BIO
Wendy Nicole Duong was born 1957 in Hội An, Vietnam as the eldest of three children. Her parents were both professors and teachers of literature, which helped nurture her love for poetry and writing. After living in Hội An, she moved to Huế and spent several years living there with her maternal grandparents. Right before the Tết Offensive in 1968, she had managed to escape by moving to Saigon. After the fall of Saigon, she immigrated to Carbondale, Illinois in 1975 with her family. From there, she started college but had to drop out in order to take care of her family. She then decided to go back to school, finish her degree in communication and journalism, and pick up work in Houston, TX. She then decided to pursue law and judicial clerkship. She started working in Houston under the Houston Independent School District while attending law school. She graduated to become the first Vietnamese judge in the United States. This interview covers Wendy Nicole Duong’s journey as a young woman of color in a rapidly changing environment. From witnessing the Fall of Saigon to starting anew in the United States, she juggled various responsibilities in her life. For example: Her mother’s battle with cancer, pursuing a PhD, starting a career in law, and picking up creative writing projects.