Danh Trang will be in Washington, D.C., this weekend as one of only six teen delegates from around the country attending an important leadership conference on youths with disabilities. “We’ll be looking at current policies pertaining to the disabled and networking with youth organizations,” said Danh, a 17-year-old senior at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino.

“We’ll also be looking at more funding for youth and enrichment programs for the disabled.”

Danh, a past chairman of the Cupertino Teen Commission, was presented July 6 with a proclamation from the city council acknowledging him to be a “proven and effective advocate for youth and for others often ignored or forgotten and he does so with dignity, purpose, strength, knowledge, understanding and compassion.”

The proclamation also recognized Danh for his selection to the July 24-27 “Learning, Living, Leading: Youth with Disabilities Continuing the Legacy” conference.

Danh was born with a form of dwarfism that occurs once in every 40,000 births in the United States. But, it’s not something he lets get in his way.

“My legs and arms are shorter, but when I’m sitting I’m as tall as anyone else,” he said. “I’m the type of person who gets along with people. I’m naturally friendly and approachable.”

Danh is active in a number of activities at Monta Vista High and two years ago received the California Administrators “Student Leader of the Year” award.

Last year he was sports editor for the student newspaper, El Estoque. “I’m an avid sports fan. My favorite sport to play is soccer. My favorite to watch is baseball,” he said. This fall he will be one of the newspaper’s two editors-in-chief.

Danh’s grades, he said, “are all vowels.” He will be Associated Student Body vice president next year, is a member of the National Honor Society and is on the school’s speech and debate team. Last year, he qualified for the California State Debate Championship Tournament.

“It’s helped improve my public speaking skills. I’m comfortable speaking in public,” he said.

His interest in biology and chemistry has led him to work this summer at the Clinical Center for Science and Research at Stanford University.

Danh lives in Cupertino with his parents, Quang and Phuong Trang, both engineers who came to the United States from Vietnam in the early 1980s. His older brother, Vinh, is a student at the University of California-Los Angeles.

During his 2002 to 2004 stint on the Cupertino Teen Commission, which he finished last month, Danh helped get the new Cupertino Teen Center up and running, and he conducted meetings with city staff.

“I’m so impressed with this young man,” said Mayor Sandra James. “When he came in for his interview, he was such an inspiration. There was no doubt he belonged on the commission.”

James not only voted for Danh’s appointment, but also wrote a letter of recommendation on his behalf to conference officials.

“Learning, Living, Leading: Youth with Disabilities Continuing the Legacy" is the subject of the conference and a message which Danh lives every day of his life. That is what makes him so “very special and believable,” James wrote. “It comes from the heart and soul of who he is, and Danh’s sincerity and candor in sharing his experiences with others makes his message extremely believable and powerful.”

Danh said his interest in the teen commission was sparked by a job fair put on by the commission in 2002 at Monta Vista High.

“I was fascinated at how a group of teens could put on a job fair. I became interested in how I could present the same kinds of opportunities to teens.

“I think I am someone who has actively and fairly represented teens in Cupertino. I think I am someone who has made a difference.”