2 Asian Women Cops Blaze Trail

Two women--one Korean, the other Vietnamese--will become the first females of their ancestries to become Orange County sheriff’s deputies today when they graduate from the department’s academy.

Although Orange County’s Vietnamese and Korean populations have grown tremendously over the last two decades, Christine Chang, 23, and Courtney Nguyen, 26, still expressed surprise to be the first of their respective ethnic backgrounds to be sworn in as deputies.

“I guess we’re the bold ones,” said Nguyen, who like Chang is petite with short, cropped hair. “Instead of being in a typical Asian profession like a doctor or lawyer, we’re good rebels.”

From the beginning, the two said their determination saw them past any obstacles, including Nguyen’s family’s protests over her career choice.

Nguyen said her father was at first upset about her decision but has come to support her.

For Chang, it was a more natural progression. Her father, Chaney Chang, is an ex-military investigator in Korea, and his relatives are police officers.

“I support her because I believe she is doing something good,” Chaney Chang said. “I am proud of her. She’s very smart and she’s a team player.”

Chang, who was born in Seoul, immigrated to the United States in 1980. Her first job was as a parole agent intern for the state Corrections Department’s Parole and Community Services Division in Anaheim.

Nguyen was born in Saigon, where she lived until she fled to a refugee camp in 1981. She came to the United States a year later. She was working for a management company when she saw an ad about openings at the Sheriff’s Department.

Their choices seem to have worked out for them and the department.

Sgt. Michael Hiller, who supervised their academy class, said the two women have done extremely well. Although both are soft-spoken, Nguyen had the best commanding voice and “can belt it out,” he said. He described Chang as more of a “silent leader.”

“They both have the ability to correct their own mistakes and strive to be the best,” Hiller said. “This is one of the toughest training programs in the state. . . . It involves stress and physical exertion. It’s like a boot camp and college.”

Their determination and bilingual abilities should work to their advantage, Hiller said.

Joining a tough program is not without a price, however. The two said they held each other’s hands while getting their long locks shorn for the program. And they have had to keep their faces scrubbed clean of makeup.

“I had to weigh the choices,” Chang said. “The hair will always grow back, but this is my career.”

Although the job may be dangerous, Nguyen says that comes with the territory. “I can’t stop it if I die tomorrow. If my time’s up, my time’s up,” she said.

The two hope to have a positive influence on young people, and both aspire to undercover detective work.