Mr. Pho King 2018: Johnny Ho

"Who knew being peer pressured into doing this event would result in me gaining a new family and memories that will last a lifetime. Even though I was peer pressured, making the decision to do PK was the best decision I have made throughout all of my college career. I was in utter shock when my name was called as the winner of Pho King 2018. None of this would have been possible without the love and support of the other 12 PK boys that went through this journey with me. I was in shock when I won because I truly believe that each and everyone of the boys deserved the title of Pho King as much as I did. The amount of laughs and memories that these boys have provided me will last a lifetime. I can confidently say without hesitation that these boys are my brothers. They have lifted my spirits and I can call them family. Also, this experience would not have been as memorable if it wasn’t for the hard work and efforts of the officer team. They had to deal with the shenanigans of all 13 boys for months and that alone would drive anyone crazy. I want to make sure that their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. Thank you VSAUW for providing this incredible opportunity for me. I had no expectation of winning and I told myself that I was going to go out there and put on a show. I was going to show the world that Asian men are more than just people that are good at math or destined to be doctors. We are so much more than that and the 12 other boys and I sought out to show that. I am proud to be able to represent the Vietnamese community as Mr. Pho King. I will do to the best of my ability to show the world that Vietnamese-Americans, or even more broadly, Asian-Americans, are a strong and powerful group of people that have been through hell and back, yet nothing will break us down. I intend to hold this title with the utmost respect and dignity and I hope I can make everyone proud."