Growing up, I never felt that I was really connected to the Vietnamese community in Seattle because whether it was in school or in extracurricular activities that I participated in, I was always one of the only Vietnamese students around. It wasn’t until my book launch at the University of Washington in 2009 that I realized that I was more connected to the Vietnamese community than I ever thought.
Prior to my book launch, my father, Do Van My, introduced me to Julie Pham, the Managing Editor for the Nguoi Viet Tay Bac. As Julie interviewed me for an article, she mentioned how grateful she was for all of my parents help with her family’s newspaper. At first I thought to myself “What did my parents do to help this well known and reputable Vietnamese newspaper?” As I took a second to think though, I slowly began to remember as a kid seeing my mom bring home stacks, and I mean STACKS, of Vietnamese newspapers every week to read and share with friends, as my father spent his time updating a website for some Vietnamese organization.
As I sat in this interview with Julie, I realized that the Vietnamese newspaper that my mom brought home and the website that my father was continuously updating was the Nguoi Viet Tay Bac.
After meeting with Julie, I laughed at myself as I walked to my car. Prior to the interview, I thought to myself that I was finally going to connect with the Vietnamese community once this article on me was published. After learning about my parents’ involvement with the most influential Vietnamese newspaper within the greater northwest, I realized that I have been connected with the Vietnamese community in Seattle my entire life.
As Nguoi Viet Tay Bac prepares to publish their 2000th edition, I would like to congratulate them on their success and to thank them for helping me feel connected to our Vietnamese community.
Hoan Do, author of “Succeeding in the Real World”
