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Class Scholars

Class Scholars: 1961

Linda Huynh, Class of 2011

• Bio

• Thank You Letter

Linda Huynh is the third of five children, with two older brothers and two younger sisters. In the spring of 1981, her parents embarked on a long sea voyage to escape communist Vietnam . They established roots in America , building their own business, but also relied heavily on family and the surrounding community of immigrants in Modesto for a sense of identity and survival in a strange land. Participating in colorful Vietnamese dances and vibrant Lunar New Year celebrations, as well as explaining to her parents how to consolidate loans and print business fliers, Linda provided the cultural link between her family and their friends to America . By advocating for the Vietnamese community in Modesto , she won the Stanislaus County Young Woman of the Year award. This sense of family and culture is the foundation of Linda's being part of and supporting the community in her future medical practice.

In 2002, she graduated from Modesto High School 's International Baccalaureate program and attended Stanford University .  There, she continued her advocacy work, volunteering at and eventually running Stanford's Pacific Free Clinic, which serves the even larger Vietnamese community of San Jose . During summer 2004, she traveled to Vietnam as part of the MDVietnam Medical Project, exploring the roots of cultural misunderstandings that have challenged the ability of the Vietnamese people to receive adequate healthcare in America . Stationed in the rural village of Ninh Binh , she saw the people's struggle with poverty, meeting more than 1,000 patients who had never received any form of healthcare. Back at Stanford, she combined her passion for service and fashion by putting on the annual Asian American Fashion Show to help raise a record amount for the Garment Workers, an organization fighting for immigrant rights.

The Pacific Free Clinic demonstrated the importance of cultural and language competence in patient care in the U.S. and, as a result, Linda's undergraduate focus at Stanford was sparked – cross-cultural perspectives in health, health disparities, and avenues for their alleviation. To address the linguistic and cultural barriers, she initiated and taught her own course for students wanting to make a difference in the community: Medical Vietnamese. By introducing this course to provide better language training and cultural awareness, she was able to improve patient-physician communication. Between the end of college and attending medical school, Linda spent a year working at the Pacific Health Foundation, promoting education and research on Asian American health issues, such as hepatitis B.

Linda came to UCLA with her contagious enthusiasm. In her first year, she was president of the Asian-Pacific American Medical Student Association, organizing health fairs, screening for hypertension and hepatitis B among the Asian Community and promoting patient empowerment and preventive medicine. Driven by her family and cultural values, Linda is looking to integrate her love of culture and people with her passion for service in an effort to address barriers to healthcare.