The Vietnamese Student Association

Could you all introduce yourselves and what you do in VSA?

KN: My name’s Kyle Nguyen and I’m the President of VSA Alongside my VP External Grace Lam and my VP Internal Duc Tran, I oversee a majority of the functions and decisions made by the organization regarding E-board meetings, events, funding, and external connections with organizations both on and off campus

GL: My name is Grace Lam, and I am the Vice President External for VSA My main responsibility as VPX is to coordinate events with other organizations on campus, as well as maintain communication with an organization called UVSA South. UVSA South is a non-profit with a mission to unite VSAs within Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas to provide networking opportunities, encourage community service and philanthropic projects, and promote Vietnamese culture awareness. I meet with representatives from other partner schools regularly to discuss any upcoming events open to our general body members.

And could you introduce VSA as an organization?

KN: VSA is the Vietnamese Student Association. It was in the early 2000s, as an area where Vietnamese students can bond over the fact they’re Vietnamese It’s a place to enjoy Vietnamese culture and celebrate Vietnamese events like Tet and the Lunar Moon Festival.

GL: And as much as it is an organization that connects Vietnamese students, it’s also an organization that teaches non-Vietnamese people about Vietnamese culture I think that’s one of the most special things about VSA - you don't have to be Viet to be in our org. A lot of people walk away from our org with friends and knowledge about Vietnamese culture.

How does your identity fit into your organization?

KN: If I’m being brutally honest, I don’t really identify myself to a point where I’m like, “This is my identity, I am solely an officer of VSA.”

But it helped me to connect with my culture in a different way. Rather than connecting with my culture through cultural events, it let me attach myself to my family We have a very big age gap, me and my siblings and cousins. Back then, they used to be members of AASA and VSA, and they also held Exec positions. It let me connect with the family aspect of my culture more. And because of that, I put a heavy emphasis on my Exec and my Family Leaders to emphasize family

GL: Growing up, I’ve always been pretty confident in my identity as a Vietnamese American at home. We celebrated a lot of Vietnamese holidays, I went to temple growing up, and I can speak Vietnamese. In those ways, I’ve always been reassured in my identity as a Vietnamese American But coming to college, one of the things that I was afraid would happen was that I would lose that connection to my culture, my language. It was really important to me to find a group of people or some sort of outlet to stay plugged into my culture, and VSA ended up being that organization for me It’s shaped my college experience for the better, and I wouldn’t be involved in the other things that I’m involved in now if it weren't for VSA.

And how did VSA foster a sense of home for you?

KN: So this connects back to my previous answer, where it let me connect with my family. Because of that age gap, I didn’t really have anything in common with them. But ever since I came to college, even before VSA, it made me realize that not everything is about me, in a family sense Yes, my parents aren’t there for me, but it helped me realize that they’re trying their best to rain me in a way that they know best. It’s their first time being a parent. Even though I have older siblings, I know they’re just trying their best. Because of that, it gave me insight into how to not be more parental, but to be more caring towards those underclassmen - like my interns or my Exec

For some people, it’s their first year here and this is their first time being away from home. How I see it, their parents are trusting us to take care of them I want to create that sense of home, so that people feel safe. That’s the most important part.

What are some fond memories that you have formed within VSA?

KN: When Grace and I were interns, the first time our intern class hung out with our VPI and our Philanthropy Chair, that was the first time I felt like I had siblings that I could be close with I know I keep bringing up my family, but we’re not close like other families are. I don’t really talk to my parents, I just say “hi” to them. I don’t text them or call them, and that’s how our family is. The first time we ever hung out, it was weird because a part of me was like, “Is this how it was supposed to feel like, or is it because they’re a group of friends?” We were just eating and hanging out, but it made me realize that this was what being close to people feels like.

GL: I’ll give two different fond memories that I have One of them was with my Exec board from my first year When it was our first Exec meeting, our Exec board bought us a cake to welcome us. That was really heartwarming, because I’m from Tulsa so I didn’t know many people at OU. Joining VSA and having these people welcome me with open arms was really pivotal to me feeling a sense of belonging Like, it was “just” a cake, but the symbolism behind that was much greater.

Another fond memory was my first family hangout that I had with Moon Family. It was the first time that I talked intimately with other Vietnamese people, and it was just really fun getting to meet new people They were giving me advice on my first year of college, and I didn’t drive at the time, so people were willing to come and pick me up from my dorm. That demonstrated a lot of care and a sense of family to me, and it reassured me that VSA was a place where anyone could belong and be a part of a family

How does VSA hope to foster a “home away from home” for its members?

KN: The most generic answer is just making sure members feel welcome - that’s why the Family System exists.

GL: The Family System is a structure intended to better integrate members into VSA. When a member joins, we place them with a group of members that becomes their "Family " Each Family has Family Leaders that engage with their Family and coordinate hangouts. They earn points through various challenges and hangouts and compete with other Families each semester for a cash prize to spend on a hangout. The system allows members to bond and introduces friendly competition along the way

KN: If members are just thrown into a large crowd at one time, they get overwhelmed Normally, there are already cliques formed in that crowd from older members or existing groups that came in from high school. With the Family System, the goal is that members get introduced to a smaller group of people that they get comfortable hanging out with. Over time, they start meeting more people from other families or organizations through the friends that they make in their current family

How do you hope to see VSA evolve in these next few years?

KN: My biggest hope is that I want for the Exec to stay as close as they are now. I hope that this reaches members, where it’ll make them really want a position on Exec or to intern or to apply to be Family leaders

KN: A lot of Family Leaders applied because they wanted to be a part of VSA and contribute somehow. Hopefully, in the future, Exec will be as welcoming - if not more welcoming - to general members and make them feel like they’re included.

GL: I think the biggest way I want to see VSA grow is by creating more opportunities for general members to get involved We saw a little bit of that for our Lunar Moon Festival, where we created committees It was honestly a great way for people who may have not been involved to gain some experience with event planning or other leadership skills. I hope that we can expand that in the future and extend those opportunities for our general members to get involved and strengthen their connection ot VSA

Is there anything that we haven’t asked about that you would like to talk about?

KN: Something I would like to talk about is VSA’s emphasis on tradition. As more and more generations of Vietnamese students are born in America, it seems that our culture and heritage seem to slowly die out in favor of more “American” traditions. This is saddening not only because we lose on important pieces of history, values, and culture that our parents and grandparents experienced, but it also waters down our culture and traditions when they are shown on social media and TV series. Why is it that all American shows always display Asian culture as just mahjong and tiger parents and red everything? Why do American shows just display Asians as these strict, frugal, and loud people with familial duties?

Though, yes, these shows do discuss a couple of important points in Vietnamese culture, there is more to us than just these things I listed, and that is what I hope VSA can teach to students at OU. There is so much beauty, elegance, fun, tragedy, and history to our lineages past tien len or bau cua or li xi

We may not be able to perfectly replicate the culture of Vietnam itself, but it’s our job to help progress it and keep traditions alive before they become forgotten

GL: If there's one thing I hope members gain from VSA, it is a chance to experience the connections we have with VSAs from the southern region While each partner school hosts a range of external events open to our members, UVSA South itself hosts events like Leadership Summit and Camp Legacy that promote leadership development and allow attendees to foster lifelong friendships

After attending last year's Leadership Summit, I gained much more confidence in my leadership abilities and built friendships with people I would've never met had it not been for UVSA South. through the workshops and bonding activities, I gained a greater appreciation for my culture and the beauty of the Vietnamese-American experience. I truly cherish the experiences I've had through VSA, and I hope to encourage even more members to seize these opportunities for personal growth and beautiful memories