Ever since she was young, Cindy Vue understood the power and gift of hard work and education. She saw it in full display through her parents, who never had the opportunity to pursue post-secondary schooling.
“My parents [are] Hmong refugees that fled from the Secret War,” said Vue, “and I’ve heard their stories of how they survived and how they made it to America and that was very inspiring to me.”
Vue’s parents emphasized the importance of education to her and how they would wish they could have taken the chance to pursue it if it had been available to them. Those words and philosophy stayed with Vue as she grew up in the refugee community of Akron, Ohio. She grew up honoring her Hmong roots as a member of the cultural dance group Blooming Flowers, Hmong Ohio of Tomorrow (HOOT), and ASIA’s Civic Youth Innovation and Engagement (CYI Engage). As a university student, she got involved with Community Connectors of OSU, as well as Leadership Ohio with OSU’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs and that piqued her interest in policy work.
She was a sophomore at the Ohio State University, majoring in sociology and a minor in criminology, when she saw a posting on ASIA’s website about an internship opportunity with the manager of Governmental Affairs. With her newfound interest in public policy, she reached out to take part in the work.
As an intern, Vue kept track of state and national legislation as well as executive orders that might impact ASIA, its clients, or employees. She also worked on human trafficking prevention legislation and participated in Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence’s advocacy day in April with ASIA's Ahimsa to meet with legislators.
“I never had an experience like that where I would speak with legislators or their aides and I was very nervous going into it," she said. “I was not sure if I would mess up or say the right things, but I underestimated myself too, I did pretty okay! It was a very amazing experience to advocate for [survivors].”
Vue’s internship experience inspired her to double major in public policy. In the future, she hopes to work more with refugees and to see other youths, especially Hmong students, take part in shaping and strengthening their community. In the coming summer, she will take part in a 3-week program in Rwanda to study the country’s recovery and rebuilding journey after the 1994 genocide.
“I see how policy has impacted our communities and I see how our families get fearful,” said Vue. “And I want to help change that so that they can feel safe and protected and understand what’s going on. If I can bridge that weight I would.”