To The American School (TAS), it’s always an honor to hear wonderful news of TAS alumni become successful in the real world. It’s a validation that TAS curriculum and education environment has brought out the best in each student, and this school is the place where future global citizens, who are both academically excellent and socially responsible, are nurtured and sent to the world.
A Noteworthy Alumnus
When Danny Tran—a member of TAS Class of 2018, Secretary of the Student Council—graduated from the school last year, TAS faculty members immediately knew that he would be one of the “prides of TAS”. Being accepted by 11 universities in the US, receiving 5 scholarships worth more than VND5 billion, Danny chose Baylor University, Texas as his next destination for education. After a year of being a college student, he has found himself in a place where he is constantly evolving and maturing without much difficulty despite the differences between the two countries—Vietnam and the US—thanks to the preparation and foundation that TAS gave him during his years studying at the school.
Studying in an international environment like that of TAS helped Danny learn from early on the way to socialize with people from different cultures and backgrounds. English is no longer impossible to overcome, as TAS curriculum is completely taught in English, giving students the chance to be fluent and comfortable using this international language for studying and communicating. Interacting with international teachers, 80% of which are from North America, also helped Danny integrate into the American culture with more ease and confidence to speak his mind.
TAS core values always reflect the aim to highlight and embrace different cultures of students, and with this, graduates like Danny find it easier to highlight and embrace different cultures of college students when they enter university in the US—a place where diversity is signature to the country’s identity. Studying in the US, to Danny is an interesting experience, because he got to meet so many people bringing their own cultures to the already colorful college scene.
Extracurricular activities are always encouraged at TAS, and with this come generations of TAS graduates who are not only academically excellent, but also socially responsible. For Danny, his passion for extracurricular activities in general and social works in particular continues to lead his college life, when he joined Baylor Student Association and Baylor University Red Cross. This experience has led him to countless charity works at Family Abuse Center, Nursery Home, The Salvation Army Kitchen… And with that, Danny saw himself become more open, more socially aware and more mature in his view of life, society and himself.
Class of 2019 and More Potential Success for TAS Graduates
This year, TAS once again witnessed the graduation of another class of high school seniors, full of hope for future success. Saturday, June 8, 2019 was a special day for not only 12th graders of The American School (TAS) and their parents, but also for the school itself. Because it was the day of the high school graduation ceremony, in which TAS presented its 27 bright, intelligent, talented and passionate graduates to the world. Class of 2019, like previous generations of graduates, filled TAS faculty with pride, because all 27 of them were accepted into 56 universities, colleges and college-level institutions across the US, Canada and Singapore. Even more impressive, they received nearly USD3,000,000 in scholarships. Among the graduates, Peter Phan (Phan Le Ha Long)—Salutatorian of Class of 2019—already stood out before graduation, with his amazing journey at the #IWTMekong Short Film Competition.
For his incredible short film Breath about rhino conservation, Peter won both the Student Prize and Viral Prize of the competition initiated by The UK Government and the Luang Prabang Film Festival, in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). From the total of USD3,000 in prize money, Peter decided to donate USD2,000 to Wild Rhino—a campaign aiming to engage and educate young Vietnamese students about the myths and false beliefs that surround the use of rhino horn products. As the Student Prize winner, Peter was also invited to the 9th Luang Prabang Film Festival, which took place from December 7-12, 2018.
These fascinating successes of TAS’s new generation of graduates once again reaffirm the school’s leading status for educational quality among international schools in Vietnam. They also promise even more success at a larger scale for those global citizens that TAS has always proudly called its students.
Images provided by The American School
