Trinh is a senior at Temple University studying Public Health. Her focuses are on women’s health and homelessness, from which she has started #ProjectTooReal and the Philadelphia Cycling Initiative. In her free time, she is probably fixing her flat tire.
My name is Trinh V. Hoang and my pronouns are She/Her. I come from a first-generation Vietnamese family and was born and raised in Philadelphia. Growing up in Philly has exposed me to the beauty and grit of the city that has influenced me to study and work towards public health issues including women’s rights and health and homelessness. This summer I am interning at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, getting to explore the different avenues of advocacy for bicycling within the city and other surrounding counties. This is a team that wants to see and be the change for the bicycling community. I get to work with a group of incredible people that puts passion into everything they do.
I attended Community College of Philadelphia to study Communications and then transferred to Temple University to study Public Health. I got the world put in perspective when learning about different issues from a societal level to the global level. From the consequences of gentrification to the lack of proper hygiene for menstruation to unaffordable housing, all these issues are much more prevalent than what meets the eye and can all be tied to poverty. At Temple, I had the opportunity to carry out independent research revolving around women who experienced homelessness. I saw there was a disparity when it came to access and provision of feminine hygiene products. This research lead to my creating #ProjectTooReal, a project dedicated to raising awareness of the fact that women’s bodies are natural and too real for society. I set up a donation drive for products that would help women in partnership with the Mary Howard Health Center for the Homeless.
While interning at the Bicycle Coalition, I began developing the Philadelphia Cycling Initiative, which is a group that provides and delivers care packages of hygiene products on bicycles to individuals experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia, specifically at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway encampment. So many health problems are related to lack of hygiene and sanitary means, conditions that are prevalent within communities marginalized by poverty. Therefore, I wanted to create care packages that included soap, mouthwash, floss, toothbrush, toothpaste, and pads and tampons. The initiative collected enough to make 50 packages that will be delivered this coming week! Other projects I had the opportunity to work on with the BCGP team were interviewing so many different cyclist groups and members, attending and supporting the Solidarity ride for the four most recent victims of traffic violence, and assisting with administrative tasks.
After my studies, I want to join Bike&Build, the Peace Corps, and teach English in another country. I want to put my efforts towards safe and affordable housing and be able to help advocate for girls’ and women’s rights and health. Aside from those interests, I love to bike, play volleyball, and want to one day complete my first triathlon.