Trevor Nguyen (JD/MBA 10)

Tell me something special or interesting about your background before you went to law school?

Trevor was born in Vietnam, and he moved to the U.S. in 1991. He can read, write and speak Vietnamese. His family was originally from Saigon, where his father was an air traffic controller and his mother a housewife with a pawnshop, but they were forced to flee to the countryside to avoid being sent to a re-education camp. (One grandfather, who formerly owned a rubber plantation, accompanied them; the other was a cartographer for the French occupiers who was taken from his home by the Communists, never to return.) His father then was forced to work as a rice farmer and Trevor attended the Communist school, where he proudly wore the obligatory red neckerchief and, on his sleeve, his "Communist Education Stamp." At age 8, the family joined an aunt (a former "boat person") in Milpitas, CA, and the rest is history.

Why did you decide to go to law school?

After graduating from U.C. Berkeley and thence on to Oxford University for a Master of Science (MSc) degree, Trevor knew he wanted to go to law school, where he is pursuing a joint JD/MBA degree in order to prepare for a career in aggressive entrepreneurial endeavors. His career goal is establish a multinational business group, much like Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group.

Tell me something special or interesting about your law school experience.

Trevor enjoys the close-knit learning community here and all the different social programs at the school, which have made a huge difference for him. He has found that, from the first day of classes, his fellow students were very friendly and always lent a helping hand with a smile. He and his colleagues went out to coffee with all his professors in his first semester. He wants to keep up his friendships after graduation, since once you leave law school, all you have are your friends and the networks you made.

What is your greatest source of motivation/support as you work towards your JD?

Alex, his college sweetheart and partner of over four years, has been very supportive. He knows when to give Trevor his space for studying, and when to pull Trevor out of the GGU library basement. Alex works as Mayor Gavin Newsom's liaison to the LGBT community, so he connects Trevor with lawyers and community leaders. Aside from work and school, Alex and Trevor both love to cook and travel together. This summer, they travelled to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. Trevor then stayed on for a summer legal internship in Saigon, Vietnam.

What is your favorite thing you do when you are not at law school?

Trevor is a painter of color abstracts in acrylic. His artworks were once featured in an art show. Also, he likes to cook and watch trashy reality TV, finding pleasure in applying legal analysis to the "dumbest criminal acts" kinds of shows.

What message/advice do you have for your fellow law students?

Trevor's advice is to be a self starter, take the initiative, reach out and see what's out there, meet with professors, serve on community boards, join affinity organizations -- it all enriches your legal study and work. Take learning beyond the classroom and textbooks!

About the interviewer, Drucilla S. Ramey: I am the new Dean of the Law School, following a career as a civil rights litigator, law school professor, and leader of major social justice organizations. The loves of my life are my daughter, Jessica, who is about to become a civil rights lawyer, and my husband, Marvin Stender, who has fought for equal justice throughout his career and has always had a penchant for women of substance.