She’s the tops

Deirdre Newman

Tami Bui is the kind of person who takes stock of what is going on

around her and if things aren’t to her liking, the senior at UC Irvine

takes decisive action to make a difference.

The 21-year-old’s activism and leadership in Asian-American issues

earned her a coveted spot in Glamour Magazine’s annual list of the Top

Ten College Women, which appears in the publication’s October issue.

Bui applied for the honor because it offered a $1,000 scholarship. She

found out that she had made it as far as the top 20 in May, but didn’t

give it much thought because she was consumed with finals. It wasn’t

until a few months later that Glamour contacted her with the good news --

she had been selected as one of the 10.

“I was pretty shocked because I wasn’t expecting it. I had almost

forgotten about it,” Bui said.

Her parents were excited, but she said her dad was a little concerned

about the photo shoot.

“He wanted to make sure I dressed appropriately,” she said.

Bui describes the photo shoot for Glamour as a “hassle” because they

had to fix her hair after every shot. Her focus remains locked on giving

a voice to people who have traditionally been on the sidelines.

“No matter what I do as a career, I’d like to help people be empowered

and feel like they have control over their lives,” Bui said.

Born in Vietnam, Bui experienced a dramatic entrance to the United

States when she was only one year old. Her father had made plans to

escape the Communist regime and take a boat to the United States by

himself, sending for his family later. But at the last minute, he

changed his mind and Bui’s mom literally hopped on as the boat was

pulling out of the harbor.

Reflecting on her good fortune, Bui said she feels obligated to give

back to the country that accepted her and her family in their time of

need.

Her community involvement started in high school in Santa Ana, where

she volunteered for the March of Dimes and as a candy striper.

But she felt an underlying uncertainty gnawing at her about

Asian-American issues.

“I was saddened because I couldn’t identify anyone that I looked up to

that was Asian American,” Bui said. “But what was more upsetting was that

I didn’t care that I didn’t know.”

Bui said at the time, she was happy and doing well in school, as were

many of her Asian-American friends. “I didn’t think there was anything to

worry about” she said.

Her nonchalance turned into genuine concern as Bui became more attuned

to health issues affecting Asian Americans and began questioning why she

didn’t learn more about Asian-American leaders in high school.

When she came to UC Irvine as a political science major, she said she

noticed that the number of Asian professors is not proportionate to the

Asian student population.

So she got involved with the Asian Pacific Student Assn., helping to

raise more than $10,000 last year. She also assisted in organizing an

Asian-American Women’s Week.

“Things always start out by me being upset and wondering why we never

had one. So I just said, ‘we’re going to do it,”’ Bui said.

Her interest in Asian-American issues motivated her to spend two

months in Washington DC last spring. In that short amount of time, Bui

worked with four different organizations.

The two she spent the most time with were the National Coalition for

Asian Pacific American Community Development, which was in the midst of

opening its first office in the capitol to deal with general issues

concerning Asian Americans, and the Southeast Asia Resource Action

Center, which focuses on assisting deportees and detainees and their

family members.

Bui said she was deeply affected by the plight of those who the

Immigration and Naturalization Service detains indefinitely because they

have committed a crime here, but cannot be deported because of conditions

in their home countries.

“These are people detained because of shoplifting and other minor

violations,” Bui said. “A lot are being housed in jails and they already

served their sentences.”

Lisa Hasegawa, the executive director of the National Coalition for

Asian Pacific American Community Development, said she was impressed with

Bui’s leadership skills.

“We’ve been waiting for people like Tami to represent the Southeast

Asian community for a long time, so it was just really great to have her

here this summer and see her energy and enthusiasm,” Hasegawa said.

In her spare time, Bui also became involved with two other

organizations -- the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, which

draws attention to the issue of “comfort women” -- women who were

trafficked from Korea and Japan as sex slaves -- and the Gates Millennium

Scholars’ Program, the only one of its kind to offer scholarship funding

for Asian-Americans.

Bui said her tightknit family -- including her parents, younger

sister, Hanh, and younger brother, Viet -- has provided tremendous

support throughout the years, instilling in her a confidence that has

enabled her to act upon her concerns for Asian Americans.

“I have a really great family,” Bui said. “I’ve always been surrounded

by people who made me feel positive about myself.”

She downplays the attention she has received from Glamour, preferring

to instead focus on her commitment to the various organizations she has

worked with. Bui will be starting work this fall on her honors thesis.

The topic is the long-term immigration detainees that she worked on in

Washington DC.

Her thesis advisor, Mark Petracca, chair of the Political Science

Department at UC Irvine, said Bui deserves the recognition in Glamour

because she lives up to the high academic expectations she has set for

herself.

“This isn’t just about someone who is involved in public service per

se, it’s someone who is doing a very effective job preparing herself for

her own future at the same time she’s fairly seriously engaged on the

campus and in the community,” Petracca said.

Bui says Irvine has been a great environment to hone her activist

skills.

“I’ve involved myself with a lot of things,” Bui said. “‘It depends on

what you want to take away from it.”

After graduation, Bui would like to take some time away from school

and either travel abroad or work at the Department of Justice in

Washington DC. Ultimately, she would like to go to law school.

Wherever she ends up, she is confident that her ability to find a void

and fill it will continue.

“There’s so much work that needs to be done in every community,” she

said.”