Posted on 06/19/2012 7:49:24 AM PDT by DFG
TACOMA, Wash. -- Among the jittery seniors waiting to walk out at Tacoma's Lincoln high school's graduation, is a 19 year old who is small in stature but big in achievement.
Duc Nguyen moved to the U.S. with his family from Vietnam 4 years ago and didn't speak a word of English. He remembers kids making fun of him and thinking he'd never make it.
But tonight he graduates with a 3.97 GPA and as class valedictorian. He insists his gift isn't intellect. He says he's a slow learner. But he makes up for it by working hard.
His parents never got the chance to go to college and do not speak English. But no language barrier could keep them from appreciating the honor bestowed on Nguyen tonight. They sat in the audience with big smiles as Nguyen gave his speech.
He heads to the University of Washington next year and plans to major in computer science.
Well....if you want positive results, rather than a captive dependent class.....???
sheesh!
Can't let THAT happen!
These stories epitomize the immigrant nation roots our country has. It seems that those who appreciate the country most had to work hardest to get here...legally.
Compare him to one who, after graduating from Harvard, complain to America - through a teleprompter.
Duc for Prez!
I worked at Camp Pendleton when the first Viets were coming over. (Our keypunch girls were going crazy trying to decipher their printing on some documents.)
These people might as well have been from Mars - they looked different, spoke a strange language, worshipped a different God, ate weird food, etc. (One wit mentioned that they were making egg rolls while on the plane coming over and were setting up food shops the minute they landed.)
Four years later their kids were not only speaking English, they were class valedictorians like Duc, just to name a few. Things got so bad at the Community College I attended, that the American kids were looking to see who signed up for classes, and if there were too many Viet names, they passed. It seems that the Newbies were skewing the Bell Curve so bad, the American kids had to actually WORK for their grades.
Would that all our immigrants were like them.
My wife was 17 when she immigrated to Canada back in the spring of 1984. She didn’t know a word of English, but was able to pick up enough graduate high school 18 months later. It’s amazing what you can do when you are put to the test. Sadly, most of our kids don’t get truly challenged until they’re doing a post-graduate degree or hit the workforce. Far too late when you’re competing against kids who are both bright and hardworking.
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