Meet an Empowering Woman: Ms. Terry Vo
Delta Beta Sigma has a diverse and strong group of alumnae who have proceeded in life to accomplish life changing and exceptional milestones. Today I had the privilege and honor of interviewing with Ms. Terry Vo, a Delta Beta Sigma alumna who is an inspiring woman for us all.
Ms. Terry Vo is from Fort Smith, Arkansas where she was a part of the Lambda chapter where she later went on to serve as the National Editor in Chief on the National Board of Regents in 2005. Currently, she is heavily involved in her career and has completed great amounts of meaningful work in attempts to bring change to her community. Vo is the first Vietnamese-American individual elected to the Metro Council in Nashville and in the state of Tennessee. She is also the Co-Founder and President for API Middle Tennessee, an Asian and Pacific Islander-serving organization working towards highlighting the API community to promote racial justice. In addition, she is also an ALA Arkansas Girls State Alum!
Vo was a member of the Lambda chapter where she mentions she is grateful for her experiences in DBS. Still to this day she remembers her president at the time and her big, Katie, and is thankful for her relationship with her. For Vo, sisterhood is a significant aspect to her since she believes supporting and uplifting other women is important. Philanthropy was also a big aspect of DBS and still stands by our ideals of loyalty, courage, and love. One of her favorite things about DBS now is seeing young members serve on the National Board of Regents since their recent experiences provide great value to current members and chapters. She remembers when she served on the Board in college and that leadership experience taught her responsibility and life skills. It gave her great insight and a different perspective from when she was a member. Vo still remembers serving with Ms. Millie Shankle who is an example of another role model in our lives.
When asked what advice she would give to current and future members, she states the importance of being courageous and continuously working hard since there’s much you can do in life. There was no role model or another Vietnamese American for her to follow in their footsteps, but she continued to persevere because she knew she could do it, and she showed the world.
Don’t think about what you will do in the future because you can do it now whether that be running for office, using your voice in society through voting, or anything else you set your mind to. However, she emphasizes the importance of teamwork and the idea of working with others and their skill sets. She didn’t make it this far in life with carrying all the burden on her shoulders; she worked with others to make her dreams come into reality. It’s never too early to start and neither is it wrong to ask questions and seek guidance from those above us. People are willing to help and will be that compass who steers you in the right direction when you have been astrayed. It is also completely okay to have setbacks, in fact, it is within reason to fail. To her, fail means First Attempt in Learning. We grow the most when we struggle, and it’s those challenges that shape us into a better person. Make all the mistakes you want to set your future up. Ultimately, be present in the time and be aware of instant gratification because core memories are things that take time.
She concludes this interview by stating the importance of civic engagement and how we should all be involved in ourselves and our community. Ms. Vo offered the best advice to us, and I hope we can take this advice and invest it in our daily lives.
To read more about Ms. Vo’s accomplishments, you can visit this website here.
