Alumni Spotlight: How the Club Helped Shape Dr. Pha Le’s Future
The Boys & Girls Club experience that helped shape a lifetime of service and impact.
A New Beginning in America
Pha Le still remembers the first place in America that felt like magic.
He was only ten years old when he arrived in the United States, fleeing Vietnam with his family after the war. His father had fought alongside American troops in the hope of freedom, but the family had to leave everything behind to start over in a new country. They were forced to leave behind Pha’s two younger siblings.
Their first stops were in Virginia and later Washington State. Eventually, they made their way to Southern California and settled in Pasadena, where Pha attended local public schools. But life for Pha and his family was far from easy.
Pha and his parents lived in a garage. Money was scarce, and poverty shaped much of their daily life. Yet even during those difficult years, there was one place where he never felt poor.
Finding a Place to Belong
The Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena Slavik Clubhouse. A family member worked there and helped him join. To a young boy who had crossed an ocean and endured so much uncertainty, the Club felt like a wondrous place.
On Saturdays and throughout the summer, it became his world. He spent hours swimming in the pool. There was always inexpensive, good food to enjoy with friends. He played endless rounds of Connect 4 in the games room, swam a lot in the pool, and discovered a love for drawing and art. Before long, he had also earned a reputation as a foosball champion.
Some of his favorite memories came from the Club’s Pinewood Derby. One year his car won the award for best-looking design. The next year, it was the fastest car on the track. But the real prize was something less tangible.
More Than a Place - A Foundation for the Future
At the Club, he didn’t think about living in a garage. He didn’t think about poverty or the struggles waiting at home. The Club kept him happy, protected, and healthy during those formative years. It gave him a place to belong and the freedom to simply be a kid. Those experiences stayed with him as he grew older.
From Club Kid to Physician
Today, Pha Le, Dr. Le to his patients, is a physician in San Diego and a leader in community health care. For many years, he was an emergency room physician at Palomar Medical Center. He has dedicated his career to helping others who need care the most. He launched two no-cost street medicine clinics in the past five years, to treat patients experiencing homelessness. As part of that work, he recruits other physicians, medical students, dentists, and other healthcare professionals to volunteer their time. The monthly street medicine clinics are supported by the nonprofit Vituity Cares Foundation.
His commitment to service doesn’t stop there. He and his wife have been volunteering for 13 years with the nonprofit Honor Flight San Diego, which organizes trips for veterans to travel to Washington, D.C. Through these trips, older veterans have a final chance to visit the memorials that honor their service and sacrifice. For the past two years, one of their two sons has joined them on the trip, continuing this family legacy. Their son now attends the U.S. Naval Academy, inspired by his experiences of service to country. Dr. Le also honors those who served by becoming a board member for the U.S.S. Midway Museum.
It’s his way of giving back—to the country that gave his family a second chance, and to the people who defended it.
But he never forgets where the journey truly began.
The Lasting Impact of the Club
For Pha, the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena was more than just a building. It was a refuge, a place to learn and make friends, and a launching point for a young refugee finding his place in a new world. He gives immense credit to the day-to-day hard work of Club staff, who consistently provided a sense of belonging and encouragement to Pha. Without that hard, daily, unrecognized work, he wouldn’t have his own “highlight reel” of accomplishments later in life.
Pha recently had a “full circle” moment, when he returned to the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena in November 2025 with his team from Vituity Cares. He supervised over two dozen healthcare professionals, who provided free health screenings to Club families and community members who survived the Eaton Fire. During the day-long event, he and his team provided no-cost health screenings to dozens of fire survivors.
Pha will always be grateful to the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena, and that a “poor kid like me,” as he puts it, had the chance to experience something so extraordinary. As a Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena alum, Dr. Pha Le’s story highlights the lasting impact of after-school and youth development programs.
