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Linda Pham Linda Pham is a young Vietnamese/Laotian American from Houston , TX , who will help to integrate healthcare issues into NAVASA's programs. She will continue research on more CBO's and FBO's in the western United States , in order to increase the survey of organizations helping the Asian community. Along with preparing for the National Conference, Linda will incorporate her medical and political background to add to NAVASAs' efforts. Participating in Gia Dinh Phat Tu Buddhist Youth Group and Vovinam Martial Arts, Linda is an active member in her community. As a group leader in GDPT, she taught Vietnamese and interacted with all members of the youth group. As a yellow belt and assistant instructor, she taught and trained students in Vietnamese style self-defense. In her college career, Linda has been active with several organizations with different missions. She is a supervisor in the Rice Student Center , a dance teacher, and a team member on IM sports. She holds positions of leadership in such clubs as Vietnamese Student Association, Leaders for CHANGE, Dance Marathon, Rotaract Club, Rice Student Volunteer Program, and Humanitarian Medical Outreach. She was selected to attend a policy and advocacy training with Oxfam America , where she gained valuable resources and skills. With her language skills in Spanish and Vietnamese, Linda has been a volunteer translator for a local hospital, and has been on Medical mission trips to Mexico with medical students and doctors from Baylor. This summer, she will be going to Thailand to do research on HIV/AIDS, and STD's and their effects on pregnant women. Linda will be a Junior at Rice University in Houston , TX , where she is majoring in Biochemistry and Healthcare Policy Studies. She hopes to be joining the team at Baylor Medical School soon after graduation. Along with an international medical career, Linda hopes to make changes to access to and quality of healthcare for minorities, especially for the Asian community. ***************************************** Reflection of the Internship Experience at NAVASA My internship with NAVASA was completely fulfilling and rewarding. I came to Washington D.C. excited and ready to embark on a mission, and left with a revitalized energy and ambition that will keep me involved. I had the pleasure to work with young, strong-willed people who I admire; the work that NAVASA does is incredibly compassionate and challenging. In this internship, my goals were to help NAVASA with their current projects, research healthcare and access issues affecting the Vietnamese community, and learn the how to's on grant and bill-writing. I wanted to improve my writing and presentation skills that are necessary in successful grant writing strategies. Working with the federal government and getting benefits from them is the most effective way in changing policy and ideas in this country. Along with this training, I hoped to network with many community and government leaders. Working in a Vietnamese American organization, I was excited to be able to practice the Vietnamese language with co-workers. I was also excited to be in the nation's capitol where everything happens and nothing is unexpected. In the beginning of my internship, I helped expand NAVASA's FBO and CBO list. Researching the western half of the United States was a huge feat, but I felt accomplished once I finished what I could. I am positive that there are thousands more, and I hope that NAVASA will continue to expand their network. This list of FBO's and CBO's will definitely help those people in need of organizations to support them. As I was introduced more intimately with NAVASA, I became enthused to begin making changes of my own. Christina and I diligently researched the vital health issues affecting Vietnamese Americans because they have not been publicly voiced. In my career, I hope to change health care policies and rules to minimize health disparities. I learned that many organizations are working on the health issues, and they need more help in raising awareness about the disparities. The Vietnamese culture also adds to the growing disparities, which were magnified through my research. I was able to create FAQs and Health Statistics page for other organizations to use in their proposals to help the community. I wanted to do more proactive projects to work with the community, and I got that chance as I began my Aetna community health project grant proposal. Anh Huy guided me through this process, and I am grateful for his help. Through this work, I hope to make my own small change in the community. I am very thankful that I had the chance to attend the APIAHF Voices Conference, along with other meetings and events that NAVASA allowed me to attend. These conferences and meetings opened my eyes to the often times hidden persons doing grassroots work to improve the community. In only the Washington D.C. and D.C. metro area, I accumulated business cards and contact names and numbers to create my own network. In Houston , I hope to expand my contacts to be able to make change in my home town. I learned valuable skills during the internship, and I thank my Chi Thanh, Anh Huy, and everyone in the NAVASA organization for allowing me to have such a great experience. I have grown professionally and personally during my time. I am grateful for all the opportunities I was given, and I will continue to work with NAVASA to help the Vietnamese American community.
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