For 2023 Hamilton Scholar Van Do from Elk Grove, CA being comfortable with her circumstances won’t inspire her drive to improve it. As much as her community has contributed to her as a persevering and loving teenager – inspiring, challenging, and creating openness – Van still seeks discomfort and ways to relieve it for others.

As Co-President of her school's DATA Cybersecurity club, Van has worked to bridge the industry’s gender gap through the Tuesday Tech Talk series, bringing awareness to students on developments in tech and relevant industry information. Van credits her involvement in Key Club – serving as both Junior Class Representative and on the District Judging Committee – as crucial activities to ensure she’s stepping out of her comfort zone in service of making a meaningful impact on her community. Within two years, Van has served over 450+ community service hours on behalf of nonprofit organizations and events in Elk Grove; her time spent helping with the Elk Grove Multicultural Festival and participating in the UC Davis Health Equity Academy, has enabled Van’s appreciation of her community’s diversity as she strives to make a difference in the lives of those who lack access to healthcare.

Growing up as the oldest child in an immigrant family, Van is inspired to achieve beyond the odds that face her. Ensuring she balances the responsibilities of school and family, Van prides herself on being an outstanding student as well as a responsible daughter. Van helps translate important documents, communicate with doctors at appointments, and takes an active role in caring for her younger sister while her parents are at work. As someone who understands the challenges migrated families face, Van always opens her arms with love to young immigrants, knowing how important that support is to others. In the end, Van aspires to bridge inequity facing the underserved members of her community and “be the change.”