2nd Annual
Vietnamese American Media Expo
May 18, 2007
HCCS Conference & Training Center
Houston, Texas |
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SPEAKERS
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Andrea Nguyen, TV Reporter CW39
Moderator: Discussion 2 (Challenges of the Next Generation)
Andrea came to the U.S. as a Vietnamese boat refugee at the age of 5. Her family settled in Houston, where she learned English by listening to country music. At the early age of nine, she sang on Vietnam Vision of America, the first Vietnamese television station in Houston.
Andrea’s professional journalism career started after she majored in broadcast journalism at the University of Houston. She worked as a news assistant at KTRK-TV (ABC 13) in Houston before landing a reporting position at KNDU-TV (NBC 25) in Kennewick, WA. There, she broke a national story, “Colonel Kassanova," was featured on Dateline NBC and won a Society of Professional Journalism Award.
In 2004, Andrea returned to Vietnam on the 20th anniversary of her family’s escape from the Communist country. KNDU aired her 30-minute special "Back To Vietnam: A Journey Home" in July, and her story made the front page of the Tri-City Herald. The notoriety led to her second trip to Vietnam that year as the only broadcast journalist invited to join Washington Governor Gary Locke's trade mission tour to Asia. Governor Locke introduced her to Vietnam’s Prime Minister and other high-ranking officials as “one of Washington’s most successful reporters.”
Andrea then moved to San Diego, CA to work for FOX 6 News. There she covered hundreds of stories including San Diego’s city hall corruption case, wildfires, mudslides, and the controversial Border Minuteman Project. Houston's CW39 made Andrea's dream of returning to her hometown a reality when they hired her as a general assignment reporter in July 2006. Now back with her family, Andrea dedicates her spare time to volunteering at her church, various charities and other community groups. |
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