May 15, 2020

Dawson Dang_1First year GSBA Scholar, Dawson Dang grew up in the small town of Longview, Washington. He is the first in his family to pursue a higher education and is now going to school at the University of Washington in Seattle pursuing a degree in Nursing with a minor in Nutritional Sciences.

We recently caught up with Dawson and he shared,

“What sparked my interest in pursuing a nursing/ healthcare degree was when I came across Growing Generations, a surrogacy and egg donation agency. I was researching for a paper on same-sex adoption when I found out about Growing Generations and its president Erica Horton, who is also a board member for the Family Equality Council. When I found out about the work they do for the LGBTQ+ community and how they help them start families I knew this is what I was meant to do. I’ve always strongly valued family so to help others through the means of healthcare to start a family of their own was something that would mean a lot to me.”

Especially in the midst of a global pandemic, we are reminded just how important it is to have strong leadership and representation of marginalized communities in healthcare. For Dawson, the need for culturally competent and compassionate healthcare is personal for many reasons:

“Being both a member of the LGBTQ+ community as well as a Vietnamese-American during a time of global pandemic can be quite frightening especially in today’s political climate. Ever since discovering myself and my own sexuality, I’ve always realized the importance of having LGBTQ+ community members in healthcare. I think now more than ever it is important to have LGBTQ+ as well as Asian representation in health because of the blatant discrimination this virus has brought on to both communities.”

Join us for the Virtual Scholars Celebration on Friday, May 27, from 6:00 – 7:00 PM to meet Dawson and the 59 other incredible GSBA Scholars who are ready to change the world!