Vietnamese man helped Boise State students needing emergency help. What BSU just did
Just when the world seems to be taking more twists, many not good, something uplifting happened recently. I needed it.
As some of you know, Boise State has been involved in Vietnam for over 25 years working with a university to develop academic programs and training people in market economics. We’ve worked with the National Economics University, or NEU, in several ways, first on a project to deliver our MBA in the 1990s and more recently on a 2+2 program for undergrads (they do two years in Hanoi, two years in Boise and receive degrees from both universities).
We’ve been lucky enough to stay in close touch with many of our graduates from the 1990s. Some have become quite successful.
One of them, Mr. Nguyen Trong Khang, started and has built a very successful technology firm in Hanoi. We take our Executive MBA participants to his factory every year for lunch and a wonderful tour of the facility. It’s always a highlight.
Mr. Khang has been a longtime and generous donor to Boise State University for years. Last year, Mr. Khang sent a donation to the College of Business and Economics at Boise State as a means to support and help the Boise State Student Emergency Fund, during the early days of the pandemic, when many student jobs and some parent jobs disappeared.
His kindness and support motivated our dean, Mark Bannister, to offer a gift this year to the students in Hanoi when COVID began to hit that city hard. Using discretionary funds (charitable donations to the college for the dean to use), he offered to help this academic partner. When he first made the offer, about a month ago, the Vietnamese thanked him for the gesture and said they would be in touch when a need arose for help. Shortly after that, the country went into severe COVID lockdown.
A week ago, I heard from a key person at the university in Vietnam that the time for help had come:
“I think it’s time for Boise State to support the NEU students. The prolonged social distancing period makes it difficult for students who are stuck in Hanoi. They cannot go home for family support. And many of them do not have enough food right now.”
She met with her university president and wrote our dean on a Monday, requesting help. By Wednesday, the same week, the money arrived in Vietnam. The next day, we received another email and photos of the university members giving food – rice, noodles, vegetables – to students who needed it.
I was stunned that the process worked so well. The request and response were speedy and effective. The students in Vietnam received help they could use right away. And I love that our two universities have continued to have such a strong relationship for more than two decades.
As I said, I needed some good news this week. This is what friendship looks like.
Nancy Napier is a distinguished professor at Boise State University in Idaho. nnapier@boisestate.edu. She is co-author of “The Bridge Generation of Vietnam: Spanning Wartime to Boomtime.”