Kristie-Valerie Hoang ’25 is one of three students nationwide to be named a 2023 Don H. Liu Scholar. She will receive a $15,000 scholarship in recognition of her exceptional academic accomplishment and leadership, and her potential to succeed at a top law firm or Fortune 500 corporation. Hoang is the second BC Law student to earn this honor.
Established in 2014, the Don H. Liu Scholar Program is named after the executive vice president and chief legal and risk officer for Target and a member of its executive leadership team. It is designed to identify and support future Asian American leaders through addressing barriers to advancement in the legal profession.
“As a first-generation, Vietnamese American law student, it’s so incredible to join a community of people who uniquely understand my background and the challenges I face,” says Hoang.
In her first year at BC Law, Hoang has already demonstrated her ability to thrive inside of the classroom and beyond. She is a member of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association and the American Constitution Society, and serves as a graduate assistant for the school’s Marketing Communications Department. A former journalist and audience engagement editor at INSIDER, Hoang has shared her social media expertise to help launch and manage BC Law’s official TikTok channel.
Attending law school was a natural decision for Hoang, who graduated from the University of California Los Angeles with a degree in Human Biology and Society and Political Science. “I’ve been a storyteller my entire life. I came to law school to learn how to use my words for good. The conviction I held as a journalist for accountability and justice strongly motivates my professional goals in the legal industry,” she says.
Along with the scholarship, the Don H. Liu Scholars program will provide Hoang with mentorship and career development assistance, in accordance with its mission to increase the number of Asian American partners in law firms and general counsel in the country’s largest corporations. As Hoang puts it, “Receiving the Don H. Liu scholarship will open doors that I could never dream of entering on my own.”