International Students

On the second floor of Madison Hall, the Center for Global Engagement has not only a new home, but a new, brightly painted diversity mural. Tam Nguyen helped make it, just as he helps make a home at JMU for international students.

In a bright green shirt, black basketball shorts and pearl white sneakers, he stood facing the artwork. Nguyen guided his paintbrush across the wall along with 16 other international student artists. He outlined a hole in the dark red brick wall he had created in the mural. It was one of many battered, demolished portions illustrated in the red brick. Like Nguyen, the mural echoes diversity—a human tree trunk reflects many shades of skin tone, and rainbow branches swirl high into the dark blue sky. Nguyen knows diversity, as anyone would, had they too been an international student for 13 years.

Nguyen, a ‘Double Duke’ Finance major, works as Program Assistant in International Student Scholar Services in the Center for Global Engagement. He heads the Linkers program, a ‘FROG’ type organization for JMU’s international students, but more intensive, and year-round. As a Linker during his undergraduate years, he serves not only as an advisor, but as a friend.

Nguyen gives Linkers like Amy Bach, from Vietnam lots of freedom to think about new ideas outside the box when creating activities for Linkees. She shares his typical pointers.

“You guys can just try it. If it doesn’t work it’s okay. But at least you think about it and give it a try.”

Linker and Saudi Arabia native Saud Alhelali believes Nguyen understands his position.

“When I talk to Tam, he understands, and he’s on our side.”

It all started the summer before Nguyen entered eighth grade. He decided to study abroad in Singapore, leaving his home learning environment in Vietnam for the first time, and entering a school with global international students. “[Vietnam] doesn’t encourage creativity…I’m not criticizing it, but it wasn’t the right fit for me,” Nguyen comments. In Vietnam, students must study 13 to 15 designated subjects.

At his Singaporean school, Nguyen chose Art and Physical Education, and interacted with teachers in new ways. He noticed a different from home.

“[In the Vietnamese educational system], between the students and the teachers there’s a wall.”

Students aim for absolute respect, which often includes never correcting a teacher who has made a mistake on the board in class. There are no office hours, and just maybe an email address.

Nguyen remembers his first student-teacher kickball competition in P.E. because that type of interaction, playing sports or mingling with teachers, is a taboo experience in Vietnam.

“You kind of see the educators’ personal lives so you can connect to them, and have them become kind of your role models instead of this scary figure that can tell you to do homework.”

This was one of his top reasons for continuing his education in the United States.

He went on to study in New York City for the remainder of his before-college experience, starting at 13 years old. Being away from his parents, he says, was great. But he was not the first in the family to study abroad. His sister, 11 years his senior, did her last year of pharmaceutical college in France as well as an exchange program in Canada. She is always his firsthand resource for any study abroad-related question.

“She’s my Wikipedia,” he laughs.

Nguyen still has friends and family from home despite living abroad, primarily, since he began eighth grade. He traveled home at least every summer for the first five years he lived in America.

“It was a tough first couple of years, at least, for my mom. My dad acted tough, but it was hard too,” Nguyen remembers.

Traveling slowly turned into every other summer, and now at 24 years old, Nguyen’s last trip to Vietnam was more than three years ago. Nguyen’s list of close friends from home now includes less than 10 people.

His close relationships and parental figures blossomed in New York. His teachers were like Resident Assistants in college. Sometimes they even lived in the dorms international students lived in—in high school. School advisors were more than just academic support.

“It’ kind of weird to think of objectively, but somehow it just worked,” Nguyen comments.

One of Nguyen’s closest relationships was with Chris, his academic advisor and high school basketball coach. Between one-on-one advising, practices almost every day and hanging out with the team outside school, they formed a relationship still strong today.

Nguyen chose JMU after a home friend’s personal recommendation. She was a JMU international student.

He says “JMU is pretty well know across like bigger cities in Asia.”

But Nguyen did not face a huge cultural shock coming to college since he had already lived in America, and better yet, in dorm-style accommodation. He was used to racing from on-campus housing to classes in walking distance, and eating at large and blustering dining halls with his peers.

But, the Manhattan city-scene to small-town Harrisonburg switch was dramatic. Imagine the popping music in late-night coffee shops or lounge performances, with constant metros and the fast pace of city streets. In contrast, Harrisonburg requires a car to get anywhere, and the JMU night-life scene is almost entirely house parties. But Nguyen is less interested in random parties, and more interested in personal interaction.

What he wasn’t prepared for was college ‘fashion.’ Nguyen thought back to a student in GHUM 200. The student sat beside him in the front of the room where the only unfilled seats remained. Nguyen looked in horror at the pajamas the student wore along with flimsy plastic flip flops.

“Not even those nice Ugg ones…probably from Old Navy.”

Despite different social norms, Nguyen’s high school counselors prepared him for general education classes. He believes they taught him that gen-eds teach students how to learn.

Nguyen is actively involved in the international community at JMU, and has gained perspective that benefits his global experiences and ability to teach others.

As an art-lover, Nguyen thought critically about his major, choosing Finance undergrad, and later pursuing graduate school in accounting. He chose a broad subject to secure more freedom in future job opportunity. Nguyen is good at math, and plans to use his college skills with a company that is also creative.