Another outstanding academic graduates from NPHS

Chau Vu When Chau Vu arrived in California from Vietnam as a 9year-old, she couldn't have known how far she would come in the face of adversity.

Chau, her mother and father and her older brother came to the United States nearly 10 years ago. After just one year, Chau, now 18, was out of the Englishlanguage learner program and into typical middle school classes.

She went on to take many Advanced Placement and honors classes at Newbury Park High School and was named one of 15 valedictorians of the Class of 2008.

"It was a struggle, but it got easier," she said. "I always try to challenge myself and have my dad's voice telling me that there's nothing I cannot do. . . . After he passed away, I kept what he told me stuck in my mind. I always try harder. It's not enough to get good grades. I want to really understand the material."

Chau's father died suddenly in 2004 of causes that are still unknown. She and her mother moved to Newbury Park from the San Fernando Valley in time for high school.

She said the transition was tough.

"I dreaded it the first day. I ate lunch in the bathroom by myself. But (a girl) came up to me and said hi, and I met a lot of people."

Chau and her friends formed an academic competitions club, and they vie in subjects that include geography, science and math.

The graduate also decided to try tennis her freshman year.

"I didn't even know how to hit a ball or hold a racket," she said with a laugh. "My friends who knew some tennis taught me the basics. It took a lot of practice on my own, but I wanted to play and I wanted my score to count."

After a couple years of practice and climbing the ranks, Chau played varsity her senior year.

She speaks humbly about her successes- athletic, academic and personal- and credits "hard work."

At Chau's graduation ceremony last week, clips from interviews with the valedictorians were played on a large projection screen. Chau shared the greatest piece of advice she ever took from a teacher.

"Don't be afraid to fail, because failing is fun," she said.

Chau said she loves biology, and she's planning to enter a premed program when she attends Stanford in the fall. Her older brother currently attends UC San Diego.