Contributing to sustainable community development through service, grassroots efforts, and business interventions.
Dung emigrated from Vietnam with his dad and two siblings when he was in 6th grade. Dung’s father passed away shortly after arriving in the U.S., leaving him in the care of his two older siblings. As the only English speaker in the family, Dung was the only one who could research the guardianship process and gather the documents to submit to the court. It took three years to obtain.
“Since my siblings work full-time jobs, I knew it was difficult for them to take care of me. I pushed myself to work even harder.” Dung will be the first in his family to attend college. Beyond being the designated translator at home, Dung became an English language mentor to immigrant and refugee students through ProjectClair, an online pro-bono tutoring organization. His goal is to help students like himself get acclimated to their lives in a foreign country and become comfortable with the English language. Personally, Dung enjoys going outside trail walking and hiking. He joined and became the Vice President of Earth Tomorrow, providing affordable healthy food options for the low-income and homeless in suburban Atlanta. He also worked with the National Wildlife Federation to mitigate illegal waste dumping around low-income neighborhoods in West Atlanta. Working within these contexts drives Dung’s passion for environmentalism. At WashU St. Louis, Dung will study accounting and environmentalism to seek to understand how sustainability and profitability can work together. Ultimately, he hopes to help small businesses adopt environmentally sustainable business models.
Leadership:
- Secretary of Future Business Leader of America (FBLA)
- Vice President of Earth Tomorrow
- Youth Commissioner – Clayton County Youth Commission
