Sequim teen has global aspirations

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Cathy Dao is not like most 18-year-old high school seniors.

She moved to Sequim from Saigon, Vietnam, with her mother and father two years ago when her parents wanted to find a good environment to raise their daughter.

Since then, Dao has not only excelled in her academics at Sequim High School, she also speaks three languages — English, Chinese and Vietnamese — and has a passion for music and community service.

“Going to a high school with local kids really eased my transition to America,” Dao said. “It really helps too that they listen to the same songs I did and played the same games when I was young.”

Dao added that when she came to Sequim it was more of a “coming home” experience than moving to a foreign country.

“(Local students) shared more things in common than I actually did with my classmates back in Saigon.”

On top of her academic accomplishments, she was recognized by the City of Sequim in May for being awarded a scholarship from the Association of Washington Cities Center for Quality Communities for graduating students who plan to continue their education at an accredited institution and have been involved in city government or leadership activity.

Dao will graduate as a valedictorian on Friday, June 9, at Sequim High School and was taking six Advanced Placement classes her senior year. She said the thought of graduation has not yet sunk in.

“In my head right now, I do not think ‘Oh man I’m graduating in five days’ — it’s ‘I have homework due in three days!’”

This statement is a true testament to her character and discipline as a student, as her father Don Baron told a story about her dedication to her studies.

Baron said when the family first came to Sequim, Dao arrived at Homecoming at halftime because she wanted to make sure she finished her economics homework first.

“When we first came (to Sequim) it was Homecoming,” Baron said. “Just before we leave she said, ‘Would you mind if I finished my economics homework before we go?’”

Dao laughed and said, “There were many moments like that.”

Her mother Susan Nguyen Baron also describes Dao as disciplined but also passionate.

“She has the passion to do whatever she wants to do,” she said.

Dao plans to attend Stanford University in the fall and hopes to study international diplomacy.

Personal passions

Dao also is in the Sequim High School jazz band and serves as senior class treasurer. She said her motivation for taking on so many different things in her high school career was because she saw a need to see things change.

“Change doesn’t come when you sit there and whine,” Dao said. “Change comes when you take a proactive position and get involved in the community.”

She said it is through her extracurricular activities and school clubs she is able to make that change happen.

“It is that community service and wanting to see change happen,“ she said. “But it is also a desire to reach out to my peers and to find kindred spirits who share my passion.”

She particularly has a passion for music.

“I played blues and classic rock and all my classmates in Vietnam were listening to Korean pop music,” she said. “I came here and all my knowledge and music came to good use.”

Dao plays guitar and composes and writes songs. She also has used her musical talents to promote education in the community.

She calls this idea of channeling music as an instrument of self expression and connection with others as “artivism” — a combination of art and activism.

“Music for me has never been a selfish thing,” she said. “Music has been that channel for which I can reach out to not only kindred spirits but people otherwise who would not listen to me when I talk.”

Dao showed her “artivism” in 2016 when she wrote a song called, “Keeping the Dream Alive” to encourage community members to vote for a proposed school bond for the Sequim School District.

She re-wrote that song this past January to promote the EP&O and Capital Project Levies for Sequim School District that were on the February special election ballot.

KSQM radio interviewed Dao about her song in February and played it on the radio.

Future aspirations

Dao is looking forward to setting her sights on new horizons as a future student at Stanford.

She said with the knowledge of a high schooler she is unsure of what the future holds but is excited to see what college has in store for her.

“College will do just that; open up my boundaries and horizons of knowledge and help me prepare for my wish to go on the path of diplomacy,” she said.

Dao believes she was accepted to Stanford not just for meeting the preliminary academic requirements but because she also has shown she is willing to open her doors and challenge herself.

“They will open their doors to students who have opened their doors,” she said. “I think that fact seeps and oozes out of the stories I tell.”

In her personal statements to the colleges she applied to, Dao wrote about an internship she did in China where she witnessed the suppression of the Chinese government and compared that experience to being in the Free World.

She said in her college essays, she alluded that experience of coming back to a Communist society in China to the novel, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” about being in an insanity ward.

“It is those snippets and snapshots of my experience and my memories that I think help highlight the fact that I have an international record coming from Saigon, Vietnam,” she said.

She also went to South Africa years ago and was chose as one of 22 students from Saigon who would help Vietnam and South Africa in the fight against the rhino poaching crisis making sure people did not kill rhinos or buy rhino horns.

Dao said it is these experiences that is a testament to the work she wants to accomplish with her education.

She also hopes to do more in the field of digital literacy and advocacy for science.

“The freedom of using technology, education and information — the freedom to do those three things has been the cornerstone that helped me become the person I am,” she said.

“I hope as a diplomat I can encourage that in China and Vietnam.”

In addition to the AWC Scholarship, Dao also received scholarships this year from Khan Law Firm, the Sequim Education Foundation, Sequim High School chapter of National Honor Society and the Sequim Sunrise Rotary Club.

To listen to Dao’s “Keeping the Dream Alive” song, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4BxZ9w2DJ0.