In Their Words: Katherine Mỹ-Duyên Lê

Name: Katherine Mỹ-Duyên Lê

College: College Nine

Department: Politics, Legal Studies, and Sociology Departments

What Award/Scholarship did you receive? 2019 Weiss Family Scholarship

What year do you expect to graduate? Spring 2019

Where do you call home? San Jose, California

With all of the choices for college, what made UC Santa Cruz stand out? UC Santa Cruz is within close proximity to my family and community in the Silicon Valley. Being close to my community is important to me as I strive to pursue higher education. I will utilize the educational and organizing tools that I learned during university to help advocate for political and social justice issues in my hometown.

What is your field of focus? I am working on and have pursued research in the following areas:

• UCDC: Southeast Asian American immigration and deportation policies
• Sociology Department/Everett Program: Information communication technology (ICT) for social good – e.g. healthcare digital resource mapping project for nonprofit Asians American for Community Involvement and decolonizing technology/critical ICT education
• Legal Studies Department: Environmental and ecological effects of U.S. military warfare methods in the Vietnam War
• Politics Department: Internet censorship and political protest in contemporary Vietnam

What do you hope to do once you graduate from UC Santa Cruz? Once I graduate from UC Santa Cruz, I hope to continue my political organizing work in the Southeast Asian/Vietnamese progressive community while also pursuing a career in the
intersections of technology, equity, and policy.

What is one memorable momentthat stands out for you as a student here? One memorable moment that stands out for me as a student at UC Santa Cruz is when I realized that the Everett Program Decolonize Technology teach-in/discussion that I organized brought in a full room of over thirty students, digital activists, and community members! With the collective knowledge and input of the Santa Cruz community, I was able to share my passion for decolonizing technology and critical information communication technology education while kickstarting a conversation on campus about imagining a world where technology is not used for domination, surveillance, and oppressive control.

What is your one piece of advice for incoming students aboutlife at UC Santa Cruz? My one piece of advice for incoming students about life at UC Santa Cruz: your time in college will be what you make of it! Exploring your identity and community, taking leadership roles in causes that you deeply care about, and investing your intellect and energy into spaces that excite you are essential towards fostering your personal growth at UC Santa Cruz.

How will this scholarship impact your academic life/research? This scholarship will help me support my academic journey in the UCDC program for Spring Quarter 2019 as I research Southeast Asian American immigration and deportation policies while championing digital and online organizing strategies for the progressive Vietnamese community.