Her story:
Rita Nguyen is an 18-year-old, Vietnamese-American student at Barnard College of Columbia University in the City of New York studying Political Science and Economics. She has worked with March for Our Lives, Affinity Magazine, The California State Assembly, and in the Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning as a zine associate. She is interested in the intersections between law and business and plans to attend law school after her time at Barnard. Born in Vietnam and living between Los Angeles and New York City, Rita enjoys reading and exploring new restaurants and cafes during her free time! You can also check out her BookTube channel here.
How has English or language served as an empowerment tool for you?
"Growing up as an immigrant in Los Angeles, I came to the states without speaking any English. It wasn't until third grade that I became fluent through ESL classes at my elementary school. My parents both worked full time and had a hard time picking me up from school, so I spent a lot of my time as a kid walking to the library after class and doing my homework surrounded by books. I found so much comfort in stories and the fact that anything I wanted to learn or explore was there within those walls. I loved reading from a young age not just because it enriched me, but also because it truly made me feel less alone. I grew up knowing that I was a lover of words and my love for books never faltered. In high-school I became much more outspoken about issues such as Asian-American visibility in the United States and the problems within Asian communities themselves. My words gave me a chance to empower myself and others and my voice was something that I learned to use to my advantage. Even today I think there's so much meaning to how something is worded and to the way different groups of people are represented in the literature I read in class. I have the chance to work at my college's library and am grateful I get to spend so much time in a space that I love! We only present zines made by women and gender binary individuals and the content we have is constantly teaching me something new."
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