The Vietnamese community has found a way to celebrate their culture on the campus with the Vietnamese Students Association Club. The club allows students the opportunity to explore more of the Vietnamese culture and participate in events.

The club participates in co-hosting awards over the summer that bring around 300 students from primary to secondary schools and hundreds of parents and community leaders as well. If the students received high GPAs they receive certificates for their hard work.

“What we are trying to do is bring awareness of what it means to be a Vietnamese-American, because currently students that are Vietnamese either understand the language or you were born here and do not know about the culture,” said 21-year-old sociology major and VSA member Evan Nguyen.

The club has an annual fundraising dinner that takes place on campus in August called Vietnamese-American Scholastic Achievement Awards. The members of VSA meet up during the end of winter to plan for the dinner and 20 to 50 club members plan it.

“We show them Vietnamese culture because some American-Vietnamese students do not know the traditions,” said 20-year-old criminal justice major and President of VSA Huy Minh.

Two weeks ago, the club rechartered and they now have 20 members. One of the new members who joined was Nguyen.

“I found out about VSA when I did research about clubs we have on campus and I also saw their name during club rush,” Nguyen said.

The club does not use Twitter or Instagram to promote themselves but they do have a Facebook page that allows students to see what the club is about. The club’s Facebook page is called Vietnamese Students Association at CRC and they put up pictures and some events on the page for students who want to check it out.

“Students can participate in different cultural activities such as the Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Week that takes place in April,’ said CRC counselor and VSA faculty advisor Anna Doan. “They can also do club rush day, where all the clubs gather together to “brainstorm” their ideas.”

The club also works with the Student Life and Leadership Center to develop events. The club’s main goal is to make sure students not only come for education but that they also feel they can explore their culture more and feel more welcome on campus.

“It is important for students to feel that they belong and important for them to know their resources out there,” said Doan. “One of the ways students can feel connected to resources is by networking and getting to know other people.”

The club doesn’t have an office area they can call their own, so right now they use the conference room in the counseling office for meetings and event planning. If you have any more questions about the club activities contact Anna Doan at (916) 691-7481.