2019 ICAN INSPIRE Scholarship Cohort

Described by many as a natural leader, Kristy Lu was a clear choice to receive an inaugural ICAN INSPIRE Scholarship, an award created to recognize students that demonstrate community spirit and leadership as well as to uplift young Vietnamese to be successful in and for their communities. Kristy first started working with ICAN in the summer of 2018 as an Information Technology and Website Design Intern. Her dedication, generosity, and resourcefulness helped develop a group of student interns into a close-knit team able to work seamlessly together to create a beautiful and highly functional website and allowing ICAN to be better connected to our community online. Now back at UC Santa Barbara where she is working on her bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science and heavily involved in philanthropy though the Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity, Kristy continues to be a source of advice and mentorship for the current set of interns.

Kristy’s drive and desire to give back has been of great benefit to her community and will continue to be so – her future goals include trips to aid underprivileged kids and an event planning business with her friends!

Tony has not only thrived academically despite a turbulent family life but has actively worked to bring resources to his fellow students, to great success. He took the initiative in founding a math support program at his high school and was instrumental in Mount Eden High School’s acceptance into the Mathematical Honor Society Mu Alpha Theta earlier this year.

He credits his success and passion for math to his inspiring teachers and plans to pass on this kindness by returning to his local community college as a part-time professor and “not only inspire first-generation, low-income students in the community that higher education is accessible but also to make math a more lovable subject.”

Tony’s drive, resiliency, and unrelenting optimism came from his father, imparted through time spent together and stories/lessons shared as Tony worked alongside his dad at Dad’s machine shop – the only time they had together due to his father’s continuous work hours to keep the family afloat. Tony’s dad says his dream will have been accomplished when Tony finishes college.

Tony will be attending Williams College in Massachusetts, pursing his education in mathematics and computer science.

Aspiring animator Karen Nguyen is one of five students selected to receive an inaugural ICAN INSPIRE Scholarship, an award created to recognize students that demonstrate community spirit and leadership as well as to uplift young Vietnamese to be successful in and for their communities. Karen joined her high school’s Key Club as a freshman to meet people and give back, eventually holding key positions such as Sophomore Class Director (2014-15), Bulletin Editor (2015-16), and Historian (2016-17). Among her many contributions, Karen created the winning entry of the “Cut MNT Out of the Picture” video contest hosted by Kiwanis International to raise awareness for and eliminate maternal/neonatal tetanus, taking home the prize for Independence High School’s Key Club. These days, she aspires to contribute to the world by tackling ocean preservation, believing that how we treat the oceans is a reflection of how we treat ourselves. In the meantime, after chatting with the ICAN team during her interview process for this scholarship, Karen has come on board to help out with one of our upcoming projects and training along with our interns this summer. Karen is currently completing a Film/TV Animation associate degree at De Anza College in Cupertino, CA. Congrats to Karen for earning an ICAN INSPIRE Scholarship for 2019-2020 and thank you to the generous donors that made it possible!

Aspiring animator Karen Nguyen is one of five students selected to receive an inaugural ICAN INSPIRE Scholarship, an award created to recognize students that demonstrate community spirit and leadership as well as to uplift young Vietnamese to be successful in and for their communities. Karen joined her high school’s Key Club as a freshman to meet people and give back, eventually holding key positions such as Sophomore Class Director (2014-15), Bulletin Editor (2015-16), and Historian (2016-17). Among her many contributions, Karen created the winning entry of the “Cut MNT Out of the Picture” video contest hosted by Kiwanis International to raise awareness for and eliminate maternal/neonatal tetanus, taking home the prize for Independence High School’s Key Club. These days, she aspires to contribute to the world by tackling ocean preservation, believing that how we treat the oceans is a reflection of how we treat ourselves. In the meantime, after chatting with the ICAN team during her interview process for this scholarship, Karen has come on board to help out with one of our upcoming projects and training along with our interns this summer. Karen is currently completing a Film/TV Animation associate degree at De Anza College in Cupertino, CA. Congrats to Karen for earning an ICAN INSPIRE Scholarship for 2019-2020 and thank you to the generous donors that made it possible!

Since June 2016, Miranda has run a Summer Math Workshop, a comprehensive program she designed and implemented to help low-income students in her community “open some of the doors that poverty locks.” Miranda credits her parents and the caring, supportive teachers she has had in her life for shaping her into “someone who not only hails individual achievement but also the unifying growth of the entire community.” Success did not come easily to Miranda – she battled though anxiety to get where she is now and will continue to do so as she navigates the twists and turns of the journey before her. Of her many accomplishments, she is proudest of being able to ask for help in order to face the challenges that anxiety brought to her life. Miranda will be attending Stanford University this fall to pursue her goal of becoming a teacher or a librarian.