Natalie Truong is a recent graduate of Boston Latin School, Class of 2002. She will be attending Wellesley College in the upcoming fall and is planning to major in political science. She hopes to expand what she did in high school to her college campus. After college she plans on attending law school.
While a student at Boston Latin School, Natalie was the President of the Vietnamese Student Association, active member of Asian Students in Action, and Massachusetts’s pre engineering program. She has been part of CAPAY-Coalition for Asian Pacific American Youth for the past three years, and has been part of the Steering Committee for two. As a member of the Steering Committee she organized and facilitated workshops at CAPAY’s leadership symposium, conducted forums and workshops for APA youth, sent out a monthly newsletter to general members, and documented past CAPAY projects and events. Natalie is also an active member of the Boston Asian Community, and has interned at the Campaign to Protect Chinatown, Chinese Progressive Association, and the Asian American Resource Workshop. While being involved in the community, She saw problems arise because the community is not able to withstand the attacks from both city officials and developers. Boston’s Chinatown used to be twice as large. However, now it is getting smaller and smaller with the construction of the highway and expensive high rise buildings towering over the community; such as Millennium Place and the future Liberty Place, which is to open across the street from Millennium. The effect of industry can be seen in Chinatown, which already possesses the highest asthma rate in metropolitan Boston. She felt there was a need preserve the history of a once growing community. Through participation in community meetings, rallies, and campaigning, she helped raise her own awareness and the awareness of the residents about the issues in order they too could work to protect Chinatown. The knowledge and experience Natalie has gained help motivate her to continue the work she is doing. After participating in the community she felt she has a voice, and now understands the needs of the people around her.
Natalie was a part of the Mayor ‘s Youth Council during her senior year. She represented her neighborhood, South End. As part of the Mayor’s Youth Council, she investigated and recorded resources available to youth in the South End, and informed youth organizations about events happening in Boston.
On her free time Natalie enjoys reading, biking along the Charles, and spending time with her friends and family. Natalie is the oldest of three children. She has a younger brother named David and a younger sister named Angela. Natalie is interning at the Boston Housing Authority this summer.
Natalie’s sponsor is Robert Trestan.