by Lori Cruz
Staff Writer
“It snowed today in Nancy. For the first time ever, I saw the snow fall,” these words were written via e-mail by University of La Verne student Tieu-My Nguyen to Dr. Alfred Clark, assistant vice president of Academic Affairs.
For Nguyen, junior, the chance to study abroad in France last semester was more than an educational experience.
“I would recommend the experience to anyone. I would encourage everyone to go, not just to France but anywhere the BCA program is. It opened up my eyes, really,” she said of her semester in France.
“Tieu-My was one of the most enthusiastic students who went abroad,” said Dr. Clark.
“She wrote us on many occasions about her work and the snow,” he said.
Nguyen left for France last June, with 16 other ULV students who participated in a two-week cultural and educational tour. The class, “Modern Paris: Image, Text and Reality,” was offered jointly by the Art and French Departments.
After the tour was over, Nguyen stayed on with family members, also in Paris.
“I stayed with my aunt and uncle in the South of Paris for the months of July and August,” she said.
When school was starting for the students at La Verne, Nguyen traveled to Nancy, France where she began her studies with the Brethren Colleges Abroad. Nguyen was the first ULV student to study in Nancy.
As an International Business major with a French minor, Nguyen was in the Diploma of International Management program. In addition to handling upper division classes, they were all taught in French.
“I had two years of French, when most of the students had six,” said Nguyen.
She said that this made it “tough” for her.
She also had language courses that were designed to help the International students.
Nguyen lived with a host family, the Tournays, in France. They were a couple with a 13-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son. She was their eighth student in four years.
“I loved my host family and they loved me,” she said. “We still keep in contact with each other.”
“They took me skiing for the first time and they took me to the Mediterranean,” she said. “We did everything together.”
About the food in France, Nguyen said, ”I gained so many pounds from eating all those french pastries. A baguette with each meal and cheese after dinner was the norm.”
While she was in France, Nguyen said she was not homesick, she just missed her family and friends.
“I wished my family could see the beautiful scenery,” she said.
But, she added, she is glad to be back and is looking forward to going to Europe again.
“I’m looking for a grad school that has an exchange program,” she said. She is looking into programs at the Claremont Colleges and ULV.
Along with her studies at ULV, Nguyen is a member of the International Vietnam Buddhist Youth Organization and the Union of Vietnamese College Student Association.
Last weekend, Nguyen was the master of ceremonies at the festival sponsored by the UVCSA, which celebrated its 14th year.
Nguyen, her parents and her sister have lived in the United States for eight years. They are from Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon.
Because there were so many families illegally leaving Vietnam in the 1970s and 1980s, the Nguyens had to have an American sponsor to emigrate. Nguyen’s aunt in Florida sponsored them.
“We lived in Florida for two or three months right when we came here, but it was hard for my parents to find work there,” she said.
So they headed west and have lived in California ever since.
Nguyen is also involved in the Iota Delta sorority.
“It’s given me the motivation to take on leadership positions as well as to have a bond with women friends,” she said.
Nguyen is active in Le French Club and the Business Student Organization. She is on the cheer squad and plans to join the Chamber Singers.
“Singing is my life,” she said.
“‘The desire to sing often is better than to sing well’ is a saying in Vietnam,” she said.
Nguyen has no plans to sing professionally but she does sing at weddings of friends and family members. Her goal is to be an international businesswoman, working between the U.S., Vietnam and France. She speaks these three languages.
“Vietnam has really opened up to outside investors,” she said. “It would be great if I could get involved with them.”
Lori Cruz
