Senior Vivianne Le submerges herself into her studies. Photo illustration by Kiet Phan
By Kiet Phan, Staff Photographer
Senior Vivianne Le sat in the library to reflect on the journey she took with her parents to America. Before high school, Le went to Masuda Middle School but even before that, she was a student at the Renaissance International School Saigon.
With “High School Musical” being the only reference she had, Le was definitely lost.
“[When I got here] I was waiting for people to start singing,” Le said.
Besides the common problems that everyone faces when starting at a new school, she also had to face the struggle of cultural differences.
“Instead of using ‘years’ people used ‘grades,’ instead of using the metric system, people here were measuring with the imperial system. Probably the thing that caught me off guard the most was the Pledge of Allegiance,” said Le.
For Le, the most difficult thing about living in America was relating to the people. While her friends are laughing at a reference to old cartoons and asking each other if they want to go eat Chick-Fil-A, Le drowned in a wave of foreign culture.
“At our school, I think it’s pretty great because there are so many people that get it, but once in a while, people still assume that I’m Chinese because I’m Asian,” said Le.
Being more comfortable in her environment now, Le is the president of the Academic Computer Science Club. She’s planned out her next step in life. With Vietnam being a country that lacks in many aspects, especially in engineering, her goal is to someday return and improve the country’s technological front.
“One of the schools I want to go to is Rice University, they have an engineering without border program where they go to third world country where they do projects that help the locals,” said Le.
At Fountain Valley High School (FVHS), Le was exposed to countless opportunities. From volunteering to clubs to sports teams, things that were difficult to be a part of in Vietnam are now easily accessible.
With a large number of immigrants going to school in FVHS, Le wants to make sure that even though it might seem awkward, getting to know them and listening to their journey is a wonderful experience.
“ Even if you’re not an immigrant, you can reach out to immigrant and talk to them. I mean, it’s a great experience,” said Le
