Bella lunging for a forehand during a varsity tennis match
Bella in a yellow gingham dress performing in a period play
Bella singing front and center with the concert choir
Bella in a dramatic two-person scene under blue stage light

Portfolio — Class of 2027

Bella Duong

Writer, tutor, and performer — telling stories that move between two languages, and building communities that help others find their voice.

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Hello, Xin chào

American on paper, Vietnamese in the kitchen — a storyteller in both.

I'm Bella — a student at a New England boarding school who writes, tutors, dances, and photographs the world around her. This site gathers the work and the communities that matter most to me.

My story →

Bella singing with the chamber choir

From my memoir

“It was a beautiful song, and I was the only one in the room who didn't know the lyrics.”

Read my writing →

Chapters What I write, lead, perform, and see.

Writing.

01

Rows of sandals left outside a classroom door in Huế
A quiet lane in Huế, Vietnam
Teachers in the Phu Hai School computer lab

Memoir · Flash Fiction · Journalism · Research

Stories that live between two languages

From a memoir about losing my words at a family celebration, to a feature on the students I've tutored in Huế, writing is how I make sense of the in-between. Here you'll find my creative work, my reporting for The Governor's Review — the journal I co-founded — and my John Locke Institute essay.

Leadership & Community.

02

Students at their monitors in the Phu Hai School computer lab
The Asian American Footsteps Conference group photo on a campus lawn
Students celebrating together at AAFC

Tutors for a Cause · AAFC · Special Olympics

Passing on what education gave me

What began in eighth grade as one volunteer on a shaky video call is now a team of 15 tutors serving 200+ students in Vietnam, which I lead as Co-President of Tutors for a Cause. I also organized the regional Asian American Footsteps Conference for 200+ students from 20+ schools and direct our school's Special Olympics event — each a way of turning what I've been given into something I can pass on.

Performing Arts.

03

The cast mid-number in a school musical
The choir performing at the holiday concert
The full ensemble on stage under purple light

Dance · Theater · Singing

Three ways to tell a story without writing it down

After ten years of dance training I choreograph my own contemporary and lyrical pieces, I've played Amy in Little Women and Lisa in Mamma Mia!, and I sing with our Advanced Chorus and a cappella group. Each has taught me something different — trust in the people moving beside me, presence under the lights, and how to listen harder than I sing.

Photography.

04

AP Photography: a field at dusk seen through textured glass
AP Photography: a girl with ice cream seen through painted glass
AP Photography: a laughing face under a sun hat, layered with texture

AP Photography Portfolio

Looking closer at the in-between

My AP Photography portfolio layers everyday moments with texture — smeared glass, paint, and light — to make photographs about memory, thresholds, and the quiet evidence people leave behind.