{"id":5404,"date":"2017-05-15T11:23:14","date_gmt":"2017-05-15T16:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/?p=5404"},"modified":"2017-05-15T11:23:14","modified_gmt":"2017-05-15T16:23:14","slug":"thao-truong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/thao-truong\/","title":{"rendered":"Dreams, Determination, Diversity \u2013 and Lunch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading time: 4 minutes<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As the owner of VietNam Style in St. Louis, Thao Truong, \u201915, shares her culture and love for authentic cooking with patrons. During a recent visit, Truong, who opened her restaurant in the past year, talked with Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPstudents about her experiences.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thao Truong\u2019s career path took a few twists before she found her calling. The young entrepreneur, who immigrated to the U.S. eight years ago, discovered she enjoyed engaging with people while she was majoring in actuarial science and participating in the Work Study program. For three years, Truong worked in Maryville\u2019s international admissions office, helping students bridge communication and resource gaps, navigate the federal visa process and complete paperwork.\"x-default\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI love to interact with people,\u201d she says. \u201cUntil I talked to a lot of international students, I didn\u2019t realize I enjoyed it that much. But I had so much homework to do, I quit the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, she missed the work and began rethinking her career plans. She is excellent in math, but a job focused on that ability wasn\u2019t going to be enough to make her happy, Truong says.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Actuarial science] is not something I could wake up and do every morning,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

After much soul searching and discussion with her parents and her boyfriend, Huan Vu \u2014 who is now her husband and restaurant co-owner \u2014 Truong decided on a new direction. She enrolled in Maryville\u2019s MBA program because, she says, \u201can MBA holds the keys to open any door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPP the same time, she realized her passion: cooking. In the past\u00a0year, Truong opened VietNam Style in the Loop area of University City, Mo. Her MBA studies are now on hold, but Truong learns on the job every day.<\/p>\n

To honor her Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPexperience, and to help pave the way for upcoming entrepreneurs, Truong invited Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPstudents to visit VietNam Style and explore their collective journeys.<\/p>\n

Inspiring the Next Generation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThao\u2019s drive continues to resonate with me,\u201d says Christina Isaiah, an interactive design major. \u201cAs a minority woman, I understand opening a business is no small task. She took a risk in her life and succeeded. Many people cannot say that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Truong\u2019s restaurant is in a corner building with large windows overlooking a busy sidewalk. The dominant colors are bright green, black and pink \u2014 pink being her favorite color, even down to her eyeglasses.<\/p>\n

\u201cHearing Thao\u2019s story and seeing the result of her hard work makes me dream bigger,\u201d says Isaiah. \u201cSitting in her restaurant made me believe I could open my own business and invite Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPstudents to my work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ulices Zuniga, an education major, wants to teach, but he also imagines himself as the owner of an automotive performance shop.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really paid close attention when Thao talked about her business,\u201d he says. \u201cShe was able to start something different and promote it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building Cultural Awareness<\/strong><\/p>\n

During her Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPyears, Truong was keenly aware of diversity issues and enjoyed opportunities to share her Vietnamese culture with other students through Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPCultures Connect, an organization comprised\u00a0of international students.<\/p>\n

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Zuniga, president of the Latino Student Alliance, and Isaiah, president of the Inclusion at Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPstudent group, are both dedicated to creating a more inclusive campus environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt a huge connection with Thao because when she talked about her time as a Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPstudent, she was trying to do what I’ve been doing ever since I have been at Maryville, and that is educating others on my own culture,\u201d says Zuniga.<\/p>\n

Isaiah, who changed majors from psychology to interactive design in pursuit of her passion for art, appreciates Thao\u2019s decision to follow her heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt as if Thao could be me or I could be her,\u201d Isaiah says. \u201cHer story is inspirational and motivational.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thao was equally impressed with her visitors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are very self-motivated and strong leaders,\u201d Truong says. \u201cThey know what they want. But they also care about other students \u2014 they talked a lot about what they can do for them as part of their student groups \u2014 and that was impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This article first appeared in the Spring 2017 edition of Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPMagazine.<\/em><\/p>\n

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