Oral History of Karen Nguyen
Karen Nguyen, a 26-year-old Vietnamese American from San Jose, shares her family's immigration story: her maternal grandfather was a high-ranking Vietnam War officer whose family came by plane, while her father came as a refugee by boat and her mother arrived in the 1990s. Raised primarily by her maternal grandparents after her parents' divorce when she was one, Karen initially struggled with language barriers in her relationship with her single mother but has grown closer to her father over time. She grew up in a tight-knit, empathetic apartment community, speaks conversational Vietnamese, earned a degree in Environmental Studies, and currently works as an AmeriCorps member.
Title: Oral History of Karen Nguyen
Creator: Karen Nguyen
Contributor: Jane Cady, Joyce Doanla
Contributing Institution: International Children Assistance Network
Date Created and/or Issued: 2025-07-14
Collection:2nd Gen Vietnamese-American Oral History
Format: 1 PDF English Transcription, 1 Mp3 Audio File
Topics: Community | Bay Area | Acculturation | Ethnicity | Identity | Cultural Identity | Culture Conflict | Vietnamese American | Buddhism | Asian American Identity | Activism | Tradition and Customs
Language: English