My name is Kevin and I am a junior at Ohio State pursuing a bachelor degree in architecture. I am of Chinese and Korean descent on my dad’s side and Cambodian and French from my mom’s side. I was born in Vietnam when my parents worked abroad. Growing up in a culturally diverse family gave me many opportunities to travel as a kid.
Growing up, I was the kid that had a lot of energy one minute and out of it the next. I was hit a by a car and had a severe traumatic brain injury. It caused my body to function on a different schedule than everyone else, but it did not stop me from doing the things I want in life. I learned to play the violin to calm myself down and relax my body and end up playing in the school’s Concert, Symphonic, and Chamber Orchestra. I joined the swim team and tennis team to improve my health, and I learned French so I can understand my family when they gossip or if they want to hide something.
My journey began in Vietnam and it took me across half of the continent of Asia before returning home to the United States. Living abroad and traveling a lot growing up allowed me to walk through temples and shrines that has been around for thousands of years and see the historical surrounding city transition into a modern high-rise metropolis. My top three favorite destinations in Asia are: Ho Chi Min City, Seoul and Tokyo. I am excited to go to London because it will be my first time abroad in ten years and it will give me the opportunity to improve on my sketching skills. I look forward to learning about the architecture, history, monarchs and much more in London and most importantly, with a fantastic group of people! There are many great architecture I look forward to see in person, but I am most excited to see Zaha Hadid’s London Aquatic Center and possibly visiting her firm and the AA School campus. My goal is to travel to at least 20 different countries before turning 30 and England will be number 11 on my list.
Photos I took in HCMC back in 2007
