I Will be an Asian Newscaster

“This is Sandy Le, reporting from Channel 7 News.” In five years, I see myself as a newscaster broadcasting to my local Bay Area. I will be following in the footsteps of a well-known Vietnamese news anchor named Thuy Vu. She has helped open a door for other Vietnamese people to expand their career options in American society. As a newscaster, I will expand my knowledge of different cultures and take advantage of the many opportunities to learn about what lies outside my own community. Her inspiration will help me excel in this, my chosen career.

Thuy Vu came from Vietnam. Traveling thousands of miles by boat, she escaped Vietnam with her family when Saigon fell to the communists toward the end of the Vietnam War. In America, she gained a general education and then went to UC Berkeley where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Rhetoric.

She started her journalism career in public radio at KQED-FM in San Francisco, and then moved to National Public Radio. Eventually, she worked at several Bay Area news stations as a reporter. In August 2000, she joined ABC7 and became a co-anchor on Sunday Morning News at 7am and 9am. She also generously donates her time to community groups, often emceeing fundraisers, giving keynote speeches, or judging competitions.

Over the years, she has received numerous awards from her hard work in radio and journalism, and was honored Best Reporter in the Bay Area by American Women in Radio and Television. She also won two national awards from the Asian American Journalists Association, one for a multi-part series on post-war life in her homeland of Vietnam. These were just a few awards among many that she has accumulated or have been nominated for.

When I wanted to be a reporter, I noticed only a few Vietnamese working in the media. Eventually, I will want to contribute to the number of Vietnamese faces in the media with my own presence. I’ve always wanted to be a reporter who travels around discovering interesting stories about the community and bringing them to others’ attention. I find media communication is one of the best resources for expressing news and current events.