Phuong's bio as written by Betty ;)

Phuong Nguyen was born in Nha Trang, VN and left by boat at the ripe old age of 1. The oldest of three sons, he grew up in Monterey, a quiet town along California’s central coastline. His family thinks of Monterey as America’s version of Nha Trang. He comes from a humble background, as was the case with most Vietnamese refugees, starting a new life in America with few material possessions but plenty of hopes and dreams.

Phuong moved south to attend college at the University of California at San Diego, moved east for graduate school at New York University, and then found his way back west at the University of Southern California, where he received his Ph.D. in American Studies & Ethnicity. A field where very few Asians dare to tread; for most Asian parents would want their children to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. Going against the current, Phuong dived into what fit for him, for it provided the perfect community that fulfilled his intellectual, artistic, social, and political interests.

Going to college and university he was able to discover more about his roots and heritage and about what it means to fight for social justice. He got involved in student activism while also venturing out culturally. Trying certain foods, listening to Vietnamese music, learning to sing in Vietnamese, where he discovered he had quite a voice with the likes of Truong Vu. He took part in VSA culture nights where he was able to utilize his writing skills and stage skills during his junior and senior year at UCSD.

As a child, he had the talent for drawing, a skill he had spent many years refining well before his first art class during high school. Being multi-talented and very lucky, he managed to get through 4 years of college and 9 years of graduate school with full funding.

Phuong writes about Vietnamese American history because he wants the next generation of Vietnamese Americans to know where they came from. He enjoys teaching history in general because young people need to know that change happens not because good automatically prevails over evil, but because ordinary people, just like you and I, put their lives on the line everyday and fight to make change happen.