In 1987, political oppression forced Van Vo to immigrate to the United States from Vietnam. He had dreamt of living here since high school when teachers who lived abroad had shared their experiences.

He first settled in San Jose, California and moved to Seattle in 1990. His wife and two young sons joined him here four years later and they settled in the Rainier Valley. Van had been a teacher in Vietnam and channeled those skills into working with residents as a community organizer for Jobs Plus, a national jobs initiative for public housing families. In 1998, he joined the Seattle Housing Authority at Rainier Vista and is now working as a self-sufficiency specialist with The Job Connection.

Three years ago, Van and his family fulfilled another dream — that of owning a home. They purchased a house just south of Rainier Vista near the NewHolly and Othello Station neighborhoods. He’s taken an active role in Rainer Vista, forming a community language bank for interpreting services, and assisting Columbia City’s Farmers’ Market with translating fliers for the area’s many cultures.

Van Vo’s commitment to his community and his family is exemplary. His oldest son just graduated from Seattle University and is going on to medical school. His youngest is studying Computer Engineering at the same university. Of his adopted country he says, “Here you have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to tell the government what is important to us.” In Seattle’s neighborhood of nations, those freedoms are especially treasured because they have been the beacon for immigrants from around the world.