As a 6-year-old Vietnamese refugee, she found herself in a strange country able to say only two words in English: "Yes" and "No." Now, thanks to public education and a willingness to work and study hard, Sandra Phuong VuLe has become a family law attorney, living “The American Dream.”

Sandra, whose name means helper of mankind, is a veteran family advocate. This community lawyer hopes to repay what she calls her debt to America by serving the Richardson and Garland communities as the State Representative for District 112, replacing retiring Fred Hill. With a degree in business from Washington University in St. Louis and a law degree from SMU, Sandra especially hopes to have an impact on three major areas:

• Public Education is her top issue. “Reforming our school system should start with listening to our teachers,” says Sandra, who wants to give teachers a pay raise because the average teacher’s salary in Texas is approximately $5,000 below the national average. She has already begun to meet with Richardson and Garland public school educators.
“I came here as a refugee; and not having any money, everything was dependent on public education,” says Sandra. Public school teachers are being forced to “teach to the TAKS test,” an accountability system she hopes to change along with de-emphasizing standardized tests.
Sandra is against taxpayer-funded vouchers that could bankrupt local schools and subject private or religious schools to state rules and regulations that always follow the use of tax dollars.
Finally, she will push to lower college tuition rates to help students better afford a college education.

• Affordable Health Care for Texas families and businesses is one area of concern to Sandra. She will not only work to restore full funding to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), but she will also work to make health care accessible to more Texas families.

• Reducing Rising Energy Costs is also one of Sandra’s goals. “Texans pay some of the highest utility rates in the nation,” said VuLe, who promises to work to stop price gouging by big utility companies. She will push for solutions to rising gas prices, including rebates for hybrid cars and funding for public transit.

Sandra came from humble beginnings, but she is working hard to accomplish her mission: To allow others to achieve the American Dream she now shares with her husband, Robert, and their three children, Alex (9), Sarah (8) and Jena (3).

VuLe remembers vividly when she first realized that she was not just a Vietnamese or an Asian but was also an American. As a 16 year old, Sandra was one of two students from Louisiana chosen to represent America in Japan. “It was one of those ‘lightbulb’ moments when I realized that truly anything and everything was possible in this country,” said Sandra, who hopes to become the first ever female Vietnamese-American to serve in any state legislative seat in the U.S. “As the State Representative for District 112, I hope to make a difference in everyday peoples’ lives.”

Sarah Scott is a retired Richardson Teacher