This
scholarship was established in the honor of our late father, Mr.
Jimmy Nhat Nguyen. In the younger days, he served in the
South Vietnam’s military
and advanced to the rank of major. When the communist regime took
over South Vietnam, he was sent to the ‘re-education camp’
(prison) for almost 10 years. After the release, he escaped Vietnam
by boat, safely reached the
Indonesian shores, and took
political asylum in the USA. He worked two jobs to support all five
of the children to attend college. We all, including spouses of some
of us, started at Long Beach City College. This scholarship is a
small token of appreciation toward the LBCC generous donors, and our
humble way of paying it forward.
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The
very first recipient of the Jimmy Nhat Nguyen scholarship is an LBCC
freshman. Even though only 18, she has endured so much and grown
beyond her age. Below is her aspiring and touching essay.
Scholarship essay by Larissa M.
Last
semester, I was an English major, who wanted to teach at college
level. But, because my love for activities extends beyond reading and
writing, I never felt content with that decision. Over the years,
I’ve developed a love for scuba diving, taking care of animals,
motorcycle riding, sewing, playing the ukelele, guitar, and piano,
baking, painting, bicycle riding, and hiking. This being the case,
I’ve elected to major in nursing because it suits my kind, caring,
and hardworking traits, rather than my favorite hobbies. I plan on
getting my associates/registered nursing degree here at Long Beach
City College, and hope to continue my education afterwards by
receiving a Bachelors degree in the same field.
I am
currently in my third semester at LBCC as a full time student. This
year, I joined the Honors Experience Club. I also volunteer through
Long Beach BLAST as an academic mentor. The point of my service is to
administer support to children in school who struggle academically or
behaviorally. During high school, I participated in beach clean-ups,
gave back to our troops by passing out home-made cookies at Camp
Pendleton once a month, volunteered in our school’s nursery, worked
as a preschool teacher’s aide and volunteered at the LA Food Bank.
For work I am an English tutor at LBCC’s Writing and Reading
Success Center. I love this job because it allows me to show students
that they can always push themselves further, and always have a
reason to be found of the work they’ve done. What I’ve learned
about myself from these experiences, is not that I love teaching, but
that I love helping others.
Growing
up, my father was very physically abusive towards my mother.
Thankfully, we parted ways when I was 5. because of our childhood
experiences with my mother and father, and the impact of those
stresses on our lives, my sister and I struggled behaviorally when we
were very young, and she attempted suicide near the end of my
mother’s first marriage. After this, my mother became very reliant
on alcohol to cope with daily living and her depressive disorder.
There were times when she wouldn’t come home, and when she was
home, she was verbally abusive or inebriated. By the time I was 12,
dinner was always on the table, but there was never anyone to eat
with. Later, my mother married a man who himself struggled with
addiction. Despite moving many times, the house always became a place
for the substance-addicted to linger. Throughout these events in my
life, we have never lived anywhere for more than two years; we’ve
never had a place to call home. When I was 14, I realized that these
things weren’t normal, and that I didn’t want to spend the
remainder of my youth in those circumstances, nor live an adult life
that was in any way similar to my experiences thus far, so I worked
hard.
My
mother had just given birth to my fourth sibling, who was premature
and weighed only 1.13 pounds. This was a devastating event that has
occupied most of her time since his arrival, but has, thankfully, led
her to re-examine her life decisions, and inhibited her alcohol abuse
significantly. After his birth, my mother and I spent four months
living “The ronald McDonald House,” across from the hospital,
that supported income restricted individuals with hospitalized family
members. I enrolled in a local school for independent study, and was
able to complete my sophomore, junior, and senior year with mostly
A’s by the time I was 16.
Because
I wasn’t sure what career I wanted when I graduated, I hoped to
enter a program called YWAM that would allow me to immerse myself in
my religion and share it with others abroad. I was able to pick up
two part time jobs while attending my first semester of college, and
had managed to save 5,000 dollars, with only 3,000 more needed to
reach my goal. Because I was only 16, most banks would not allow me
to open an account without an adult taking responsibility for it.
This allowed my mother to “supervise” my account, and eventually,
majority of my savings went to paying bills, not the trip. Naturally,
I was upset, but now I’m glad my work was able to help my mother.
Since then, I have worked hard to support and maintain my goals and
receive straight A’s in college, while helping my mother with her
three children. However, she can no longer help me support my current
academic goals.
The
reason I am sharing these events is not to elicit sympathy, but to
show that I was able to overcome obstacles, and that I intend to
continue doing so. I have hope for my future and do my best to push
myself beyond what I think is necessary or possible. I’ve been
given a strong desire to occupy a better, more productive life for
myself and the family that I hope to have. One month ago, I turned
18, and my goal is to save enough to support my academic goals and
create a positive environment for myself in a place I can call home.
I want to make the most of my resources and time to better my future.
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