Racing dragon boats is a passion for Sandra Chong. The 5-foot, size 2, 35-year-old can be found paddling San Diego Bay early in the morning, training with a crew of 19 others who must synchronize their paddles or risk hitting those sitting nearby.

Off the water, Chong is assistant general counsel for the San Diego Unified School District, the second largest school district in California. She considers it her greatest accomplishment to provide day-to-day and general legal counsel to the district in construction, business and real estate matters.

A member of the California School Attorneys Association and Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego & Southwest Center for Asian Pacific American Law, Chong has slowed down her life a bit and relinquished various board memberships to focus on teaching and paddling. “You have to make time for what is important,” she says. “Most important right now is to enjoy life.”

The San Diego Dragon Boat team just became the U.S. representative boat for the 2008 International Crew Club Championships to be held in Malaysia. Chong says she considers it a great honor..

For personal enjoyment, she travels, exercises and eats. “My dream job would be a food critic,” she says. Red meat and chocolate are her favorite foods.