Rice University’s Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) hosted its 22nd annual college leadership workshop Oct. 19. The one-day event aims to equip high school students in the Houston area with resources to prepare them for the college application process.
Throughout the years, the college leadership workshop has expanded to impact more than 30 school districts along with private schools throughout Houston. This year, the event welcomed a record-breaking 350 registrants and more that 400 attendees with a team of more than 60 dedicated volunteers.
“Our goal is to increase awareness of the Vietnamese presence at Rice and to serve not only the Vietnamese community but also the community around us,” said Vivian Ha, internal vice president and college leadership workshop coordinator of VSA. “The college leadership workshop is an ideal opportunity for high school students to learn the rigors of a college education while also discovering the many cultures and student groups within a university campus.”
Area high school students and their parents participated in dynamic, engaging and informative activities throughout the day, including workshops, leadership seminars, campus tours and a student panel on college life and academic majors.
Keynote speakers included Vincent Lai and Jenny Le. Lai is a third-year Ph.D. student in health and industrial-organizational psychology at Rice. He previously received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rice. Le received her bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University and an MBA from Columbia University. She now works as the senior vice president of corporate strategy at Osaic, serves as the board chair for the Forte Foundation and is a former board member of the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association. Additionally, Rice admissions counselor and alumnus Victor Nguyen gave a presentation to inform attending parents and high school students about the college admissions process.
“As a child of immigrant parents, I remember sitting at my desk late at night during my first semester of senior year of high school watching YouTube videos about how to apply to college,” Ha said. “I’m grateful for everything my parents have done for me as a first-generation student, but being involved in the college leadership workshop since my freshman year and now coordinating it has been an amazing opportunity to give students and parents something I wish my parents and I had when I was in their shoes.”
Cecilia Nguyen, the college leadership workshop’s second coordinator, shares similar sentiments.
“I remember feeling lost when it came to applying to college, and even now my parents don’t even understand what I’m majoring in, so being able to coordinate this program has been such a meaningful and impactful opportunity,” she said.
Feedback from participants include sentiments such as, “For someone with almost no knowledge on how to approach admissions, this was very helpful by creating a foundation of understanding for all these aspects and didn’t confuse me” and, regarding student panelists, “The honesty from everyone about their mistakes was also comforting and educational as they allowed us to learn from their mistakes since they shared them.”
“I’m excited to see not only where the college leadership workshop is heading but also VSA’s future steps as well, and I see myself continuing to be part of this leadership team,” Ha said.
