2021 Delta Gamma Lectureship in Values and Ethics

Monday, October 25, 2021

6:15 PM - 6:40 Keynote | 6:40 PM - 7:30 PM Moderated Q&A | 7:30 PM - 8:00 PM Reception
Armstrong Fieldhouse | Southern Methodist University

The Alpha Upsilon chapter of Delta Gamma and the Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility are proud to welcome Christine Ha, American chef, writer, and TV host to SMU as the 2021 Delta Gamma Lecturer in Values and Ethics.

While Christine is known for being the first-ever blind contestant and season three winner of the competitive amateur cooking television show MasterChef with Gordon Ramsay,she serves as an exemplary model of ethics as well. Christine connects with others through her love of words and food.

In 1999, Christine was an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin when she began experiencing blurred vision in one eye. She assumed the blurriness was a result of a dirty contact lens, but when the blurred vision persisted, she saw a neuro-ophthalmologist. After four years of persistent paralysis, blurred vision, tests, doctors' appointments, misdiagnoses, and MRI scans, she was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a rare inflammatory autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system. By the time she was diagnosed with NMO, Christine could no longer drive, and by 2007, she needed a cane or a guide to walk safely in unfamiliar places.

Christine’s vision loss did not begin until she was 20 years old – just around the time she was discovering her love of cooking. After losing her mother to cancer when Christine was only 14 years old, she set out to re-create her mother’s traditional Vietnamese recipes that were lost after her death using cookbooks, her father’s memories, and her own exceptional sense of taste. In the kitchen, Ha not only navigates by sense of touch but also employs taste, hearing, and smell to determine whether ingredients are fresh and cooked to the right consistency and flavor. She also uses a "talking" food scale and thermometer, a liquid level indicator, and appliances marked with "bumps."

Instead of pursuing her original career plan as a software consultant before her vision began deteriorating, Christine combined her love for words and writing and launched her blog theblindcook.com. Using voice-recognition technology and text-reading programs, she began sharing recipes, restaurant recommendations, and advice to a growing audience that not only appreciated her culinary tips but also her life lessons. While earning her B.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, Christine’s blog caught the attention of producers at MasterChef, who contacted Ha and suggested she consider auditioning for one of the show's coveted contestant spots. As a contestant on MasterChef, Ha was not permitted to use any special equipment, but Fox hired an assistant for her who was allowed to describe the appearance of dishes in progress and fetch tools. The assistant followed strict guidelines that assured Ha had no advantage over her competitors.

Since winning her MasterChef title, a $250,000 cash prize, and a cookbook deal, she has authored the New York Times best-selling cookbook, Recipes from My Home Kitchen; co-hosted the cooking show, Four Senses on AMI Canada, was a judge on MasterChef Vietnam, opened her first restaurant, The Blind Goat at Bravery Chef Hall in Houston, Texas, and opened her second restaurant Xin Chào in September 2020.

Having pursued her dreams of inspiring others through her passion for writing and cooking while still a student, Christine serves as an ethical model for the women of Delta Gamma, the SMU student body, and the broader SMU community. Christine's story highlights the valuable contributions which students can make to the world, and her recognition from United nations as a disability advocate, the recipient of the 2014 Helen Keller Personal Achievement Award from the American Foundation for the Blind, and role as a culinary envoy overseas for the American Embassy as part of cultural diplomacy programs in Jordan, Serbia, Bosnia/Herzegovina, and Croatia confirm her importance as a female inspiration and social justice advocate.

More About Christine Hà:

About the Delta Gamma Lectureship in Values and Ethics

In 1992, Lectureships in Values and Ethics, a Delta Gamma program sponsored by the Delta Gamma Foundation, was established by Dr. Paul Martin honoring his wife Dorothy Garrett Martin (Dotty), Eta-Akron in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary. The initial home of the lectureship was Paul and Dotty’s alma mater and the site of Delta Gamma’s oldest active collegiate chapter, the University of Akron. Though Dorothy has passed on, the lectureships immortalize her selfless spirit and love for Delta Gamma. Today 14 campuses have established Lectureships in Values and Ethics, with 4 more in progress, and 2 others in the planning stages.

These lectureships are always free of charge to collegians, university volunteers and employees, as well as invited individuals in surrounding areas. The Delta Gamma Foundation has great pride in this unique program, which is a prime example of its mission to "provide resources for educational growth and philanthropic service for all members.”