Vietnamese-American
Youth Excellent Awards 1998
The VCSA hosted its Annual Recruitment and Vietnamese-American Youth Excellence Recognition Luncheon on Sunday August 2, 1998 at Kim Son restaurant in downtown Houston. More than 500 members and guests turned out for the event, which included a cultural show, a slide presentation about VCSA and an awards presentation for area Vietnamese-American high school students who recently graduated at the top of their class. Rev. Anthony Dao Quang, vicar for Vietnamese Catholics in the Houston-Galveston area and pastor of Our Lady of La Vang Church, was the keynote speaker.
IntroductionAfter 1975, there have been large waves of Vietnamese refugees escaping from Vietnam to the United States, Canada, and other western countries. Since then, the Vietnamese-American population has grown tremendously and contributed a great deal to the adopted homeland. With a population of more than one million, the Vietnamese-American communities in the United States have started building their lives and contributed to the society in all different fields. The second and third generations of Vietnamese-American have increased in population and consist of a major part of these communities.
In 1997, the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association organized the Vietnamese-American Youth Recognition Luncheon to recognize the academic achievement of 13 Vietnamese-American students who graduated from more than 40 local high schools in Houston as Valedictorians or Salutatorians. Ms. Tran Huong Nguyen, Teacher of the Year 1994, was the keynote speaker and Mayoral Candidate Lee Brown was also a Guest Speaker for this event. The event has been very well received by the community and had a very positive impact on the Asian youth in general and the Vietnamese-American youths in particular. The event emphasized the importance of education and encouraged the youth to excel in the academic field.
The Vietnamese Culture and Science Association would like to continue this event in 1998 as a traditional part of the Annual Recruitment Gala of our organization. In this event, we will present a slide show which captures many events and activities organized by VCSA. These slides are intended to show the audience the philosophy and intention of VCSA to younger generations. We also would like to encourage the younger generations of Vietnamese-Americans to excel in education by recognizing the outstanding academic and leadership achievements of the Vietnamese-American high school students in the Houston and vicinity areas. We will also include some cultural performances related to the Vietnamese culture during the Luncheon.
With the Annual Recruitment Gala in the first part of the Luncheon, the VCSA hopes to reach out to younger generation of the Vietnamese-Americans in the mainstream society by showing them activities and events recently undertaken by VCSA. The second part of the Luncheon will be devoted to the recognition of all Vietnamese-American high school students who graduated either Valedictorian or Salutatorian of the school year 1997-1998 in Houston area and vicinity.
Keynote Speaker Rev. Anthony Dao, Quang Chinh, O.P., Ph.D. Rev. Anthony Dao Quang Chinh, Ph.D., vicar for Vietnamese Catholics in the Area of Houston-Galveston, was born in 1953, ordained in 1982. He is also currently the pastor of Our Lady of La Vang Church in Houston, Texas. He received the Master Degree of Divinity in Systematic Theology from Graduate Theology Union, University of Berkeley, California in 1981 and Master of Arts in Systematic Theology (GTU) in 1982. He earned the Ph.D. degree in Education (Sociology of Education) from University of Houston in 1993. From 1988 to 1993, he served as Provincial Councillor for the Southern Dominican Province and the Provincial Promoter for the laity (Dominican Province). From 1991 to 1993 he was the director of the Engaged Encounter Program for the Vietnamese Communities in Galveston-Houston diocese. From 1986 to 1993, he was the Chaplain of the Vietnamese Community at Holy Rosary Parish. From 1983 to 1986, he also served as Campus Minister at University of Houston. His published books and articles include: "A Happy Family," (Vietnamese version) Houston: Chan Ly Press, 1989; "Dominican Laity and the Year 2000," Houston: Manificat Press Inst. 1989 and 1997; "What is the Vietnamese Identity," Nhan Quyen magazine, Sprint 1994; "Education and Family," Chan Ly Magazine, Calgary; "Vietnamese-American Priests: Bridges Between Two Cultures," The Priest. April 1994, USA Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.1997-1998
 Bui Hong Anh |
Valedictorian | Northbrook High School |
| Phan My Anh Kelly |
Valedictorian | Elsik High School |
| Nguyen Thuy Doan |
Valedictorian | C. E. King High School |
| Ly Minh Dong |
Valedictorian | Clear Creek High School |
| Doan Nguyen Quynh Thu |
Valedictorian | Pearland High School |
| Luong Hoai Trung |
Valedictorian | J. Frank Dobie High School |
| Tran Hoang Van Cathy |
Valedictorian | St. Agnes Academy |
| Pham Tuan Anh |
Salutatorian | Hastings High School |
| Huynh Kim Chi |
Salutatorian | C. E. Ellison High School |
| Tieu My Cuong |
Salutatorian | West Brook High School |
| To Dang Van Dung |
Salutatorian | Tomball High School |
| Pham Thanh Tam |
Salutatorian | M. E. DeBakey High School |
