To choose a pageant platform, Ms. Oregon looks to her own past
On the day that Thuy Huyen received her crown and sash in the mail proclaiming her Ms. Oregon 2016, she thought she was daydreaming. It was not until she saw her photo and name pop up on the Ms. America website that she realized it was true.
There is no Ms. Oregon pageant, so Huyen applied, was interviewed by a committee and then chosen as the titleholder.
Huyen, 42, now will go on to compete for one of three titles Sept. 1 through 3 in Brea, California. She is eligible to be Ms. America 2017, Ms. America International for women 40 and older, or Ms. International the Peoples Choice overall winner. These pageants are different than the Miss America pageant.
Huyen will participate in a personal interview with the judges, then on stage she will compete in evening wear, sportswear and live interview.
The pageant will be live streamed at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 3 on the Ms. America website, www.msamericapageant.com.
Compelling story
These last few months have been hectic for the Portland resident as she prepares for the pageant, but those pale in comparison to what she has endured in the past.
As she tells the story, Huyen was born in 1974 in South Vietnam. When she was 5 years old her grandmother told the family that it was too dangerous for them to remain in the country during the later years of the Vietnam War.
The living conditions were horrible, and we lost everything to the Communists, she says.
For one year, her parents planned the familys escape, knowing that if they were caught they would all end up in jail. At that time, the Chinese were being pushed out of South Vietnam by the Communists, so Huyens mother decided it would be best for the family to learn some Chinese words and phrases and pass themselves off as Chinese.
When the time came for the family to leave, Huyens grandmother, who was staying behind in Saigon, purchased life jackets for all 12 members of the family.
The boat was only supposed to hold 80, but there were 300 of us, stacked on top of each other, Huyen says, adding, We were the only ones wearing life jackets.
After four days and nights on the boat, the captain told all the passengers that the boat had hit a rock and was leaking.
He said he wanted us all to know that we were going to die. But he told us that we could choose to jump off the boat and pray we could find another ship, Huyen says.
My mom was clever to make the decision for us to jump, because she thought she saw the lights from another ship. So my whole family jumped, she says, adding that they were the only ones who chose that option.
A few hours later a second boat came along and pulled Huyens family out of the water, but this ship was piloted by Thai pirates, who robbed the family at gunpoint before putting them out on an island. Eventually a third boat came along and Huyen and her family were taken to a refugee camp in Kuku, Indonesia.
Later the family found out that the first boat did sink and all the passengers and crew members died.
Journey to the United States
After living in refugee camps for nearly two years, Huyen and her family moved to Texas, then to Kansas City and ultimately to Chicago, where she lived until she graduated from college; her family still lives in Chicago.
Huyen earned a degree in psychology, taught school for four years, and went along with her father when he was invited all over the United States as an motivational speaker. She was with him when he spoke at The Grotto in Portland, and fell in love with the city.
In 2003, she landed a job as an accounting technician at Portland State University and has worked there ever since.
Huyen says she has always wanted to be in a pageant, but felt that being short and a minority would hold her back. But then she found out about the Ms. America pageant, and it was exactly what she wanted, partly because women age 26 and up could enter, and partly because there were no swimsuit and talent competitions.
But what really attracted her interest was that this pageant is all about community service.
Her volunteer work includes being part of the Vietnamese Community of Oregon, promoting Vietnamese cultural heritage, and packing food with the Oregon Food Bank. This year she also is working with A Better Oregon, a coalition of parents, teachers, small businesses, leaders and organizations who have come together to make sure large and out-of-state corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
Anyone can cast votes for her by going to www.msamericapageant.com and clicking on Peoples Choice; it costs a minimum of $5 to vote and voting closes at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31.