Posted via Fresno Bee Site at 12:35 PM on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009
By Cassidy Smith / The Fresno Bee
The basics: Kevin-Dat Vu, 20, is a student at Fresno State, majoring in communications.
What he does: Since he was 12, Vu has championed equality and opportunity for all through his public speaking on the local, state and nationwide levels. He is also an
advocatefor the rights of people with disabilities. His mission statement is “to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves and to advocate for the voiceless.”
Why he does it: Vu, who has cerebral palsy, struggled as a child finding his way through the educational and health-care systems. After being told repeatedly by doctors and teachers that he didn’t have the potential to achieve great things, he wanted to show others that it was possible to accomplish a set of goals by working hard and overcoming obstacles.
The turning point: In middle school when he noticed other children with disabilities struggling. He says he asked himself, “If nobody was helping me, and my mother had to go to school every day to help me, what about all of those other kids that can’t speak for themselves?”
Details, details: Vu and his mother, who he describes as his “rock and support,” give tandem presentations around the city and state to people with disabilities as well as doctors, counselors, social workers and equal opportunity employers. He has provided consulting services to the State Independent Living Council, which sets statewide policy and funding levels for various centers and services. Vu also is a youth representative for California Health Incentive Improvement Project as well as the lead youth coordinator for the Disability History Curriculum Campaign in California.
What others say: Randy George, creative director of Gold Leaf Marketing and Design, a business Kevin has worked with, said it’s rare that he meets “an individual with a heart to truly help people in addition to having the savvy and vision to see that desire come to pass. Kevin Vu is such a person.”