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Join Dr. Thao Ha—a sociology professor with a backstory of survival and resilience. In this episode of The Vietnamese podcast, Kenneth Nguyen hosts Dr. Thao Ha as they explore the unexpected outcomes of the 2024 presidential election, discussing why “the Dems didn't see the other side coming so strong” and how we can bridge divides in the aftermath. Dr. Ha’s story, offers her perspective on social issues and the urgent need for understanding each other.
It’s not everyday a sociology teacher can talk about street gangs from first-hand experience. When sociology professor Thao Ha talks about the social consequences of gangs, she can point to the scar on her arm. She was shot in a gang-related drive-by shooting as she was coming out of a billiards hall near where she lived in Houston.
“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Professor Ha said. She was 23 and was not involved with gangs, but found it easy to get sucked into trouble.
“It was a challenging time growing up. Both my parents were working and we lived in a tough neighborhood. There were not the best influences there,” Professor Ha said. At the time of the shooting, Ha was about to drop out of college. “I just didn’t see the point.”
But after the shooting, she looked at things differently. “I felt so lucky to be alive. I knew my parents wanted me to go to college and I saw the pain in their eyes, so I knew I needed to go back to school and do something right.”
Professor Ha knew that she wanted to study sociology after she met a social worker. “She told me about her work and I saw that she was making a difference in people’s lives.”
After that, Professor Ha started making goals for herself. She got a B.S. in sociology with a minor in anthropology from the University of Houston and then earned a master’s degree in sociology. Along the way, she was recognized for her master’s thesis and was given the University of Texas’ Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award. Now she is finishing her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin.
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Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen
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