Teresa Nguyen was born in South Vietnam in 1964. Her father was a captain in the South Vietnamese army, as such she moved frequently during her childhood. After the war her father had to go into hiding to avoid the reeducation camp, while her mother became the sole provider for her family. In the early 1980s they decided to leave Vietnam taking a boat to Thailand where they lived for two years. Her father had made it to the US, where he was able to sponsor her and her siblings. When Nguyen first arrived in the U.S. she was in Alabama where she studied statistics at the University of Alabama. She then worked for a software engineer company in Texas. In 2004 she and her family moved to Portland, Oregon. She now works as a translator for hospitals in Portland.

In this interview Nguyen discusses her childhood in Vietnam and her move to the United States. Nguyen describes the lives of her and family during and after the Civil War, and the decision they made to protect themselves from the repercussions of war. Nguyen also talks about her life in a refugee camp in Thailand, and the process of being sponsored to live in the United States. She goes on to describe her early years in the United States, and her move to Texas where she met her husband. They both worked for the same engineering company and participated in the same church choir. In Portland Nguyen still sings for the Choir at Our Lady of La Vang. Nguyen describes her time at our Lady LaVang. She also describes how she and her friends remain political activity in Portland regarding events happening in Vietnam.