BIO
Hoa Le was born March 1, 1974 as the youngest of 8 children. Originally born in Da Nang, her family was forced to move back to their ancestral village in Hue after the Vietnam War in the hopes to find her father’s lost brother. Prior to the Vietnam War, Le’s father was a nurse and her mother was a saleswoman. But because of the move, they had no choice but to become farmers. The end of the Vietnam War brought not only job change and movement, but also economic difficulties. After her eldest brother successfully escaped the country by boat in the 1980s, she and the rest of her family were sponsored by him to immigrate to America almost 10 years later. Starting her new life in New Jersey and moving down to Pennsylvania, she went to Philadelphia Community College and transferred to Drexel University. She continued working in Philadelphia until she met her current husband in 2003. After marrying her husband, Hoa Le eventually moved to Houston in 2004. She now has two children with him. This interview covers Hoa Le’s life following the Vietnam War. Having been born towards the tail end of the war, Le’s story was built by the aftermath of a bloody 10 year conflict. She describes poverty, economic hardship, and loss. But she also describes the love, determination, and strength of family members such as her eldest brother, father, and mother. She emphasizes these life lessons learned from her youth in Vietnam, and now having a family of her own, tries to love and take care of her family the same way her parents loved and took care of her.