South Vietnamese immigrants Michelle and Bao Quoc Luong have taken great pride in their children as they watch them realize the American Dream. Michelle has worked as a manicurist at Rosie’s Nails for the past 18 years, making the 100-mile roundtrip between Garden Grove and Pacific Palisades five days a week. Her husband, who now works as an inspector for an electric company, fought for South Vietnam as a naval officer. After the fall of Saigon, he was imprisoned in a ‘re-education’ camp by the North Vietnamese from 1975-1981. In 1990, Bao Quoc was able to bring his family to California through an humanitarian organization program. Their children, Vivian and Brian, attended Garden Grove High School. After graduation, Vivian, attended UCLA and then was accepted into the UCLA Dental School, where she graduated in 2010. She is now working on a specialty in orthodontics at the University of Nebraska. When she graduates in December, she will have a master’s degree in oral biology. Brother Brian attended UC Irvine and went onto Harvard Dental School, graduating in May 2012. He’s now working a dual master’s degree in business, while also working as a hospital dentist at UC San Francisco. ‘Michelle is such a hard worker and wonderful person,’ said Luong’s long-time customer, Anita Kenyon. ‘I hope people will book their next appointment with her, because they will be in good hands. She specializes in silk-wrap nails. Her sister Sue also works at Rosie’s and does fabulous pedicures and massages.’
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