VIA Nho Vietnam Alumni Newsletter (Spring 2006)

8/14/2019 VIA Nho Vietnam Alumni Newsletter (Spring 2006)

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5 cities, 9 posts, 14vols, 80 classes, 1440Vietnamese students,researchers, andprofessionals...

Last December, 13 vols, in-country representative Justin Hart,and Program Director Christine Tranmet in the quiet coastal city of Nha

Trang for five days of relaxation,debriefing, and discussion aboutVIA’s 15th year in Vietnam andfuture direction.

While it rained every day of theannual meeting, the weather couldhardly put a damper on livelydiscussions about VIA’s mission inVietnam and the need for VIAvolunteers at current and futureposts.

Now in her second year at theCenter for Agricultural Researchand Ecological Studies (CARES),Amanda Allbritton talked about hernew ER role. She shared storiesabout site visits to remote ethnicminority hamlets and from workingas an advisor with the CARESeconomics team.

Tien Truong inspired fellow volswhen she talked about newliterature curriculum she developedfor Dalat University’s EnglishDepartment.

Tyler Watts brought photos of himself and post-mate Sharla Doddat An Giang University's annual

Teacher's Day festivities. Aftercountless hours of rehearsal, theyhad performed with their studentsand fellow teachers.

Meanwhile, Jake Coldsmith andMatt Holt impressed everybody withthe amount of Vietnamesethey had learned in such a shorttime.

By the end of five days,between sharing post updates and

finding ways to escape the rain,vols had elected to make the mostdramatic shift in the Vietnamprogram in many years—away fromHanoi and toward Vietnam's morerural south.

In the upcoming academic year2006-07, due to new program

priorities, VIA will send only threevols to Hanoi and close down thelong treasured post at the Instituteof International Education.

At the same time, VIA opensthree exciting new posts—all inSouthern Vietnam, including two inthe Mekong Delta. VIA will placetwo vols each in Nha TrangUniversity, Can Tho University, andin Long My district in Hau Giangprovince, where vols will teachEnglish to district and provincialofficials.

Current vol, Sharla Dodd will stayon in Long Xuyen to work with theAn Giang-Dong Thap Alliance toPrevent Trafficking (ADAPT). Aproject of the Pacific LinksFoundation, it will be a VIA alumnipost in its first year.

In 2006-07, VIA will have 15

long-term vols in the field. Witheight summer vols participating inthe Teach-in-Hue Program, VIA sendits biggest group ever to HueUniversity.

It’s an exciting time of changeand growth—and there is plentymore on the horizon.

Keep reading Nho Vietnam forupdates and exciting informationabout new partnerships for 2007-08!

Clockwise from top right: Jennifer Davoli teaches English to anthropologists at theInstitute for Anthropology. Tien Truong shares magazines with her student at theUniversity of Dalat. Kerry McHugh is swarmed by students at the University of Hue. Amy Cherry poses for a photograph with Ford Foundation fellows at theHanoi University of Foreign Studies.

Nho VIETNAMAn Update for Alumni and Friends of the VIA Vietnam Program

Volume II, Issue II Spring 2006

A Year of Growth, A Year of Change



As an Educational Advisorat the Institute of

International Education (IIE)in Hanoi, Patty Espositoadvises Vietnamese studentson how to apply for studyabroad in the U.S. Patty willbe VIA’s last vol at IIE.Here, she reflects on one of IIE’s many success stories.

Sometime in the middle of October, I received a call to makemy first outreach presentation.

Fearing that I would walk into aroom of 100 students and behanded a microphone to talk aboutU.S. Higher Education, I was a bitrelieved when I was told I wouldmeet with one student.

A few minutes later, in walked Trang. She was lively, enthusiastic,and prepared. She had done herresearch on schools in the U.S. andhad a small list prepared, and thenanother list for back up schools -

just in case. We talked aboutthings to look for in an educationand a school.

About an hour later, the bellrang for her next class to start and Ireturned to work. Lucky for me,this was not the last I heard from

Trang.Around November, she came to

IIE with some essays she hadwritten for her applications. After afew rounds of drafts and meetings

and emailsover thecourse of afew weeks, Ilearned a lot.I learnedfrom Trangthe beautyand art thatlies withinmathematics, thefreedomwithin dance,and mostly,the uniqueand curiousspirit withina student.

I didn'thear from Trang for some monthswhile she waited for collegedecisions. In the spring, I finallyreceived an email from her and wemade an appointment to meet.After some greetings and talk aboutpreparing for the visa interview,

Trang gave me the news: She willsoon be a 1st year student atHarvard on full scholarship.Congratulations, Trang!

This is one story of a girl I had

the good fortune to know from thebeginning to the end of theapplication process. I have beenlucky to know many other inspiringand intelligent Vietnamese studentsalso preparing for their first year ata university in the U.S.

Through their intellectuallycurious and creative essays, tough

financial situations, and visaapprehensions, I became quite a lotmore than an academic advisor.

Whether or not I was preparedfor it, they trusted me with theirpassions and deeply-held fears. Itwould be a lie to say that they allmake it to a university in the UnitedStates as Trang has done, but thetenacity of their effort holds solidand strong merit in and of itself.

As this is VIA's last year at the

IIE post, I am happy to say onbehalf of myself and previous VIAadvisors: thank you IIE for yoursupport and the opportunity, andthank you to the students for yourwisdom and inspiration—hope tosee you in the U.S.!

Patty Esposito delivers a presentation to Vietnamese students onthe U.S Higher Education System.

A Big THANK YOU to Vietnam AlumniWithout you we couldn’t have done it! Thank you for supporting VIA inrecruitment, selection, training, and our 15th Anniversary event:

Interviews:Van TranKy LamShelby Huntack Bailey

Thu CaoAngela BaileyKristy KelleyMitch AsoMai TranAaron Gresens

Terry TranAdam Briones

Hostel:Vinh NguyenMai TranDanielle Bird-Robinson

Newsletter: Jennifer Davoli

Patty EspositoSharla DoddMai Tran

Jessy Needham

15th Anniversary: Jennie MollicaPatricia FieldstedCarolyn WelchMai TranDaniel Mandell

Kim BuiGreg TungAndrea Medina-Smith

Jessy NeedhamVinh NguyenFrancis LamDiane Nguyen

Trung Nguyen James FondeuxDoriann TranPeter Zinoman

Sarah NguyenCatherine LeRegan Kruse

To view photos of VIA’s 15thanniversary event held Nov. 13, 2005,

please visit http:// www.viaprograms.org/alumni/.

Post Highlight: IIEConnecting Vietnamese Students to the U.S.



Jennifer with Nam, Ha,and Nhi at a culturaldance performance.

In Her Spare Time:Volunteering at Nonprofit Blue Dragon

Outside of teachingEnglish at the Instituteof Anthropology,Jennifer Davolivolunteers at BlueDragon, a smallnonprofit in Hanoiworking with formerstreet children andtheir families.

My first visit to Vietnam was ona grant for history teachers. We atewonderful meals, had fascinatinglectures, and visited cultural siteswith the best of guides. But it wasmy spontaneous guide, Luong, justnine years old, who pulled at my

heart and successfully pulled meback to Vietnam.

Luong was working his block ashe did any other night of the weekat 10 p.m. In his pitch to sellpostcards he baffled me withflawless English and won me overwith clever retorts.

That evening and the next Ivisited Luong and his family in theirhome outside of the city center andthrough his translation, the world of Vietnam, and the life of many apoor young person here, crept intomy soul.

Luong is just one young personthat works the streets of Vietnam toprovide money for family. He liveswith his sister, two brothers,mother, and father, helping momout after school while she sellsgoods from a mobile stand.

My current English students atBlue Dragon, a nonprofit I volunteerwith in my spare time, are not aslucky as Luong.

Ha and Nam also live withfamilies, but Ha’s father has

cerebral palsy, preventing him fromwork. His home, for three, is thesize of a two-desk cubicle and sitsin a major flood zone of Hanoi.

Nam’s house, though bigger, isone room with a loft, where thefamily of six sleeps each night and

revels in the awards Nam bringshome each year as top student inhis class.

And Duy, Nhi, Toan, and Cuy,live in Blue Dragon’s group home,most having left their families inthe countryside to brave the streetsof Hanoi alone, at 13 or 14 yearsold. They used to live in resthouses, send money back home,and work as shoe shiners, orpostcard boys, wondering how theywould get through the next day.

Their body frames give theappearance of twelve years oldfrom years of malnutrition andmany of them missed years of school because of unaffordabletreatment for illness.

Yet today, each of these teensmeets me three mornings a weekto study English, attends regularschool, takes extra courses incomputer, guitar, math, dance,soccer, and English at our center—and participates in counselingsessions with Blue Dragon staff.

For those of you familiar withVietnamese culture, you know all towell that family is supreme. Makingone’s parents happy is arguably themost important thing one can do inlife and, for boys, a responsibilitythat tops all. And yet these boys,

despite having parents forced tosplit family apart and unable tosupport their endeavors, have aspirit that remains strong.

As I wind down a year of growthand my work with VIA, at theInstitute of Anthropology, Irecognize that my volunteer timewith Blue Dragon has been equallyinvaluable in my understanding of Vietnam and the universality of theteen spirit.

As a former teacher of teens inthe South Bronx, I recognize thatteens truly need our support and

just how easy it is for each of us toprovide that in so many differentways.

To contact Jennifer and learn moreabout her work and the work of Blue Dragon, please email her at

[email protected] or godirectly to Blue Dragon’s websitewww.bdcf.org to make acontribution.



Sharla Dodd is half-Vietnamese. In remoteLong Xuyen, shediscovers her mother’sroots and realizes thatshe is more Vietnamesethan she ever knew.

During a recent trip to PhuQuoc Island, I managed to run mymotorbike through a clump of roadside foliage, down theembankment and into a dirtyditch—and then get stung by a seaurchin.

The day thankfully resulted inminimal damage to the motorbikeand my person. I had a grand time,eating delicious seafood, andswimming in fish sauce-scentedwaters.

That weekend adventure isrepresentative of my existence herein Vietnam. I have had my share of ups and downs, but in the end it'san amazing story—and anexperience made more personallymeaningful because Vietnam is mymother's country.

Mymother’s youth

has alwaysbeensomewhat of amystery to medue to my lackof knowledgeand experienceof life in Vietnamas well as to hercharacteristicreticence inregard to herpast.

I could barelyeven begin to

visualize myyoung mother beating the fastestboy in town in a foot race andwinning a trip to the top of thewater tower—my favorite of her fewshared memories.

Growing up I knew that therewas something slightly differentabout how we Dodd children wereraised, but I never really thoughtmuch about it. I never thought toquestion the tone (dau nga) in mysister's Vietnamese name, My-Lan,

or try to learn the names—or eventhe number—of my many cousinshalf a world away. My relatives inVietnam seemed but a vague ideain comparison to my everydaychildhood delights and woes.

When I decided to spend a yearin Vietnam, I didn't have concreteexpectations or goals. I wanted to

live andexperience mymother's country.

Now I can seethat so much of who I am hascome from mymother'sculture.

So many of my mother'shabits which Ihad alwaysregarded asendearinglyrandom (andoften morethan a little

nonsensical), I now realize arecommonplace here in herhomeland: her penchant for usingstraws, her belief that exerciseconsists of hardly more than therapid circular swinging of arms, herindirectness... I could go on forever.

Half of me has been molded bya country that I could could notconceptualize as a child, but acountry in whose reality I now liveevery day.

My good friend here, a fellowteacher, once told me that I canunderstand her feelings wellbecause I have many Vietnamesecharacteristics.

And it is always a nice feelingwhen people here recognize me asVietnamese. They often get excitedand rush up to me in a crowdedmarket to ask if I am a Vietnamesegirl. My students always tell methat I am 'so familiar'.

Being here has made merealize which parts of mypersonality have roots in mymother's Vietnamese upbringingand values.

After living here I now at leasthave an idea of my mother's life inVietnam—the beginnings of anunderstanding. I have met herfamily. My grandparents have bothpassed away but it has beenamazing to meet and get to knowmy three uncles, two aunts, thirtycousins—I now know their names,including tones, and birth order—and everyone else possibly relatedto my mother's past.

I have met countless neighborsand friends, great aunts and co-workers, and each has embracedme and helped to fill out the imageand knowledge of my mother'shistory before there was me, myfather—even before she arrived inthe States.

My mother makes more senseto me, I make more sense tomyself.

Half a World Away—and Discovering Her Other Half

Sharla Dodd has met more than 30 cousins on her mother’s side.

Sha r la Dod d a nd h e r f a the r (th ir d f r om

le f t ) vis it the g r a ve s ite o f Sha r la ’s

g r a ndp a r e n ts .



Photo AlbumSnapshots of A Year in the Field, Page 1

“I believe the most significantcontributions I have made have beencreating links between PurdueUniversity and CARES (which resulted inone of my students being admitted tothe university) and exposing mycoworkers/students to another cultureand a more global view.

“I have no doubt I will have somelifelong friends and colleagues fromCARES. Success for me in my VIA timecan't really be measured by amount of change, but rather by exposure (two-way), understanding, and connections.”

manda Allbritton, CARES

“There is no doubt in my mind thathaving VIA teachers has a positiveimpact on the students in Hue. My

brightest and most able students arethose who have had foreign teachers in

the past.”

Kerry McHugh, University of Hue

Right, University of Hue volunteers Lauren Clay and Kerry McHugh celebrate Teachers' Day with their College of Foreign

Languages colleagues: Giang, Phuong, Chau and TramBelow, students participate in Halloween festivities organized

by Kerry and Lauren.

Nam, a former student of Amanda, visits Amanda’s home inLouisiana during winter break. Nam is pursuing his MS In

gricultural Economics at Amanda’s alma mater, Purdue University.

“When I made my decision to stay for two years, Iwas a little apprehensive. Two years of my life

seemed like a huge commitment. But my secondyear is winding to its end and I have never regrettedmy decision. The second year is head and shoulders

better than the first. I have learned more aboutmyself in the past 16 months than my whole college

career.”

Tien Truong, University of Dalat

This quote is from an email sent in February. Tienhas just signed on to be VIA’s first volunteer inMyanmar, beginning late summer 06. Read more

about this in the next issue of Nho Vietnam .



Last November, VIA invited meto attend the 2nd Annual

Vietnamese-American NGO (VANGO) Conference on behalf of theorganization. Members of the VANGO Network are organizations andgroups founded and/or led byVietnamese Americans focused onhumanitarian aid and sustainabledevelopment work in Vietnam.

Unsure of what to expect, Idrove to beautiful Petaluma to beamong nearly 100 philanthropists,all working towards a betterVietnam. What I found was a livelygroup of Vietnamese from myparents’ generation, Vietnamese-

Americans of my own generation,and all of those in between.Charles Bailey, Representative forVietnam and Thailand at the FordFoundation, representatives fromUSAID, Ministry of Education and

Training officials from Vietnam, andVietnamese-Americans from afardedicated the weekend toexchange ideas, gather resources,and share expertise.

The conference focused oneducation outreach, medical

services, funding,and special projects

in Vietnam, andconsisted of presentations byvariousorganizations toshare ideas andobtain feedbackfrom fellow colleagues.

It was an opportunity for evena tiny organization of one staff person to broadcast their efforts,reach out for more resources, andgain constructive ideas frompartnering organizations.

I was asked by Tran Kim Anh,

founder of Pacific Links Foundationwhich helped sponsor theconference, to be a presenter inthe “Education and Teaching”workshop to speak about VIA’seducational and cultural exchangeefforts in Vietnam.

My presentation emphasizedVIA’s versatility in the type of workwe seek, as well as the diversity of volunteers who have so openlyaccepted the challenges of livingoverseas to fulfill this mission.

The conference wasan opportunity to put

VIA on the radaramong VA NGOs andpotentially developnew partnerships withsome of these groupsin the future..

Other sessionsincluded workshops on

flood disaster relief, buildingschools in the Mekong Delta,newborn care initiatives, humantrafficking—all projects that I hadheard little about.

Twenty-six VA-NGOorganizations have signed on as

the Network’s founding members.In this early development stage,the VA-NGO Network has alreadyalready created opportunities forphilan-thropists of my generation tocollaborate with those from anolder era. It has created a venue inwhich our differing views can beopenly shared, and our strengthscan be unified to achieve theultimate goal of improving theoverall well being of theVietnamese people.

Alumna Mai Tran ‘02 Speaks atVietnamese-American NGO Conference

David Biggs (‘93 and ‘95)with wife Hong-

nh and baby Xuan-Anh inRiverside, CA.David teachesVietnameseand environmentalhistory at UCRiverside.

Alumni PictureAlbum:Do you have a photo toshare? We’d love to see it!Please send your photos [email protected].

Congratula-tions to DrewDemo (‘00-01)and his wife,Hoa. AmandaLan DianeDemo wasborn January 18 weighing inat 7 pounds 14ounces.



After two years as a VIAvolunteer in rural Bac Giangprovince, I knew I wasn’t ready toleave Vietnam— too fond of yelling“EM OI!” in restaurants, I guess.My friend Stefan, a VIA volunteer atthe Institute for InternationalEducation (IIE), told me about theopening with the Fulbrightprogram, which is jointly

administered by IIE and the U.S.Embassy in Hanoi.

As the IIE Fulbright programofficer, my main role is to organizethe recruitment and selectionprocess for the Vietnamese Studentprogram, which sends 20 studentsto the U.S. each year to obtain aMaster’s degree in the SocialSciences.

The goal of the Fulbrightprogram is to promote mutualunderstanding between the U.S.and other countries by providinggrants for foreigners to study in theU.S., and grants to U.S. citizens fortheir research or teaching abroad.

The funds are allocated byCongress, and programs areadministered by Embassies, bi-national Commissions and non-profits (including IIE) in 150countries.

In the beginning, it was difficultto go from a teaching position, withflexible hours and lots of studentcontact, to an office job, sittingbehind a desk and interacting witha computer instead of actual

humans. Luckily, the fun partsmake up for the administrativedrudgery, like traveling throughoutVietnam to publicize the program,designing a pre-departureorientation for new grantees, orsocializing with program alumni.Interacting with my colleagues andthe grantees, creative andinteresting people all, is thehighlight of my life here.

It’s also enriching to bedoing something positive inmy work. I’m as cynicalabout the U.S. as the nextexpat, but I get prettypatriotic when I imagine theexperiences the VietnameseFulbrighters are going tohave in the complicated,often exasperating, United

States of America. I knowwhat a challenge it will be forthese students to encounterdiscussion-based classroomsat American universities,where people are not shyabout expressing theirdissenting opinions. I alsolove to envision the granteeshitting the open road in arental car to visit the GrandCanyon or some otheramazing nature spot.Everyone deserves theopportunity to not only travelbut to step outside of theircomfort zone—that’s what wedid when we joined VIA, afterall, and our experience willimpact our lives in myriad ways. Soit will be for these Vietnamesestudents.

I see my work with Fulbright asa natural extension of my work withVIA. It helps to speak someVietnamese and to understand thestructure of the educationalsystem, but more than the practicalknowledge I accumulated when I

was a volunteer, it is the peopleI’ve met who have the greatestinfluence on my work.

In Bac Giang, I experienced theworld that shaped my students’imaginations. They showed mewhat it’s like to grow up in a poor,developing country, where youkeep your dreams modest becauseyour family doesn’t have a lot of money. Through VIA, I brought myAmerican self to Vietnam—my

attitude challenged my students toimagine themselves in the worldbeyond what’s familiar to them.Now, instead of acting as thevehicle for cultural exchange, I canenable other people to “drivethemselves,” you might say.

The Fulbrighters don’t needme to teach them American ideasand culture because they will

experience it first-hand—and they,in turn, will challenge theirAmerican classmates to open theirminds to include Vietnameseperspectives. I enjoy working witha program that encourages peopleto imagine an unfamiliar, excitingworld.

It’s an honor to help people todream big—it helps me dream alittle bit bigger for myself.

Dreaming Big:

Jessy Needham ‘03-04, former volunteer atBac Giang Teacher’s Training College, nowworks for the Fulbright’s Vietnamese StudentProgram in Hanoi.

Alumna works with Vietnamese Fulbrighters

essy heads to an event at the U.S. Embassy.



From left to right, Bottomrow:

Huyen Tran graduated from Temple University in May of 2006 with a BS in Chemistry.Huyen was born in Vietnamand immigrated to Americaat the age of one.

Tambi Cork graduated in2006 with a BA in Psychologyand MA in Sociology fromStanford University. She firstvisited Vietnam while onSemester at Sea, and iscurrently taking courses tolearn the language.

Chioke Borgelt-Mose graduated with Honors fromStanford University in 2006with a BA in African andAfrican-American Studies.

ill Ingram graduated fromthe University of Illinois-Champaign, Urbana in 2006with a BA in InternationalRelations and Sociology.

Lillian Forsyth willgraduate from BarnardCollege, Columbia Universityin May, 2006 with a BA in

Asian and Middle EasternCultures. She began herVietnamese language studywhen she spent a semesterin Ho Chi Minh City and hascontinued her study for thepast two years.

Top row:

Virginia Nguyen graduatedfrom the University of California, Los Angeles in2003 with a BA in BusinessEconomics. She spent asemester studying abroad atthe National University of Hanoi.

Julie Vo graduated from theUniversity of California, LosAngeles in 2004 with a BA inSociology and AsianAmerican Studies and aminor in Education. She hasbeen working as a FundDevelopment and ResourceSpecialist and is also afreelance writer.

Thomas (“Tom”) McAuliff obtained a Master’s inBusiness Administration andhas more than 30 years of business experience. He wasa Peace Corps volunteer inChiang Rai, Thailand in the60s.

Mary (“Janella”)Pennington obtained a MAin Speech and Hearing in1973, then taught for 27years at the Kindergartenthrough 8th grade level

providing services tostudents with speech,language and learningdisabilities.

Jeff Bettencourt obtainedhis BA in Linguistics fromUniversity of California,Santa Cruz. While attendingUC Santa Cruz he developed

an interest in the mono-syllabic tone languages of Southeast Asia.

Kristi Smith graduatedfrom New College of California, San Francisco in2003, with a BA in LiberalArts, specializing in WorldStudies. She spent a monthin southern Vietnam duringthe winter of 2002.

Tyler McKinley attendedthe University of Minnesotato study finance. He hasbeen working as a strategyconsultant in a large US/Canadian publishingcompany.

A Profile of 2006-07 Vietnam VolunteersLong-term Vols:

Teach-in-Hue Summer Vols:

From left to right, Bottomrow:

Binh Ly is a fourth-year UCBerkeley student majoring inPhilosophy, with a particularinterest in political philosophyand Viet Nam’s history andfuture.

Rommel Calderwood attends the University of Illinois at Chicago and majorsin Nursing. He is currentlyinterning in Washington, D.C.for the spring semester.

ason Vuong is a third-yearMolecular Cell and Biologymajor at UC Berkeley.

Huan Dong is a third-yearUC Berkeley student majoringin Integrative Biology with aminor in Theatre. He isinvolved in performing artsand the campus Vietnamese-American community.

Top row:

Natalie Pham is studyingpsychology at the Universityof California, Davis and isconsidering working andliving in Viet Nam later on inher career.

Katrina Makuch is a seniorat the University of California,Santa Cruz where she iscompleting a degree ineconomics. Focusing herstudies on developingeconomies, Katrina spent asemester in South Africa.

Stephanie Nguyen recentlygraduated from StanfordUniversity with a BA inHuman Biology. She will beentering medical school inthe fall.

Kristyn Ha is currently afourth year PhysiologicalScience major at University of California, Los Angeles(UCLA). She is a UCLA SportsMedicine Intern.

VIA Nho Vietnam Alumni Newsletter (Spring 2006)

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