Inspire low-income students to pursue opportunities to learn.
Thong and his family moved to America from Vietnam when he was 3. With his dad being the only one with a full-time job, it was difficult for his family to support education for him and his siblings. Despite that, he was able to quickly learn English and since then has been responsible for any paperwork and interpretation needs for his parents. Thong worked hard to keep his grades as high as possible so that his parents wouldn’t have to worry, and he maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school. While he was hard at work, his parents sought out additional educational opportunities for him. One of these opportunities was the Bridge Project which gave Thong the chance to meet other students in the low-income community. Combined with supportive adults managing the program, Thong was able to stay focused in school and experience new opportunities such as leading a small team to create a robot, participating in CSU’s Global Business Academy, and working as a teacher of the younger students in the Denver public housing community.
In the future, Thong plans on sharing his story and volunteering in programs that provide new experiences to low-income students. His personal aspiration is to start a business that connects with his passions and works to create opportunities for low-income students to have an equal footing in pursuing an education.
Leadership:
- Bridge Project, Student Teacher
- Robotics, Team Lead
- Tennis, Team Lead
