OUR 2021 INTERNS

Chuc Xuan Nguyen discovered ICAN through a good friend of hers and was quickly intrigued by its programs. She has always been open to learning and assisting others since she was young.

Working with ICAN so far has been a nostalgic experience for her. Interacting with Asian American elders and adolescence brought back the memory of when she used to volunteer at temples. Being bilingual has been a great advantage for her being that she’s able to communicate and assist those who are not proficient in English. Her work in the research department has helped her grow tremendously in a small amount of time. She was given the opportunity to put my potential and resilience to work. She is currently on her path into the pharmacy field and working with ICAN has opened many doors for her. In her free time, she likes to watch movies and discover new cooking recipes.

“I really enjoyed the events that ICAN provided because I had the opportunity to interact with the elderly. What I learned was that I am more extroverted than I thought. Working on the BREATHE CA project was the most fun for me and my supervisors were my biggest support system.”

Diane Pham is a rising sophomore at UCLA majoring in Public Affairs with a minor in Education and Asian American Studies. Before her internship with ICAN, she became interested in their mission after receiving their ICAN Inspire Scholarship. As she is rekindling her relationship with her identity, the opportunity to intern for a Vietnamese-based nonprofit seemed like a perfect fit. Through this internship, she gained so much insight on our community conditions and how to tackle those through community event organizing and education. When she is not busy juggling school and work, she enjoys outdoor activities, spending time with loved ones, and practicing self care.

"The ironic part about this internship is that I never envisioned myself to be a part of the research department. Despite that, I am grateful to have gained the skills and experience from those few months. Through all the research projects I have worked on, it has sparked more passion in other systemic issues that affect our community and I am more than ready to continue advocating for that!"

Nathan Nham is a senior at Whitney High School. A few things about him are that he likes to watch baseball and follow advanced baseball analytics, he is the vice president of my school’s debate club, and he wants to major in computer science in college.

Following his previous experience in the summer of 2020 with the Stop Asian and Pacific Islander Hate youth campaign, he wanted to step up and do more to help the Asian community. He was fortunate enough to find out about the internship with ICAN where he passed the interview process and got to work on the website redesign project with Nicole.

“I feel like this was a big step in growing up for me. Learning about a workplace environment, learning how to manage my own time with my work time, and honing my technical skills all helped me develop into the person I want to be in the future. I’d like to thank ICAN for giving me the opportunity to work with them and for the patience with working for me. In the future, when I look back at my youth and what experiences shaped me, my internship with ICAN will be one of the first things that comes to mind.”

Nicole Huynh is a high-school senior at Irvington High School in Fremont, California. She is the president of her school’s Key Club, which fostered her love for community service. With Key Club, Nicole has been able to plan multiple club events for both an online and in-person setting for her members. In addition, she is involved in her high school’s band program, playing bass clarinet for both concert and marching band since her freshman year.

Nicole became interested in interning for ICAN because she wanted to both connect with her Vietnamese background and continue her work in community service. During her internship, she worked along with Nathan on ICAN’s website redesign project.

In her free time, Nicole enjoys watching movies and playing video games with her friends. She loves food and enjoys researching new restaurants to visit or new recipes to cook. Nicole also loves chemistry and biology and hopes to major in chemistry next fall.

“I love that at ICAN, I was treated like an adult. In school, we are assigned work to do, but during my internship, I was forced to come out of my shell and ask for new assignments. I learned that things in the “real world” are not just handed to you; instead, you must truly work for everything you want.”

Amanda Doan is a fourth year undergraduate student at UC Santa Barbara, double majoring in Sociology and Asian American Studies with a minor in Educational Studies. At UCSB, she was a leader in the Vietnamese Student Association and hosted multiple charity events for the organization. Amanda has been deeply involved in the San Jose community since high school as a youth leader for Interact District 5170 and Rotary International District 5170. Since entering college, she has developed a strong interest in navigating her identity as a second-generation Vietnamese American in the contemporary United States.

Amanda is one of ICAN's scholarship recipients and began her involvement with ICAN as a volunteer, eventually becoming a Research Intern under the guidance of Dr. Anne Phan. Her current projects include ICAN's Air Quality Ambassador Program, CARE Registry, and the upcoming Viet My Youth project. On her free time, she loves to travel and try out new ice cream flavors!

“As a Research Intern, I had the opportunity to write a small grant! It was my first time writing a grant and my supervisors guided me throughout the entire process. I learned that grant writing is very niche and nothing like academic writing! I enjoy working with the Research team because we are a small, tight-knight group. My supervisors are always understanding and empathetic!”

Nancy Ta is currently a junior at Milpitas High School and is pursing a career in computer science and software engineering. As a way to give back to the community, she is interning with ICAN to assist in spreading awareness about humanitarian projects through improving the ICAN website. Having been brought up in a family of Vietnamese origin, she hopes to further connect with her culture and is proud to be part of the ICAN and Asian American community.

“Being raised by immigrant parents, my childhood has always been filled with Vietnamese cultures and influence; I owe it to my family and culture for giving me such a childhood filled with happiness, comfort, and love despite raising me in a completely new environment. Since before my birth, my parents have attended workshops hosted by a local nonprofit organization, designed to help new parents raise their children. As a beneficiary, I applied for ICAN’s internship program to provide for the Vietnamese American community myself. I hope that my internship will prove to be helpful and I will be eternally grateful for everything ICAN has given me."