Four students in Victoria have been awarded AVEPA scholarships at a ceremony held at RMIT University’s city campus in Melbourne.

AVEPA, which stands for the Australia-Vietnam Education Association is a non-for-profit organisation.

Its scholarships funds young talented Australian-Vietnamese individuals — who have strong leadership and commitment for community engagement.

The scholarship also endeavours to give a sense of purpose and encouragement for their future.

This year, the AVEPA-University Partnership awarded scholarships worth $5,000 each, to four students in Victoria and one in New South Wales.

These five students — Alice My Phung Tran, Anh Thu Nguyen Pham, Francis Cao Thien Van, Naomie Ngoc Ha Tran and Julie Phan — achieved outstanding academic results with ATAR ranging from 95.06 to 99.95.

They also excelled in leadership, co-curricular activities and community engagement.

Emeritus Professor David Beanland addresses guests with a warm speech. (Photo: TiVi Tuan-san)

Emeritus Professor David Beanland began the award ceremony by addressing guests with a warm speech.

He recognised the commitment of the young students and expressed gratitude to the support of donors on AVEPA’s behalf.

Afterwards, three out of the four AVEPA scholarship recipients in Victoria gave speeches, sharing their excitement with their family, friends and other AVEPA members.

Meanwhile, the older sister of Francis Cao Thien Van read a speech on his behalf.

AVEPA seeks to be an aspiration and trust that young Vietnamese Australians will make significant contributions to society.

The association’s founders, directors and members share the spirit that AVEPA is more than a scholarship, saying it’s an organic network of Australian-Vietnamese young visionary intellectuals.

Some comments by the 2018 AVEPA students (Victoria Chapter): 

Alice Tran:

“My career goal has always been to become a midwife. I want to be a midwife because I want to work in a profession that is practical, hands-on, and meaningful to me. In my eyes, midwives play a valuable role in bringing life into the world as well as caring for mothers and babies throughout pregnancy, labour and beyond. There is something so special about the birth of a baby, and I truly believe it would be a privilege to be a part of such a special event.

To me, this scholarship extends beyond the financial benefits and resume appeal. To me, it is a symbol of self-empowerment: an award for diligence and the ultimatemotivator for my career goal. So I would like to take this opportunity to thank the AVEPA committee for granting me this scholarship and giving my parents another thing to be proud of.

As of the moment, my goal in the short term is to build my character as a global citizen and strengthen my expertise in my passion. For my long term goal, I want to be able to empower women to make choices about their bodies that bring them health, strength and confidence. My greatest sense of achievement will be knowing that I was able to meaningfully influence the lives of others in my career”

Jenny Nguyen:

“I was able to see that Medical Imaging was well suited for me. Not only is it a very hands-on job which requires paying attention to detail, being thorough and meticulous, it also provides the opportunity to interact with other people. For me, I really think it’s always about the people and aiming to increase the quality of life for the people. Because being able to form relationships with patients and helping them through their diagnosis process is one of the biggest rewards that comes from this career.

When I was asked about the significance of this scholarship to me: I see it a promoting of education and leadership amongst young Vietnamese-Australians, I feel inspired and empowered. Thank you for standing by us, bridging the barrier between the two cultures, pushing for that integration, and for encouraging us to be leaders. Because everyone knows it is true, we are the future generation, the future leaders of the world. So I really thank you for that continuous encouragement.

Throughout my years of schooling, growing up in English-speaking schools, I did find it difficult to connect with my Vietnamese culture. Even studying Vietnamese since a young age, I didn’t think much of it until my older years. Having studied Vietnamese for VCE, I was able to gain an abundance of insight into the culture and history. Especially learning about the refugees and the Vietnam war, hearing my family’s own experiences too, it inspires me to be more involved within not only the Vietnamese community but the wider community, whether it be through volunteering or stepping up into leadership using my skill set to contribute in any aspect that I can”

Naomie Tran:

From a young age, I’ve always been creatively-inclined, unlike many of my peers. Over the years, I have continued to pursue my interests through school, undertaking art & design subjects to further develop my skills. I plan to grow further through this course, to gain the skills required to do proper work in the field and become an interior architecture. No matter where I end up, whether it be part of a larger company or my own business, I firmly believe that good design is one part of making daily life more liveable and it’s something I want to be a part of. I want to be able to contribute to society in my own way: through design.”

“I owe a lot to the Vietnamese community. In particular, I’ve been fortunate enough to have been a member of the Tran Hung Dao Scout Group for the last few years, and they’ve really helped me grow as a person and push me beyond my boundaries. I also and very grateful to the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association, who allowed me the chance to volunteer in their Media & IT department as a designer. I was able to practice my skills in a real environment, an opportunity I would not otherwise have if not for my Vietnamese network.

I believe the AVEPA scholarship is very valuable for our community. Growing up, I’ve always loved seeing Vietnamese names in the media and I often wonder why I don’t encounter more. We have such a strong Vietnamese community in Australia, and it needs to be seen more in mainstream society. So I’d like to thank AVEPA for this opportunity and for helping further facilitate my growth and endeavours, and strengthen the integration of Vietnamese community”

Francis Cao, who was not able to attend the ceremony, sent his message via his elder sister:

“When I received news that I’d been given this amazing opportunity, I began to recount my experiences as a Vietnamese Australian. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been affected by stereotypes growing up, much as many others would say as well. The diversity we read on our pages and see on our screens don’t even begin to scratch the endless wealth of stories each and everyone one of us possess.

In realising this, I’ve realised that my love and passion for media and the screen can allow me to fill, even just a bit, that gap that our culture is lacking right now. So, this generous scholarship can help kick start some projects and further my education so that we can take one step closer to having everyone see themselves on the screen.”