Have you ever noticed that the most accomplished people are also the most unassuming? Our

Turtle Ridge Summit neighbor, Dr. Trinh Nhu, is one of those people. Among the earliest

residents of this neighborhood, Dr. Nhu has exemplified hard work and perseverance for

decades. 

Like the other women in our magazine this month, Dr. Nhu has found a profession that

she can be passionate about – ophthalmology – and has excelled. She is a partner and CFO at

SoCal Eye, which she joined directly out of training over 20 years ago.

 

As an Asian female surgeon, she never once let an obstacle slow her down. Today, she is widely

recognized as a renowned ophthalmologic surgeon, honored as a Diplomate of the American

Board of Ophthalmology, a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, a Fellow of the

American College of Surgeons, a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, and a

member of Tau Beta Pi Honor Engineering Society.

 

Nhu traces her work ethic back to her childhood. At seven years old, during the height of the

war, she fled her birth country of Vietnam for America. Nhu was separated from her parents and

family and cared for by her aunt. After Nhu’s parents immigrated to America five years later,

they worked tirelessly to support her and her siblings; with her family losing everything, they

rebuilt their lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before eventually joining their children in

Irvine. 

“Whatever you have currently, in a split second, it could be gone, so appreciate what you

have today. Don’t take anything for granted,” Nhu said. Nhu’s next phase of life arrived by

happenstance: when she was a teenager, her father had a transformative experience with his

cataract surgeries, and encouraged her to become an ophthalmologist. That set her on the path

she would remain on until today.

 

A mother of identical twin daughters, Nhu adopted the same hard work ethic as her parents and

her family. One of her proudest moments was when she was able to buy, with money from her

first job, a wedding band for her mother. Her mother had lost the ring and all of her belongings

on a refugee boat, robbed by pirates on the South China Sea while escaping Vietnam. 

As a former resident of the UCI Ophthalmology program, Nhu continues to volunteer as an

Assistant Clinical Professor to teach ophthalmologists in training at UCI. In her practice, patients

often say to her that she changed their lives by helping them get their sight back. She only wishes

her father could witness the impact she continues to make. Nhu advises everyone to follow their

dreams. “Never give up,” she said. “Believe in yourself and all things are possible.”