‘I found my passion’: How a UCalgary student discovered his Vietnamese identity through an undergraduate research project

When third-year law and society student Billy “Me” Wijaya was doing a study abroad semester in Asia earlier this year, he didn't expect his time overseas to turn into a multi-country journey into his Vietnamese identity.

"I never learned Vietnamese and, honestly, for the longest time, the only real connection I had to the culture was through my mom's cooking," says Wijaya.

A drive to better understand his family history is what drove Wijaya to research the plight of Vietnamese families who made their way to Alberta largely in the 1980s and '90s.

Over the course of the summer, Wijaya traced his family's roots from refugees to Canadian immigrants finding new community in Calgary. His project, funded through the Program for Undergraduate Research Experiences (PURE), focuses a lot on his mother, Lido Dinh.

"Going into this project, I was excited to discover who I was, I didn’t fully know myself yet. Through this journey, I found my identity. I found my passion."

While in Asia, he travelled to the refugee camp in Indonesia his mom stayed at — where she met his dad — before she moved to Calgary. His parents' journey has taught Wijaya a lot about the resilience and determination that are part of his ancestry.

"It was definitely a turning moment in my life because, for most of my time growing up in Calgary, it was hard to find my own identity," says Wijaya. "If I dig down deep enough, I have access to the same power my people had before me to get them to where they are today."

Research as a lifestyle

Doing the research itself wasn't what Wijaya expected. 

"What I loved about the research process was that every day was different if I wanted it to be," he says. "I thought it would be really rigid, a list of tasks to do. I thought it would be a job. But it turned out to be a passionate lifestyle."

His passion for the research is clear. He talks emphatically about the importance of family history and looking to yourself as a starting point for deeper research. His work led him to interview other first-generation Vietnamese Canadians in his community, quickly finding new friends who share a common cultural bond and love of their mother's cooking.

Beyond UCalgary, Wijaya now thinks differently about the impact he can have on the world — especially reflecting on how lucky he feels to have done his research project abroad. He says his dreams of the future and success have changed from having a nice job and wearing nice suits to making a real difference in the world.

"As a result of this research project, I have the desire to see more of the world. And to see how I can impact the world, too," Wijaya says.

"I'm starting to realize, if I only have one life, why don't I see how far I can go?"