Đỗ Vũ Anh Thư

My family emigrated from Việt Nam when I was only three years old. Even though my brothers and I grew up in America, my parents made sure that we never forgot our heritage. Along with going to school during the weekdays, I attended Hùng Vương Vietnamese Language School every Saturday to learn the language of my ancestors. I was a student for nine years, and I still attend every Saturday as a teacher for the third grade.

Without Hùng Vương School, many Vietnamese-American children would have never been able to truly appreciate the beauty of their ancestors' language and culture. I attend school every Saturday with contentment knowing that I am able to help the kids and take tremendous pride in the fact that they look to me as a role model. I also remain active in the Vietnamese community by volunteering for the Vietnamese Voluntary Foundation (VIVO), which seeks to help Vietnamese refugees who have newly entered America. During the last four years at VIVO, I have found great fulfillment in tutoring Vietnamese immigrant children. I also tried to spread awareness at my high school.

My school's Vietnamese Club participated in local cultural assemblies and New Year's festivals and parades each year. We also dressed in traditional Vietnamese outfits every New Year's in order to promote our culture on campus. We also fundraised and donated money, as well as school supplies and toiletries, to the charity Project VietNam. By being involved with Hùng Vương School, VIVO, and other activities in the Vietnamese community, I believe that I will be able to reach out to young Vietnamese-Americans and convince them to nurture their exquisitely unique culture.

I have set high goals for myself in regards to being an active voice of the younger Vietnamese-American generation. I want to more heavily promote the Vietnamese culture to children and teenagers who do not realize how wonderful it is to understand and embrace their heritage. I think I, along with others my age, show courage by taking a stand within our oftentimes inactive generation. I want to prove to the elders who have lost faith in us that there are those of us who have not forgotten our heritage.

There are those of us who have tremendous drive and courage to persuade the rest of our peers. Additionally, by being involved in the Vietnamese community, I have made lasting friendships with people who share the same passions I do. I am very fortunate to have met people who not only take the same pride in their culture, but are great individuals as well. They are supportive, kind, funny, and intelligent. I think this more than proves that there are certainly worthy people in my generation who will be able to follow in the footsteps of our elders and be good role models for our juniors. I will never lose the passion to promote my culture and I will never rest in my fight to spread this passion to other Vietnamese-Americans.

Although my obstacles are nowhere as daunting as those faced by Nguyễn Thái Học, I think we share the same love and passion for our people and our culture. He was the youngest revolutionary leader in our country's history, beginning his revolutionary career at just 25 years old. He was a young man who felt a great responsibility to his country to speak out and act against the French. I strongly hope to channel his sense of duty and love of country in the new "revolution" I feel that more than ever people my age are finally stepping out there to strengthen the voice of the Vietnamese community outside of Việt Nam. I am proud to be part of and strive to become a productive member of this development.