Betty Duong reflects on making history as 1st Vietnamese American supervisor in Santa Clara Co.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- There's a common thread among many children of Vietnamese refugees. It's the desire to succeed, knowing how much their parents have struggled and sacrificed to get to the United States.
Betty Duong, 44, is the first Vietnamese American on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Her district she represents includes San Jose, which has one of the largest populations of Vietnamese Americans in the country.
Duong is a proud mother --beaming because of what her daughter has accomplished at a young age.
"This weekend was her Cal state championship. It was the Taekwondo State Championship, and she is the gold medalist for coming in first place in the state--girls ages 8-9 yellow belt division in the sparring categories," said Duong.
You can bet Duong's mother is also proud of Duong for being the first Vietnamese American Supervisor for Santa Clara County.
"I'm so grateful every day for this opportunity," said Duong.
Duong was born and raised in San Jose. She now represents District 2 of Santa Clara County.
"Santa Clara County is the second largest population of Vietnamese Americans outside of Vietnam. If you go by city census alone, then San Jose takes the top title of having the city with the largest Vietnamese population," said Duong.
Duong's parents came to the U.S. as refugees.
"A couple years after the Fall of Saigon, my parents left Vietnam in the middle of the night on a fishing boat. They floated out in the middle of the ocean for about five days and then were picked up by a shipping container," said Duong.
Early on, Duong said she learned a valuable lesson from her mother.
"I hear her voice. She said to me at every turn in my childhood, "I did not cross the ocean for you to give up. So that's something that stays with me a lot," said Duong.
Duong grew up in Section 8 housing in San Jose. She was always aware of the refugee experience.
"We carry the refuge experience. Even though I wasn't though a refugee myself, I saw the rebuilding--that experience with my family, translating for them on the front lines," said Duong.
Duong said Santa Clara County services helped her and her family succeed.
"The county raised me. The county support program. The housing program. Social services. Family stabilization services. The health care system provided care for my family and myself," said Duong.
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Duong went to De Anza College, UC Berkeley, and eventually graduated from law school at UC Davis, --going on to work for various county leaders, before becoming a leader herself.
"It's still surreal. I worked here for 11 years before becoming supervisor," said Duong.
On this 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, Duong has a lot to be thankful for.
"We all have ties that bind us now, the similar share experience of navigating government services and programs, seeing our next generation be able to exceed and go further than their parents. That's all. That's everyone's dream. Immigrant or not," said Duong.
Duong says she's proud of what Vietnamese Americans have accomplished since they first settled in the Bay Area.
"We didn't just live here. We helped build the landscape. The Vietnamese American community made so many contributions to the tech boom, to the Silicon Valley industry. So many of our parents worked on the assembly line of Silicon Valley, baking wafers, troubleshooting boards. Making sure that we were the workforce alongside so many immigrant workforces that fuel the Silicon Valley tech boom," said Duong. "We built our own Little Saigon. We have representation at the school board level, at the city council, and now the county supervisors' level. This is not a place where Vietnamese Americans were just welcome. They also became a part of the fabric of this community."
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Duong said she's learned to live and give because of her family's struggles.
She said she and many other "next-generation" Vietnamese Americans are committed to the American dream.
"I love that I get to be a part of the process, the commitment, and the mission to build a better world to build a world I wish my family had when they first came to America," said Duong.
