Q&A: Gigi Do
Gigi Do, associate vice president of global learning & strategy, is one of the women featured as part of The Signal’s #HawkHerStory coverage, celebrating Women’s History Month. This special coverage focuses on the stories and perspectives of the various women within the UHCL community.
Read The Signal’s Q&A with Do below and see the other Q&As conducted with students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni here.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself, on both a personal and professional/educational level?
A: As the saying goes “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could”, I’ve lived in Houston for 30 years now, and prior to that, I was born in Vietnam and came to the United States as a young refugee. As Associate Vice President of Global Learning & Strategy for UHCL, I found my calling in global public service to advance international understanding and social impact in our constantly changing international environment. My past experience in learning to adapt to abrupt changes in environment, culture, and language have greatly shaped my philosophy and commitment to my work and the people that I serve.
Q: What are some activities you enjoy doing?
A: It’s interesting to compare my activities prior to and during the COVID pandemic in which we are still currently in. I used to really enjoy going to public gatherings such as concerts, theatre, music and art festivals that Houston always seemed to have every week before the pandemic. The COVID era reintroduced me to the joy of solitude. I have taken up walking with my family, and at times, on my own. I relish my walks through the bayou every day and just get lost in my thoughts. It has given me the opportunity to pay more attention to details of my surroundings that I haven’t given myself time to think about before the pandemic.
Q: Are there modern day women role models that you wish you had growing up?
A: What IS a modern day women role? It has such different meanings to different people. I had a perfect modern day women role model while I was growing up – my mother. She was orphaned at a very young age, and learned to take care of herself and siblings in a war-torn country. She fully instilled the value in education that she never had onto her children. My mother was a homemaker with very little English, but her wisdom and strength made her the pillar of our family throughout my life. My mother was and will always be my role model.
Q: What are some problems you anticipate/have encountered as a woman in your field?
A: I don’t know if I would call them “problems”. As a minority woman, I have faced my share of bias in the workplace—but at the same time I consider my identity my strength. I tend to find opportunities in obstacles.
Q: What advice would you give to other women and young girls?
A: Be curious and always look further under the rock. You will find gems that many have overlooked.
Q: Is there anything you would like our readers to know?
A: Be resilient – our humanity depends on it for survival. Also, it is March in Texas – so go out and take pleasure in the bluebonnets everywhere.
