NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2004

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
mrcannon@uh.edu

FIRST-GENERATION IMMIGRANT STUDENTS TO BENEFIT FROM UH SCHOLARSHIP
Nguyen Family “Pays It Forward” Following Success at UH and in Profession

HOUSTON, Dec. 9, 2004—Su Nguyen and his six brothers and sisters faced many obstacles getting to college, but now want other first-generation immigrant students to benefit from their experiences and success. Su and wife Lynne have established the Nguyen Family Scholarship for first-generation immigrant students at the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture.

“In high school, we weren’t aware of the scholarships or monies available,” says Nguyen. “We were the first generation to go to college, and we didn’t know what to do or where to find those scholarships.”

The Nguyen Family Scholarship provides $1,000 a year for a student accepted to the College of Architecture. The scholarship is renewable each year as long as the student maintains a B average.

“This scholarship is a tremendous tribute to the Nguyens’ perseverance,” said Joe Mashburn, dean of the UH College of Architecture. “It not only allows students to pursue studies in architecture, but also serves as an inspiration for anyone to pursue excellence.”

For Su and his siblings, going to college meant more than an education. It meant liberation from challenging high school years where they were the sole Vietnamese students at a Lake Jackson high school. It meant building on the new life that their parents carved out after escaping Vietnam in the 1970s and relocating to Lake Jackson. College was a way out and a way up.

“When my siblings and I graduated from high school, what was hardest was not knowing there were scholarships; not knowing that you could get money for college,” said Su.

In 1982, Su applied to and was accepted at UH where his brother was already studying engineering. With the help of Pell grants, the younger Nguyen attended the College of Architecture. His other siblings soon followed to UH, and all are now graduated and professionals. Su is now a successful architect with his own firm, Metropolitan Design Group, Inc.

Similarly, Lynne and her siblings were the first in their family to attend college. All are now UH grads.

“We wanted to do something meaningful for people who have been in our situation,” said Lynne. “Many come over here with nothing and want to do so much. We thought this would be a very good opportunity to give back.”

The first Nguyen Family Scholarship recipient, Veronica Hernandez, is the first in her family to attend college. The second daughter to a single immigrant mother, Hernandez watched her mom struggle to provide for the family.

“For my mom, it was finding a job and getting some income. It was really rough on her because she was working full-time and then some,” said Hernandez. “I started working at 15 and all my money went to the family.”

Hernandez spent much of her youth in El Paso. Many friends and classmates succumbed to drugs and crime. Instead, she gravitated toward her teachers and credits them with helping her stay on the straight and narrow.

“I’m at UH because my teachers recommended me. They really supported me,” Hernandez said.

On track to complete her degree in architecture next year, she is hopeful that her future will allow her to help other immigrant students just as the Nguyens did.

The words make Su and Lynne smile.

“Our whole family went to UH,” says Su. “It wouldn’t be as meaningful for us to do this anywhere else. UH and the College of Architecture are great.”

For more information on the UH College of Architecture, please visit www.arch.uh.edu

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For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.