Outstanding Vietnamese students honoured
Three outstanding McMaster students will receive scholarships from the Vietnamese Association Toronto tomorrow in Mississauga. Bachelor of health sciences students Anne Dang and Nghi Phan and biotechnology and genetic engineering student Julie Tran are among 12 Ontario students to be presented scholarships at the annual Tet New Year Festival at the Hershey Centre.
First-year bachelor of health sciences student Anne Dang received a 93 per cent average in her last year of high school, while juggling involvement on the badminton team, concert band, prefect committee and the multicultural committee. She also volunteered extensively with summer camps, tutored, and worked with individuals with chronic disabilities while completing a co-op placement at Bloorview MacMillan's Children Centre. Currently, she is tutoring at-risk children in the Hamilton area through the Learning and Fun program. Dang aspires to be a pediatrician – a career that not only combines her passion for science with her love of working with children, but gives her a means to give back to the community.
She was selected for an Academic Excellence Award created for first-year students at an Ontario university. Therefore, their academic performances are based on the core course requirements for university entrance. However, Dang's high school average from Grade 9 to 12 is consistently higher than 90 per cent. She is also an active participant in a number of charity and community work.
Nghi Phan is currently in his third year of the Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences Program at McMaster. He is extensively involved within the McMaster community, and has held roles such as: chemistry department teaching assistant, campus liaison tour guide, ESL tutor, sports co-ordinator for the Vietnamese Students' Association, and researcher at the McMaster Nuclear Research Centre. He also finds time to be the choir director and pianist for St. Ann's Church, and a volunteer at the Good Shepherd Centre. In the future, he hopes to use his skills and abilities to advance the current health system; and ultimately give back to the community which has given him so much.
Phan was selected for a Special Academic Excellence Award (for university students in their senior years or graduate students at an Ontario university) based on his outstanding academic performance at McMaster during the academic years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. His GPA is 11.4/12 on 20 courses (A to A+). He is also volunteering in many worthwhile services both at the campus and in the community where he lives.
Julie Tran was selected for a Community Excellence Award based on her community involvement record. Tran has won numerous scholarships such as a Canadian Millennium Scholarship and the Federation of University Women Scholarship. Her motto, always said with a smile, is “You win some, you lose some.” She has done volunteer work with non-profit organizations in New York City and Antigua, Guatemala. She will be going on an exchange program to Leeds, England for a semester, where she will be participating in ACTION, a university organization that plans community volunteering projects with disabled and underprivileged children. Her future goal is to start such projects in Canada.
The Vietnamese Association, Toronto (VAT) will be presenting scholarships to 12 outstanding students at its annual Tet New Year Festival at the Hershey Centre. Every year, scholarships are awarded to university students and graduate students in three categories: Academic Excellence, Community Excellence, and Special Academic Excellence. However, this year a special Encouragement Award has been created. Except for the latter, each category ranges in value from $500-$1000.
The VAT scholarship program recognizes the academic accomplishments of outstanding Vietnamese youth in Ontario as well as their contributions to school and community. Applicants must be full-time students at a college or university in Ontario, and may be self-nominated or nominated by their local Vietnamese Students' Associations.
