I am a Vietnamese American, first-generation law student from Moore, Oklahoma. I’m 25 years old. I love to Latin dance, sing, make people laugh, and make content. The main reason I am doing law is because of my passion for helping the environment, specifically the ocean. I dream about working with international ocean law in the future. Whether it’s a nonprofit like the Ocean Conservancy, where I worked this summer, or the UN, where I am working now, my heart lights up every time I get to work in the field. I learned and now speak fluent Spanish and am able to use it in a legal capacity. Last year, I participated in, and this year, I coached an international environmental moot court completely in Spanish.
My parents came to the United States in 1975, fleeing the Vietnam War. They didn’t have anything, just the clothes on their backs, and barely that. All they want is a better life for me and my siblings, and every day I try my hardest to make their sacrifices all the more meaningful.
Tell me about your experience as a first-generation student.
As a first-generation student, I am figuring a lot out on my own when it comes to my career path, but even saying I am figuring things out on my own doesn’t sit right with me. I am not shy and have always been so happy to reach out to people to learn from them (when they will have me) to see what/how I can get things done. I try not to be afraid and just take life as it comes, trusting I’m going where I should be if I’m working hard. No one in my whole family, immediate or extended, is a lawyer, and I have a family of 40+ people easily. I’m happy to be able to do this and help my younger cousins if they ever want to pursue law, and to also help my family should they ever need it.
What led you to study law?
When I was in 7th grade, I remember a close friend of mine who told me she wanted to study law, and I told her that was crazy and that I would never become a lawyer. I got a C in debate and never read for fun. But life is funny like that, so here I am, in my third year in law school, not knowing what I would be doing if it were not this. I was about to go to undergrad to do pharmacy like my mom did, but I wasn’t sure what I liked. One day, my senior year of high school, I walked down my stairs and saw my dad watching a documentary on an oil spill in Vietnam and how that affected the people, land, and fish there. I knew at that moment I could not just sit idly by and realized that the law was the best path with my skill set (or lack thereof in math) to make the most impact for the oceans, marine life, and people.
I got Spanish and Psychology minors in undergrad as well. I wanted to understand people better with psychology. I am just really passionate about the Spanish language and always have been, so I’ve learned it for my own curiosity and passion. But also, it’s an official UN language, and it’s so useful to be able to use [Spanish] on a professional level.
Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did that person or those people teach you?
I have had many influences. My older sister, who leads me through life on a daily basis, helps me understand grown-up things, listens to me on hard days, and gives me guidance when I am lost. She also inspired me at a young age to care about the environment and the relationship between food systems and environmental and health impacts.
Professionally and legally, Achinthi Vithanage has been the most impactful for my legal career. She is a professor of law and also an associate director of environmental law programs. All her titles can be found here. Since day one of being at Pace, I have gone to her for guidance on all things career and dreams. I have also been able to serve as her research assistant, and it’s been so cool to work with her to co-author something for the American Bar Association Year in Review article on the international BBNJ agreement. Super cool. She has taught me how to not only try and meet the standards of my employers but to take extra steps to really show you care about your work.
Any favorite stories from your experience as a law student at PACE in the UN Practicum?
My favorite experience from the UN practicum so far is being able to attend High-Level Week at the UN, sit in Costa Rica’s chair, and also be on the big screens in the General Assembly. I saw the presidents of Argentina, Chile, and El Salvador, to name a few, and I was SUPER close to them.
My happiest moment at the UN so far is one day I came into work and my boss didn’t give me a task yet, so I took some initiative and asked to cover some meetings on ocean law, and he let me. I got to sit in all day and hear delegates negotiate over ocean law. I left at 8 pm that day and didn’t even eat, but I didn’t care—I loved it.
As a law student in general, my favorite stories are always the insane ones: my first all-nighter, then my second… third… fourth… I’ve lost count. It’s always in an effort to write some paper too. Insane finals schedules where days blend together and I’m in the library from sundown to sunrise and back, always studying with my best friend. I definitely have to shout out finding out I probably have some learning disability like dyslexia as one of my favorite memories, though. The first assignment I ever had to turn in for law school was a fake client letter. We were supposed to put anonymous numbers on the paper so that the professor could not identify us. I checked that anonymous number about 20 times and even read the numbers aloud so my boyfriend could hear and make sure I got them all right. I finally turned in the assignment, and not five minutes after I submitted, I realized that the numbers I used were out of order and flipped out. Since then, I think the stress and sleep deprivation-induced dyslexia has only gotten worse. I say this as a favorite story because, seriously, life is so interesting, and I think it’s funny, LOL. Keeps me real, keeps me human, and motivates me to work harder.
Tell me about the cases that you and fellow students are keeping an eye on today.
Since I do environmental law, a lot of what I learn about is administrative law (think EPA promulgating rules/law). Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo is a huge case right now that was just ruled upon by the Supreme Court. It overturned what agencies like the EPA have been utilizing in order to argue that courts should listen to them/give them deference when it comes to environmental information. Basically, now courts don’t HAVE to listen to the EPA’s environmental experts when deciding a case. The EPA could say something, and then the courts can just disregard it and listen to whoever they want to make a decision. It’s changed administrative law as we know it and as my professors have known it. Basically, no one knows what’s going to happen.
What are you most proud of?
Being the first in my family to go to law school and for not giving up. I’m proud of reaching for my goals while trying to remember to stay human and humble every day. I’m proud of dedicating my life to help the world. I’m proud of the wonderful friends I have made and genuine connections.
What do you hope the future holds for you?
I hope to graduate with my JD and two advanced law certificates come May 2025—one advanced certificate in Environmental Law and one advanced certificate in International Law. After I graduate, I’ll take the bar, then I want to take six months off after the bar to travel. Life is short! Then I will pursue a master’s and LLM at the UN Peace School in Costa Rica beginning January 2026. That will take six months. It’s a dual degree program—six months at Pace and six months at the UN Peace School. I have already completed the six months’ worth of courses here, so only six months in Costa Rica, and I’m home free. After that, I really want to work with international and ocean law. The director mentioned that she will try and advocate for me to get an internship with the Inter-American Human Rights Court while in Costa Rica, since it has a location there. I’m not usually a human rights person, but I have been working in the 3rd Committee at the UN, and that’s all human rights. And to be honest, it’s where all the work for the environment gets done. That’s where the best arguments are for the environment, so it’s really exciting. I don’t know if I’ll end up back in Oklahoma due to the nature of the work I want to do being international, but at the end of the day, I just want enough money to not worry about food, housing, and having fun sometimes; get married; and just not be on survival mode all the time. That’s the dream. (And maybe a beach sprinkled in there, ha).
Special thanks to ThuLan Pham for being our first featured member. If there is someone you think we should feature in the future, email us at lily@girlattorney.com with the subject line Meet our Members.
