fog, so big that it almost swallowed me. “Are you traveling across the world to become a fainthearted one?” argued the voice on my way to school, to home, in my dreams… And yet, I fought my self-imposed sense of inferiority and tried to open up to blend in my new home. I slowly accepted my cultural difference as someone bringing a new voice in a diverse space, with my black hair, slit-eyes, and flat nose. Just as things started to settle down, my family moved again to Euless—a bigger city which was even more hectic, but this girl also became stronger. The lessons and experiences that I had learned throughout the journey nourished me into a better tolerable and flexible person who can be familiar with acclimating to different environments, treasuring all of life’s moments because I never knew what’d happen next. It was also an exciting opportunity to discover new passions and contribute my creative ideas to my new community. I hope my future exhibits will be a place for me to welcome everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the walk today because my museum will continue to collect all the pieces of art of my life.

I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US has been an especially exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I plan to continue my current leadership roles and volunteering projects, while also seeking new leadership opportunities for a common purpose: helping more children have access to better living conditions. Volunteering was a strong factor impacting me to decide my college major. I plan to study Biochemistry on the Pre-Med track. When I volunteered at Da Nang Hospital, the odor of chemotherapy drugs, the sight of thin bodies, and the unwavering optimistic smiles from the children motivated me to contribute my innovation to the long game of cancer research. Also, since I have always served as my mom’s mouthpiece and the English-speaking “Mrs. Pham'' on the telephone, the one who made appointments with the doctors and checked immigration documents. While not directly related to my major, I will create an organization to help other ESL learners of different backgrounds with the hope of developing empathy, cultural humility, and understanding. I plan to develop the organization not only to be active on campus but also to help other ESL adults with English learning and document translation. As a leader, I am setting examples for other peers at my university, and inspiring a new generation of leaders. Being a part of a community, we should participate in volunteering activities, cleaning up the neighborhood, and donating to charity,...Those more privileged can help the poor, and the poor help those who are poorer, creating a cycle of fulfillment and happiness and opening the door to social mobility. As a community, helping other people is not only developing their living conditions but also enriching our lives and connecting with new ideas that positively impact our perspective. Young people are hungry to change our society, including me. It will be my honor and pride to work in the medical field and be able to enjoy the satisfaction of helping people. I will travel to the mountainous, poor areas to give medical treatments and educate hygiene for those lovely kids - the future of each nation. I hope they will take my steps and make this world a better place. I love the feeling that my chest rises high singing while helping somebody. l will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

My life seems to be like a museum’s exhibits displacing a full spectrum of meaningful colors, emotions, and memories. The first exhibit room is my hometown in Vietnam—Danang—where my footprint landed on every corner of the city, where I spent hours watching rice paddle fields shine like gold petals under the sunset and played with mimosa pudica - a flower whose leaves instantly close when being touched. In that exhibit, the echo of my childhood laughter was carried by the flying wind, up to the blue sky, and dissolved. When I turned 15, my family and I made a huge leap across the globe to the “Golden State.” America welcomed us with a pandemic, but my new family’s bond also became stronger than ever, which I later found out was the calm before the storm. One month later, my step-dad left this world, a migraine kept coming back torturing my mom, and my already-overly-shy sister spent most of her day in the closet. I then aimed to be a thousand times more optimistic to cheer up my mother and sister. I am the first child, the hope of my mom and family, and I demanded myself to be the one who carried the weight of the world on my shoulders. I have always served as my mom’s mouthpiece and the English-speaking “Mrs. Pham'' on the telephone, the one who made appointments with the doctors and checked immigration documents, despite my English not being much better than hers. The memory of that upheaval period will never cease, but it also taught me how brave I could become. In my junior year, my mom, sister, and I headed to Nederland, Texas, a next exhibit where distinctive challenges and opportunities awaited. As Americans gradually returned to their new “normal,” I also began to attend a “real” school. Therefore, this Texan exhibit was filled with countless people speaking in slang at an accelerated speed. It was so hard to make friends with people who were so unlike me and came from different cultural backgrounds. The talkative girl unexpectedly became a mimosa pudica, isolating herself, being invisible in that bustling, heaving crowd. As a result, my mind was constantly under the weather, like Texas: always humid. Fog on the trees, fog on the streets, fog in my mind. This newfound fear of school had grown into a large fog, so big that it almost swallowed me. “Are you traveling across the world to become a fainthearted one?” argued the voice on my way to school, to home, in my dreams… And yet, I fought my self-imposed sense of inferiority and tried to open up to blend in my new home. I slowly accepted my cultural difference as someone bringing a new voice in a diverse space, with my black hair, slit-eyes, and flat nose. Just as things started to settle down, my family moved again to Euless—a bigger city that was even more hectic, but this girl also became stronger. The lessons and experiences that I had learned throughout the journey nourished me into a better tolerable and flexible person who can be familiar with acclimating to different environments, treasuring all of life’s moments because I never knew what’d happen next. It was also an exciting opportunity to discover new passions and contribute my creative ideas to my new community. I hope my future exhibits will be a place for me to welcome everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the walk today because my museum will continue to collect all the pieces of art of my life.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. For instance, there was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement I felt after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from each of those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many different aspects about myself, helping develop my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US has been an especially exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I plan to continue my current leadership roles and volunteering projects, while also seeking new leadership opportunities for a common purpose: helping more children have access to better living conditions. Since I have always served as my mom’s mouthpiece and the English-speaking “Mrs. Pham'' on the telephone, the one who made appointments with the doctors and checked immigration documents. While not directly related to my major, I will create an organization to help other ESL learners of different backgrounds with the hope of developing empathy, cultural humility, and understanding. I plan to develop the organization not only to be active on campus but also to help other ESL adults with English learning and document translation. As a leader, I am setting examples for other peers at my university, and inspiring a new generation of leaders. Being a part of a community, we should participate in volunteering activities, cleaning up the neighborhood, and donating to charity,...Those more privileged can help the poor, and the poor help those who are poorer, creating a cycle of fulfillment and happiness and opening the door to social mobility. As a community, helping other people is not only developing their living conditions but also enriching our lives and connecting with new ideas that positively impact our perspective. Young people are hungry to change our society, including me. I love the feeling that my chest rises high singing while helping somebody. l will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement I felt after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from each of those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many different aspects of myself, helping develop my empathy. Volunteering was also a strong factor impacting me to decide my college major. I plan to study Biochemistry on the Pre-Med track. When I volunteered at Da Nang Hospital, the odor of chemotherapy drugs, the sight of thin bodies, and the unwavering optimistic smiles from the children motivated me to contribute my innovation to the long game of cancer research. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US is especially an exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge to help not only Vietnamese children but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I will continue my volunteering projects promoting diversity and inclusion. Being the founder and president of Gay-Straight Alliance, I created a safe and welcoming place for all students to talk and learn about sexual orientation, and gender identity, making sure the LGBT community in Trinity High School can express their issues. Also, I was one of the officers who established and facilitated the very first Culture Fair in my school, but I can do more. I will create an organization to help other ESL learners of different backgrounds with the hope of developing empathy, cultural humility, and understanding. I plan to develop the organization not only to be active on campus but also to help other ESL adults with English learning and document translation. As a leader, I am setting examples for other peers at my university, and inspiring a new generation of leaders. Being a part of a community, we should participate in volunteering activities, cleaning up the neighborhood, and donating to charity,...Those more privileged can help the poor, and the poor help those who are poorer, creating a cycle of fulfillment and happiness. Young people are hungry to change our society, including me. I love the feeling that my chest rises high singing while helping somebody. l will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. For instance, there was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement I felt after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from each of those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many different aspects about myself, helping develop my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US has been an especially exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I plan to continue my current leadership roles and volunteering projects, while also seeking new leadership opportunities for a common purpose: helping more children have access to better living conditions. Since I have always served as my mom’s mouthpiece and the English-speaking “Mrs. Pham'' on the telephone, the one who made appointments with the doctors and checked immigration documents. While not directly related to my major, I will create an organization to help other ESL learners of different backgrounds with the hope of developing empathy, cultural humility, and understanding. I plan to develop the organization not only to be active on campus but also to help other ESL adults with English learning and document translation. As a leader, I am setting examples for other peers at my university, and inspiring a new generation of leaders. Being a part of a community, we should participate in volunteering activities, cleaning up the neighborhood, and donating to charity,...Those more privileged can help the poor, and the poor help those who are poorer, creating a cycle of fulfillment and happiness and opening the door to social mobility. As a community, helping other people is not only developing their living conditions but also enriching our lives and connecting with new ideas that positively impact our perspective. Young people are hungry to change our society, including me. I love the feeling that my chest rises high singing while helping somebody. l will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. For instance, there was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement I felt after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from each of those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many different aspects about myself, helping develop my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US has been an especially exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I plan to continue my current leadership roles and volunteering projects, while also seeking new leadership opportunities for a common purpose: helping more children have access to better living conditions. Since I have always served as my mom’s mouthpiece and the English-speaking “Mrs. Pham'' on the telephone, the one who made appointments with the doctors and checked immigration documents. While not directly related to my major, I will create an organization to help other ESL learners of different backgrounds with the hope of developing empathy, cultural humility, and understanding. I plan to develop the organization not only to be active on campus but also to help other ESL adults with English learning and document translation. As a leader, I am setting examples for other peers at my university, and inspiring a new generation of leaders. Being a part of a community, we should participate in volunteering activities, cleaning up the neighborhood, and donating to charity,...Those more privileged can help the poor, and the poor help those who are poorer, creating a cycle of fulfillment and happiness and opening the door to social mobility. As a community, helping other people is not only developing their living conditions but also enriching our lives and connecting with new ideas that positively impact our perspective. Young people are hungry to change our society, including me. I love the feeling that my chest rises high singing while helping somebody. l will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

Positivity and flexibility are my most valuable personality traits. My life seems to be like a museum’s exhibits displacing a full spectrum of meaningful colors, emotions, and memories. Let’s have a walk together around my own museum to see how vividly each of my life’s exhibits are and how they all came together to create the best version of myself. The first exhibit room is my hometown in Vietnam—Danang—where my footprint landed on every corner of the city, where I spent hours watching rice paddle fields shine like gold petals under the sunset and played with mimosa pudica - a flower whose leaves instantly close when being touched. In that exhibit, the echo of my childhood laughter was carried by the flying wind, up to the blue sky, and dissolved. When I turned 15, my family made a huge leap to Calfornia. America welcomed us with a pandemic, but the good thing was that my new family’s bond became stronger than ever, which I later found out was the calm before the storm. One month later, my step-dad left this world, a migraine kept coming back torturing my mom, and my already-overly-shy sister spent most of her day in the closet. I then aimed to be a thousand times more optimistic to cheer up my mom and sister despite the struggles I’m having in my new country. The memory of that upheaval period will never cease, but it also taught me how brave I could become. In my junior year, my family headed to Nederland, Texas, where I enrolled in a “real” high school.” This Texan exhibit was filled with countless people speaking in slang at an accelerated speed. It was so hard to make friends with people who were so unlike me and came from different cultural backgrounds. The talkative girl unexpectedly became a mimosa pudica, isolating herself, being invisible in that bustling, heaving crowd. “Are you traveling across the world to become a fainthearted one?” argued the voice on my way to school, to home, in my dreams… And yet, I fought my self-imposed sense of inferiority and tried to open up to blend in my new home. I slowly accepted my cultural difference as a girl bringing a new voice in a diverse space, with my black hair, slit-eyes, and flat nose. Just as things started to settle down, my family moved again to Euless—a bigger city which was even more hectic, but this girl also became stronger. The lessons and experiences that I had learned throughout the journey nourished me into a better tolerable and flexible person who can be familiar with acclimating to different environments, treasuring all of life’s moments because I never knew what’d happen next. It was also an exciting opportunity to discover new passions and contribute my creative ideas to my new community. I hope my future exhibits will be a place for me to welcome everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the walk today because my museum will continue to collect all the pieces of art of my life.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. For instance, there was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement I felt after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from each of those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many different aspects about myself, helping develop my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US has been an especially exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I plan to continue my current leadership roles and volunteering projects, while also seeking new leadership opportunities for a common purpose: helping more children have access to better living conditions. Since I have always served as my mom’s mouthpiece and the English-speaking “Mrs. Pham'' on the telephone, the one who made appointments with the doctors and checked immigration documents. While not directly related to my major, I will create an organization to help other ESL learners of different backgrounds with the hope of developing empathy, cultural humility, and understanding. I plan to develop the organization not only to be active on campus but also to help other ESL adults with English learning and document translation. As a leader, I am setting examples for other peers at my university, and inspiring a new generation of leaders. Being a part of a community, we should participate in volunteering activities, cleaning up the neighborhood, and donating to charity,...Those more privileged can help the poor, and the poor help those who are poorer, creating a cycle of fulfillment and happiness and opens the door to social mobility. As a community, helping other people is not only developing their living conditions but also enriching our lives and connecting with new ideas that positively impact our perspective. Young people are hungry to change our society, including me. I love the feeling that my chest rises high singing while helping somebody. l will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

My life seems to be like a museum’s exhibits displacing a full spectrum of meaningful colors, emotions, and memories. Let’s have a walk together around my own museum to see how vividly each of my life’s exhibits are and how they all came together to create the best version of myself. The first exhibit room is my hometown in Vietnam—Danang—where my footprint landed on every corner of the city, where I spent hours watching rice paddle fields shine like gold petals under the sunset and played with mimosa pudica - a flower whose leaves instantly close when being touched. In that exhibit, the echo of my childhood laughter was carried by the flying wind, up to the blue sky, and dissolved. When I turned 15, my family made a huge leap to Calfornia. America welcomed us with a pandemic, but the good thing was that my new family’s bond became stronger than ever, which I later found out was the calm before the storm. One month later, my step-dad left this world, a migraine kept coming back torturing my mom, and my already-overly-shy sister spent most of her day in the closet. I then aimed to be a thousand times more optimistic to cheer up my mom and sister despite the struggles I’m having in my new country. The memory of that upheaval period will never cease, but it also taught me how brave I could become. In my junior year, my family headed to Nederland, Texas, where I enrolled in a “real” high school.” This Texan exhibit was filled with countless people speaking in slang at an accelerated speed. It was so hard to make friends with people who were so unlike me and came from different cultural backgrounds. The talkative girl unexpectedly became a mimosa pudica, isolating herself, being invisible in that bustling, heaving crowd. “Are you traveling across the world to become a fainthearted one?” argued the voice on my way to school, to home, in my dreams… And yet, I fought my self-imposed sense of inferiority and tried to open up to blend in my new home. I slowly accepted my cultural difference as someone bringing a new voice in a diverse space, with my black hair, slit-eyes, and flat nose. Just as things started to settle down, my family moved again to Euless—a bigger city which was even more hectic, but this girl also became stronger. The lessons and experiences that I had learned throughout the journey nourished me into a better tolerable and flexible person who can be familiar with acclimating to different environments, treasuring all of life’s moments because I never knew what’d happen next. From a young age, I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas in Vietnam where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty. Those children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US is an exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. I hope my future exhibits will be a place for me to welcome everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the walk today because my museum will continue to collect all the pieces of art of my life.

I moved to the US in my sophomore year. My parents got divorced when I was five so Duy (my stepped-dad and also my guardian who brought me here) was my mother's mental support. Unfortunately, two months after we arrived in the US, he suddenly passed away, leaving three of us behind. It was the most enormous traumatic experience for my mom since her father just passed away a year before and we have no relatives here. I am the first child, the hope of my mom and family, and I demanded myself to be the one who carried the weight of the world on my shoulders. I have always served as my mom’s mouthpiece and the English-speaking “Mrs. Pham'' on the telephone, the one who made doctor's appointments and immigration documents, despite my English not being much better than hers. However, giving back to the community has allowed me to feel the happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. There was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many hidden angles about myself and increases my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US is especially an exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. Being a part of a community, I think each of us should participate in volunteering activities, cleaning up the neighborhood, and donating to charity,...The rich help the poor, and the poor help the poorer, creating a cycle of fulfillment and happiness. Young people are hungry to make a change in our society, including me. I love the feeling that my chest rises high singing while helping somebody. l will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world. I'm a strong candidate for this scholarship because, despite my late start, I work hard every day to get closer to my life-long dream of becoming a pediatrician with dedication and enjoyment.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. For instance, there was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many hidden angles about myself and increases my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US is especially an exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I will continue my leadership roles and volunteering projects hoping more children have access to better living conditions. Volunteering was a strong factor impacting me to decide my major in college. I plan to study Biochemistry on the Pre-Med track. When I volunteered at Da Nang Hospital, the odor of chemotherapy drugs, the sight of thin bodies, and the unwavering optimistic smiles from the children motivated me to contribute my innovation to the long game of cancer research. Outside of the classroom, while not directly related to my major, I will create an organization where I can help other ESL learners of different backgrounds with the hope of developing empathy, cultural humility, and understanding. I plan to develop the organization not only to be active on campus but also to help other ESL adults with English learning and document translation. Being a part of a community, I think each of us should participate in volunteering activities, cleaning up the neighborhood, and donating to charity,...The rich help the poor, and the poor help the poorer, creating a cycle of fulfillment and happiness. As a community, helping other people is not only developing their living conditions but also enriching our lives and connecting to new ideas that positively impact our perspective. Young people are hungry to make a change in our society, including me. I love the feeling that my chest rises high singing while helping somebody. l will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. For instance, there was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many hidden angles about myself and increases my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US is especially an exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I will continue my leadership roles and volunteering projects hoping more children have access to better living conditions. Volunteering was a strong factor impacting me to decide my major in college. I plan to study Biochemistry on the Pre-Med track. When I volunteered at Da Nang Hospital, the odor of chemotherapy drugs, the sight of thin bodies, and the unwavering optimistic smiles from the children motivated me to contribute my innovation to the long game of cancer research. It will be my honor and pride to work in the medical field and be able to enjoy the satisfaction of helping people. I will travel to the mountainous, poor areas to give medical treatments and educate those lovely kids - the future of each nation. I hope they will take my steps and make this world a better place. Being a part of a community, I think each of us should participate in volunteering activities, cleaning up the neighborhood, and donating to charity,...The rich help the poor, and the poor help the poorer, creating a cycle of fulfillment and happiness. As a community, helping other people is not only developing their living conditions but also enriching our lives and connecting to new ideas that positively impact our perspective. Young people are hungry to make a change in our society, including me. I love the feeling that my chest rises high singing while helping somebody. l will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

My life seems to be like a museum’s exhibits displacing a full spectrum of meaningful colors, emotions, and memories. Let’s have a walk together around my own museum to see how vividly each of my life’s exhibits are and how they all came together to create the best version of myself. The first exhibit room is my hometown in Vietnam—Danang—where my footprint landed on every corner of the city, where I spent hours watching rice paddle fields shine like gold petals under the sunset and played with mimosa pudica - a flower whose leaves instantly close when being touched. In that exhibit, the echo of my childhood laughter was carried by the flying wind, up to the blue sky, and dissolved. When I turned 15, my family made a huge leap to Calfornia. America welcomed us with a pandemic, but the good thing was that my new family’s bond became stronger than ever, which I later found out was the calm before the storm. One month later, my step-dad left this world, a migraine kept coming back torturing my mom, and my already-overly-shy sister spent most of her day in the closet. I then aimed to be a thousand times more optimistic to cheer up my mom and sister despite the struggles I’m having in my new country. The memory of that upheaval period will never cease, but it also taught me how brave I could become. In my junior year, my family headed to Nederland, Texas, where I enrolled in a “real” high school.” This Texan exhibit was filled with countless people speaking in slang at an accelerated speed. It was so hard to make friends with people who were so unlike me and came from different cultural backgrounds. The talkative girl unexpectedly became a mimosa pudica, isolating herself, being invisible in that bustling, heaving crowd. “Are you traveling across the world to become a fainthearted one?” argued the voice on my way to school, to home, in my dreams… And yet, I fought my self-imposed sense of inferiority and tried to open up to blend in my new home. I slowly accepted my cultural difference as someone bringing a new voice in a diverse space, with my black hair, slit-eyes, and flat nose. Just as things started to settle down, my family moved again to Euless—a bigger city which was even more hectic, but this girl also became stronger. The lessons that I had learned throughout the journey combined with my mom’s sacrifice nourished me into a better tolerable and flexible person who can be familiar with acclimating to different environments, treasuring all of life’s moments because I never knew what’d happen next. It was also an exciting opportunity to discover new passions and contribute my creative ideas to my new community, and hopefully the world. I plan to study Biochemistry on the Pre-Med track. When I volunteered at Da Nang Hospital, the odor of chemotherapy drugs, the sight of thin bodies, and the unwavering optimistic smiles from the children motivated me to contribute my innovation to the long game of cancer research. A college degree will allow me to pursue my passion and it will be an achievement that pays off all the sweat and tears my mom is enduring to make sure my sister and I have a proper education. I hope my future exhibits will be a place for me to welcome everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the walk today because my museum will continue to collect all the pieces of art of my life.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. For instance, there was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many hidden angles about myself and increases my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US is an exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I will continue my leadership roles and volunteering projects hoping more children have access to better living conditions. I want to study Biochemistry on the Pre-med track. When I volunteered at Da Nang Hospital, the odor of chemotherapy drugs, the sight of thin bodies, and the unwavering optimistic smiles from the children motivated me to contribute my innovation to the long game of cancer research. Furthermore, it’s common for a patient to feel anxiety and confusion while in a hospital so I plan to minor in Psychology to be able to persuade my patients to make treatment decisions that foster their long-term goals. One day, I see myself getting lost while discovering Texas plants and collecting samples for Laboratory Courses with other undergrads having various interests in the field of medicine like myself. It will be my honor and pride to work in the medical field and be able to enjoy the satisfaction of helping people. I will travel to the mountainous, poor areas to give medical treatments and educate those lovely kids - the future of each nation. I hope they will take my steps and make this world a better place. I will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. For instance, there was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many hidden angles about myself and increases my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US is an exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I will continue my leadership roles and volunteering projects hoping more children have access to better living conditions. I want to study Biochemistry on the Pre-med track. When I volunteered at Da Nang Hospital, the odor of chemotherapy drugs, the sight of thin bodies, and the unwavering optimistic smiles from the children motivated me to contribute my innovation to the long game of cancer research. Furthermore, it’s common for a patient to feel anxiety and confusion while in a hospital so I plan to minor in Psychology to be able to persuade my patients to make treatment decisions that foster their long-term goals. One day, I see myself getting lost while discovering Texas plants and collecting samples for Laboratory Courses with other undergrads having various interests in the field of medicine like myself. It will be my honor and pride to work in the medical field and be able to enjoy the satisfaction of helping people. I will travel to the mountainous, poor areas to give medical treatments and educate those lovely kids - the future of each nation. I hope they will take my steps and make this world a better place. I will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. For instance, there was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many hidden angles about myself and increases my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US is an exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I will continue my leadership roles and volunteering projects hoping more children have access to better living conditions. I want to study Biochemistry on the Pre-med track. When I volunteered at Da Nang Hospital, the odor of chemotherapy drugs, the sight of thin bodies, and the unwavering optimistic smiles from the children motivated me to contribute my innovation to the long game of cancer research. Furthermore, it’s common for a patient to feel anxiety and confusion while in a hospital so I plan to minor in Psychology to be able to persuade my patients to make treatment decisions that foster their long-term goals. One day, I see myself getting lost while discovering Texas plants and collecting samples for Laboratory Courses with other undergrads having various interests in the field of medicine like myself. It will be my honor and pride to work in the medical field and be able to enjoy the satisfaction of helping people. I will travel to the mountainous, poor areas to give medical treatments and educate those lovely kids - the future of each nation. I hope they will take my steps and make this world a better place. I will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. For instance, there was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many hidden angles about myself and increases my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US is especially an exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I will continue my leadership roles and volunteering projects hoping more children have access to better living conditions. Being the president of the Environmental club, I have been organizing my school’s weekly recycling and checking pollution levels in local creeks, but I can do more. I see myself one day getting lost while discovering Texas plants and collecting samples for Laboratory Courses with other undergrads having various interests in the field of medicine as myself. Outside of the classroom, while not directly related to my major, I will create an organization where I can help other ESL learners of different backgrounds with the hope of developing empathy, cultural humility, and understanding. I plan to develop the organization not only to be active on campus but also to help other ESL adults with English learning and document translation. I will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

Out of twelve astrological signs, I am a Leo - Queen of Beasts: fierce, powerful, and majestic. When the lioness roars, other animals are terrified. However, this lioness was born trapped inside a zoo where she is a tool for profit, alone and malnourished. Every day, visitors watch her in the “cage” while they ooh and aah about her greyish woolly coat. But they have to agree that her eyes are undoubtedly full of sadness, the kind so deep that it can make you drown. Even when you flounce and bounce, kick back and forth constantly, a miracle does not happen. Slowly sink to the very bottom of the groundless ocean, you’re stuck there. Alone. Part of me bears a resemblance to that miserable lioness. I was born in Vietnam - a country where opposition is not allowed and self-fulfillment is nearly impossible. A country where no life skills are taught but extra classes are highly recommended if you want to be respected at school. In my country, kids have to face a wicked dilemma: whether to obey the urging of their parents or rely on their own and be disapproved of by strict social stereotypes. Prejudice can become a knife so sharp that suicide is not uncommon anymore. I am eager to break the cage, and leave my “wonderful land” but my instinct questioned is whether my future is brighter than the current version of my comfort zone? My dream is to break out of the cell, release the lion to jungles on the other side of the world where she can be the whole and true version of herself as well as fly me to find my own truly promising kingdom. Born almost at the finish line, I was an arrogant princess who think that there is nothing to deter me from conquering anything. However, the girl is now struggling to have a tiny bronze medal after hours of persistently studying for UIL meets. I unexpectedly find it so hard to have an honest conversation with a stranger, or simply take on the world with an innocent smile. However, I am the first child, the hope of my mom and family, and I demanded myself be the one who carried the weight of the world on my shoulders. I am my mom's representative, translator, and person she could always lean on. I have always served as my mom’s mouthpiece and the English-speaking “Mrs. Pham'' on the telephone despite my English not being much better than hers. Lioness in captivity can hardly come back to nature. Partly because they are too habituated to human contact, and partly because of the frustration she has endured or years of shelter. Being released means there are numerous unprecedented challenges awaiting her. But she will be taught to be a leader, not a follower. Sheep are not certain of what they want and follow the herb into the slaughterhouse. A lioness, instead, is not afraid of doing what she wants. She is too curious, too questioning, and too determined to follow the usual path. A college degree will allow me to pursue my passion and it will be an achievement that pays off all the sweat and tears my mom is enduring to make sure my sister and I have a proper education. I dream of unlimited traveling to the land of more opportunities, challenges, and great lessons for me to make my daydreams come true.

My life seems to be like a museum’s exhibits displacing a full spectrum of meaningful colors, emotions, and memories. The first exhibit room is my hometown in Vietnam where my footprint landed on every corner of the city, where I spent hours watching rice paddle fields shine like gold petals under the sunset and playing with mimosa pudica - a flower whose leaves instantly close when being touched. In that exhibit, the echo of my childhood laughter was carried by the flying wind, up to the blue sky, and dissolved. When I turned 15, my family and I made a huge leap across the globe to California. America welcomed us with a pandemic, but my new family’s bond also became stronger than ever, which I later found out was the calm before the storm. One month later, my step-dad left this world, a migraine kept coming back torturing my mom, and my already-overly-shy sister spent most of her day in the closet. I then aimed to be a thousand times more optimistic to cheer up my mother and sister. I am the first child, the hope of my mom and family, and I demanded myself to be the one who carried the weight of the world on my shoulders. I have always served as my mom’s mouthpiece and the English-speaking “Mrs. Pham'' on the telephone, the one who made appointments with the doctors and checked immigration documents, despite my English not being much better than hers. The memory of that upheaval period will never cease, but it also taught me how brave I could become. In my junior year, my family headed to Nederland, Texas, where I enrolled in a “real” high school.” This Texan exhibit was filled with countless people speaking in slang at an accelerated speed. It was so hard to make friends with people who were so unlike me and came from different cultural backgrounds. The talkative girl unexpectedly became a mimosa pudica, isolating herself, being invisible in that bustling, heaving crowd. Over time, I learned to accept my cultural difference as someone bringing a new voice in a diverse space, with my black hair, slit-eyes, and flat nose. Just as things started settling down, my family moved again to Euless—a bigger city that was even more hectic, but this girl also became stronger. The lessons throughout my journey have nourished me into a better tolerable and flexible person who can be familiar with acclimating to different environments, treasuring all of life’s moments. It was also an exciting opportunity to discover new passions and contribute my creative ideas to my new community, and hopefully the world. I plan to study Biochemistry on the Pre-Med track. When I volunteered at Da Nang Hospital, the odor of chemotherapy drugs, the sight of thin bodies, and the unwavering optimistic smiles from the children motivated me to contribute my innovation to the long game of cancer research. Furthermore, it’s common for a patient to feel anxiety and confusion while in a hospital so I plan to minor in Psychology to be able to persuade my patients to make treatment decisions that foster their long-term goals. A college degree will allow me to pursue my passion and it will be an achievement that pays off all the sweat and tears my mom is enduring to make sure my sister and I have a proper education. I hope my future exhibits will be a place for me to welcome everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the walk today because my museum will continue to collect all the pieces of art of my life.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. For instance, there was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many hidden angles about myself and increases my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US is especially an exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I will continue my leadership roles and volunteering projects hoping more children have access to better living conditions. Being the president of the Environmental club, I have been organizing my school’s weekly recycling and checking pollution levels in local creeks, but I can do more. I see myself one day getting lost while discovering Texas plants and collecting samples for Laboratory Courses with other undergrads having various interests in the field of medicine as myself. Outside of the classroom, while not directly related to my major, I will create an organization where I can help other ESL learners of different backgrounds with the hope of developing empathy, cultural humility, and understanding. I plan to develop the organization not only to be active on campus but also to help other ESL adults with English learning and document translation. I will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

My life seems to be like a museum’s exhibits displacing a full spectrum of meaningful colors, emotions, and memories. Let’s have a walk together around my own museum to see how vividly each of my life’s exhibits are and how they all came together to create the best version of myself. The first exhibit room is my hometown in Vietnam—Danang—where my footprint landed on every corner of the city, where I spent hours watching rice paddle fields shine like gold petals under the sunset and played with mimosa pudica - a flower whose leaves instantly close when being touched. In that exhibit, the echo of my childhood laughter was carried by the flying wind, up to the blue sky, and dissolved. When I turned 15, my family made a huge leap to Calfornia. America welcomed us with a pandemic, but the good thing was that my new family’s bond became stronger than ever, which I later found out was the calm before the storm. One month later, my step-dad left this world, a migraine kept coming back torturing my mom, and my already-overly-shy sister spent most of her day in the closet. I then aimed to be a thousand times more optimistic to cheer up my mom and sister. I am the first child, the hope of my mom and family, and I demanded myself to be the one who carried the weight of the world on my shoulders. I have always served as my mom’s mouthpiece and the English-speaking “Mrs. Pham'' on the telephone, the one who made appointments with the doctors and checked immigration documents, despite my English not being much better than hers. The memory of that upheaval period will never cease, but it also taught me how brave I could become. In my junior year, my family headed to Nederland, Texas, where I enrolled in a “real” high school.” This Texan exhibit was filled with countless people speaking in slang at an accelerated speed. It was so hard to make friends with people who were so unlike me and came from different cultural backgrounds. The talkative girl unexpectedly became a mimosa pudica, isolating herself, being invisible in that bustling, heaving crowd. “Are you traveling across the world to become a fainthearted one?” argued the voice on my way to school, to home, in my dreams… And yet, I fought my self-imposed sense of inferiority and tried to open up to blend in my new home. I slowly accepted my cultural difference as someone bringing a new voice in a diverse space, with my black hair, slit-eyes, and flat nose. Just as things started to settle down, my family moved again to Euless—a bigger city which was even more hectic, but this girl also became stronger. The lessons and experiences that I had learned throughout the journey nourished me into a better tolerable and flexible person who can be familiar with acclimating to different environments, treasuring all of life’s moments because I never knew what’d happen next. It was also an exciting opportunity to discover new passions and contribute my creative ideas to my new community. I hope my future exhibits will be a place for me to welcome everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the walk today because my museum will continue to collect all the pieces of art of my life.

My life seems to be like a museum’s exhibits displacing a full spectrum of meaningful colors, emotions, and memories. Let’s have a walk together around my own museum to see how vividly each of my life’s exhibits are and how they all came together to create the best version of myself. The first exhibit room is my hometown in Vietnam—Danang—where my footprint landed on every corner of the city, where I spent hours watching rice paddle fields shine like gold petals under the sunset and played with mimosa pudica - a flower whose leaves instantly close when being touched. In that exhibit, the echo of my childhood laughter was carried by the flying wind, up to the blue sky, and dissolved. When I turned 15, my family made a huge leap to Calfornia. America welcomed us with a pandemic, but the good thing was that my new family’s bond became stronger than ever, which I later found out was the calm before the storm. One month later, my step-dad left this world, a migraine kept coming back torturing my mom, and my already-overly-shy sister spent most of her day in the closet. I then aimed to be a thousand times more optimistic to cheer up my mom and sister despite the struggles I’m having in my new country. The memory of that upheaval period will never cease, but it also taught me how brave I could become. In my junior year, my family headed to Nederland, Texas, where I enrolled in a “real” high school.” This Texan exhibit was filled with countless people speaking in slang at an accelerated speed. It was so hard to make friends with people who were so unlike me and came from different cultural backgrounds. The talkative girl unexpectedly became a mimosa pudica, isolating herself, being invisible in that bustling, heaving crowd. “Are you traveling across the world to become a fainthearted one?” argued the voice on my way to school, to home, in my dreams… And yet, I fought my self-imposed sense of inferiority and tried to open up to blend in my new home. I slowly accepted my cultural difference as someone bringing a new voice in a diverse space, with my black hair, slit-eyes, and flat nose. Just as things started to settle down, my family moved again to Euless—a bigger city that was even more hectic, but this girl also became stronger. The lessons and experiences that I had learned throughout the journey nourished me into a better tolerable and flexible person who can be familiar with acclimating to different environments, treasuring all of life’s moments because I never knew what’d happen next. It was also an exciting opportunity to discover new passions and contribute my creative ideas to my new community. This scholarship will allow a first gen student like me to significantly focus on academics, increase my chances of staying in college and pursue my dream of being a pediatrician with dedication and enjoyment. I hope my future exhibits will be a place for me to welcome everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the walk today because my museum will continue to collect all the pieces of art of my life.

Whenever I dedicate my time, giving back to the community not only builds my empathy but also enhances my happiness of love and being loved. Being an active volunteer, I love the exhilaration of sudden hugs from my students. For instance, there was a child who always nagged his mother to come to the library every Monday, so I could read books to him. Because of this child and many others, there had never been a day where I left the library with such laughter on my lips. Last summer, I can never forget the sense of pride and excitement after raising $300 by selling all my paintings, hosting donation drives, and asking for support from local businesses. I then used that money to buy little packages filled with school supplies for kids at Da Nang Plum Orphanage Center. What I received back—a smile from those children—made it all worth it. Also, listening to other people's life stories makes me realize many hidden angles about myself and increases my empathy. I am eager to take initiative and make a difference in my community. I am from Vietnam: a poor country in Southeast Asia. There are 53 ethnic minorities who account for 70% of Vietnam’s poorest population. From a young age, I wanted to serve marginalized communities so I have always been a good companion to my mother driving to mountainous areas, where ethnic minorities lived in "pockets of poverty," and schools were disadvantaged. These children spend more time with a hoe than a pen. No electricity, no clean water, but the harsh reality of starvation. Perceiving beggarly circumstances in my community makes me realize how fortunate I am to be born in a caring family and have an education. Moving to the US is especially an exciting opportunity for me to discover new passions and educational interests, and realize how much more I can continue to learn, using my knowledge and resources to help not only the Vietnamese children community but also those in Third World Countries. After graduating from high school, I will continue my leadership roles and volunteering projects hoping more children have access to better living conditions. Being the president of the Environmental club, I have been organizing my school’s weekly recycling and checking pollution levels in local creeks, but I can do more. I see myself one day getting lost while discovering Texas plants and collecting samples for Laboratory Courses with other undergrads having various interests in the field of medicine as myself. Outside of the classroom, while not directly related to my major, I will create an organization where I can help other ESL learners of different backgrounds with the hope of developing empathy, cultural humility, and understanding. I plan to develop the organization not only to be active on campus but also to help other ESL adults with English learning and document translation. I will never stop improving myself and contributing my creative innovation to my family, community, and hopefully the world.

My life seems to be like a museum’s exhibits displacing a full spectrum of meaningful colors, emotions, and memories. The first exhibit room is my hometown in Vietnam where my footprint landed on every corner of the city, where I spent hours watching rice paddle fields shine like gold petals under the sunset and playing with mimosa pudica - a flower whose leaves instantly close when being touched. In that exhibit, the echo of my childhood laughter was carried by the flying wind, up to the blue sky, and dissolved. When I turned 15, my family made a huge leap to California. America welcomed us with a pandemic, but the good thing was that my new family’s bond became stronger than ever, which I later found out was the calm before the storm. One month later, my step-dad left this world, a migraine kept coming back torturing my mom, and my already-overly-shy sister spent most of her day in the closet. I then aimed to be a thousand times more optimistic to cheer up my mom and sister despite the struggles I’m having in my new country. The memory of that upheaval period will never cease, but it also taught me how brave I could become. In my junior year, my family headed to Nederland, Texas, where I enrolled in a “real” high school.” This Texan exhibit was filled with countless people speaking in slang at an accelerated speed. It was so hard to make friends with people who were so unlike me and came from different cultural backgrounds. The talkative girl unexpectedly became a mimosa pudica, isolating herself, being invisible in that bustling, heaving crowd. Over time, I learned to accept my cultural difference as someone bringing a new voice in a diverse space, with my black hair, slit-eyes, and flat nose. Just as things started settling down, my family moved again to Euless—a bigger city that was even more hectic, but this girl also became stronger. The lessons throughout my journey have nourished me into a better tolerable and flexible person who can be familiar with acclimating to different environments, treasuring all of life’s moments. It was also an exciting opportunity to discover new passions and contribute my creative ideas to my new community, and hopefully the world. I plan to study Biochemistry on the Pre-Med. When I volunteered at Da Nang Hospital, the odor of chemotherapy drugs, the sight of thin bodies, and the unwavering optimistic smiles from the children motivated me to contribute my innovation to the long game of cancer research. Furthermore, it’s common for a patient to feel anxiety and confusion while in a hospital so I plan to minor in Psychology to be able to persuade my patients to make treatment decisions that foster their long-term goals. A college degree will allow me to pursue my passion and it will be an achievement that pays off all the sweat and tears my mom is enduring to make sure my sister and I have a proper education. I hope my future exhibits will be a place for me to welcome everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the walk today because my museum will continue to collect all the pieces of art of my life.

My life seems to be like a museum’s exhibits displacing a full spectrum of meaningful colors, emotions, and memories. The first exhibit room is my hometown in Vietnam where my footprint landed on every corner of the city, where I spent hours watching rice paddle fields shine like gold petals under the sunset and playing with mimosa pudica - a flower whose leaves instantly close when being touched. In that exhibit, the echo of my childhood laughter was carried by the flying wind, up to the blue sky, and dissolved. When I turned 15, my family made a huge leap to California. America welcomed us with a pandemic, but the good thing was that my new family’s bond became stronger than ever, which I later found out was the calm before the storm. One month later, my step-dad left this world, a migraine kept coming back torturing my mom, and my already-overly-shy sister spent most of her day in the closet. I then aimed to be a thousand times more optimistic to cheer up my mom and sister despite the struggles I’m having in my new country. The memory of that upheaval period will never cease, but it also taught me how brave I could become. In my junior year, my family headed to Nederland, Texas, where I enrolled in a “real” high school.” This Texan exhibit was filled with countless people speaking in slang at an accelerated speed. It was so hard to make friends with people who were so unlike me and came from different cultural backgrounds. The talkative girl unexpectedly became a mimosa pudica, isolating herself, being invisible in that bustling, heaving crowd. Over time, I learned to accept my cultural difference as someone bringing a new voice in a diverse space, with my black hair, slit-eyes, and flat nose. Just as things started settling down, my family moved again to Euless—a bigger city that was even more hectic, but this girl also became stronger. The lessons throughout my journey have nourished me into a better tolerable and flexible person who can be familiar with acclimating to different environments, treasuring all of life’s moments. It was also an exciting opportunity to discover new passions and contribute my creative ideas to my new community, and hopefully the world. I plan to study Biochemistry on the Pre-Med. When I volunteered at Da Nang Hospital, the odor of chemotherapy drugs, the sight of thin bodies, and the unwavering optimistic smiles from the children motivated me to contribute my innovation to the long game of cancer research. Furthermore, it’s common for a patient to feel anxiety and confusion while in a hospital so I plan to minor in Psychology to be able to persuade my patients to make treatment decisions that foster their long-term goals. A college degree will allow me to pursue my passion and it will be an achievement to pay off all the sweat and tears my mom is enduring to make sure my sister and I have a proper education. I hope my future exhibits will be a place for me to welcome everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the walk today because my museum will continue to collect all the pieces of art of my life.

Out of twelve astrological signs, I am a Leo - Queen of Beasts: fierce, powerful, and majestic. When the lioness roars, other animals are terrified. However, this lioness was born trapped inside a zoo where she is a tool for profit, alone and malnourished. Every day, visitors watch her in the “cage” while they ooh and aah about her greyish woolly coat. But they have to agree that her eyes are undoubtedly full of sadness, the kind so deep that it can make you drown. Even when you flounce and bounce, kick back and forth constantly, a miracle does not happen. Slowly sink to the very bottom of the groundless ocean, you’re stuck there. Alone. No frown, no scowl, just sorrow. Part of me bears a resemblance to that miserable lioness. I was born in Vietnam - a country where opposition is not allowed and self-fulfillment is nearly impossible. A country where students have to memorize every single word by heart, no matter whether they understand the lesson. No life skills are taught but extra classes are highly recommended if you want to be respected at school. In my country, kids have to face a wicked dilemma: whether to obey the urging of their parents or rely on their own and be disapproved of by strict social stereotypes. Prejudice can become a knife so sharp that suicide is not uncommon anymore. I am eager to break the cage, and leave my “wonderful land” but my instinct questioned is whether my future is brighter than the current version of my comfort zone. If I had a ticket in my hand, I would break out of the cell, release the lion to jungles on the other side of the world where she can be the whole and true version of herself as well as fly me to find my own truly promising kingdom. Born almost at the finish line, I was an arrogant princess who think that there is nothing to deter me from conquering anything, both academically and socially. However, the girl who could make numerous people jealous of her is now struggling to have a tiny bronze medal after hours of persistently studying for UIL meets. I unexpectedly find it so hard to have an honest conversation with a stranger, or simply take on the world with an innocent smile. However, I am the first child, the hope of my mom and family, and I demanded myself to be the one who carried the weight of the world on my shoulders. I am my mom's representative, translator, and the person she could always lean on. I have always served as my mom’s mouthpiece and the English-speaking “Mrs. Pham'' on the telephone, the one who made appointments with the doctors and checked immigration documents, despite my English not being much better than hers. Lioness in captivity can hardly come back to nature. Partly because they are too habituated to human contact, and partly because of the frustration she has endured or years of shelter. Being released means there are numerous unprecedented challenges awaiting her. But she will be taught to be a leader, not a follower. Sheep are not certain of what they want and follow the herb into the slaughterhouse. A lioness, instead, is not afraid of doing what she wants. She is too curious, too questioning, and too determined to follow the usual path. I would love to wish for a ticket of unlimited traveling to the land of more opportunities, challenges, and great lessons for me to make my daydreams come true.

I plan to study Biochemistry on the Pre-Med. I have always had a curiosity for science, even as a child, I could spend hours measuring precipitate when once accidentally mixing milk with orange juice. When I volunteered at Da Nang Hospital, the odor of chemotherapy drugs, the sight of thin bodies, and the unwavering optimistic smiles from the children motivated me to contribute my innovation to the long game of cancer research. Furthermore, it’s common for a patient to feel anxiety and confusion while in a hospital so I plan to minor in Psychology to be able to persuade my patients to make treatment decisions that foster their long-term goals.