| TESTIMONIALS
UYEN VY TRAN, SINGER
VASCON 2, awe-inspiring.
This weekend was simply amazing! I truly think this year VASCON Director’s board had top the one we had last year. Improvement is always needed. Great job guys!!! I’m so proud. So i went to OMNI hotelon friday at 4pm to check in and also to sing the Vietnamese Anthem forthe open ceremony. It was such an honor to shared the same stage with Mr. Vudoo! =)
IThis year,I’m glad to see and listen to those who had great talents and such aheart: from the filmmaker Ham Tran who made Journey from the Fall,Amazing caretaker Father Cuong in helping the immigrant’s worker inTaiwan, and the lovely Spoken Artist Vinh Hua, etc.
I also was honor to be part of VASCON LIVE. Thanks Judy for inviting me to be a performer for this year show, you are an awesome Entertainment director!!! I had the chance to shared the stage with such a group ofpeople that carries high talents. It was such an honor! I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!
For full entry, click here!
VUDOO SOUL, R&B ARTIST
Just got back from VASCON2 in Austin, Texas... One of the most incredible and fond experiences of my life, in such a short period of time. For the first time in my life, I felt completelyproud and crazy about being Vietnamese.
Nobody ever believes me when I say this, except for those who know mereally deep down... but I feel excruciatingly shy when I try to walk upand meet new people. I'm sure I seem fearless on the outside, but if you only knew the kind of fear I fight on the inside. At Vascon,however, it felt very warm and natural to say Hi, to get to know each other. It was like meeting long-lost family you've always loved somewhere in your imagination, & finally seeing them before your eyes for the first time. I felt such a genuine desire to connect with them.
It's a wash of so many different emotions I felt over the course of 4days with these people. I feel like I've barely begun to express how much this meant to be. It was this wonderful world of people I never knew existed, but always hoped would be lying somewhere for me to trip across someday.
I wonder if anyone else at Vascon felt this strongly? Maybe just a few... I tend to get a lot more emotional than the average citizen, for better or for worse. I'd like to think for better, but it gets me in plenty of trouble too At least, it makes for good music... For full entry, click here!
TRINH LE, UC BERKELEY I have never been to a more intimate conference. By the end, everyone seemed to know everyone. Even the performers were there the whole conference and went to the workshops with us.. they didn't just come to perform like most other conferences. Because of that we got to know them really well. And the vascon exec board were really easily accessible despite the fact that they had to do a lot of beind-the-scenes work while the conference was going on. It made it seem like everyone was one big happy family, really. Usually really hard to achieve at conferences, but vascon pulled it off. For full entry, click here!
TERESA "Q", UCLA
I originally decided to come to VASCON2 to support Thomas' Apartment.They performed there last year and came back saying it was "the best gig ever." I wanted to see what their "best gig ever" looked like so i came with them this year to the Vietnamese-American Student Conferencein Austin, TX.There were important people from all over the country...vietnamese american speakers, performers, filmmakers,activists...it was all just very overwhelming for me. I did have some amazing conversationswith my friends about our Vietnamese identity, saw an inspiring filmabout my family's struggle as boat people, learned about humantrafficking, and witnessed the many outlets of expression by the Vietnamese community through activism, community service, leadership,hip hop, R&B, martial arts, and rock music. And as expected,Thomas' Apartment rocked the live concert...i've never seen so many energetic ppl jumping and stage diving in the audience. For full entry, click here!
KHANH LE, UT AUSTIN
VASCON2 WAS AWESOME!!!!! GREAT JOB ERRRRBODY!
I got exposed to lotta issues regarding the Vietnamese community that I had no idea were such big concerns. Issues like human trafficking in Taiwan, women and children used as sex slaves, immigrants, violations of human rights, film as acommunication/political tool, the connection between art and activism,a push for better education in poorer parts of Vietnam, etc., are bigin the Vietnamese community. We had wonderful wonderful keynotespeakers including Dr. Ninh Xuan Tran (pediatric surgeon in Chicago),Father Cuong (priest working in Taiwan with Vietnamese immigrantworkers and Vietnamese brides in Taiwan aka human trafficking), Ham Tran (a filmmaker who made "Journey from the Fall" an inspiring andmoving film), John Nghiem (an investment banker and CEO of HopeInitiative, an org. pushing for better edu. in VN), Hubert Vo (a Texasrepresentative), Kim Oanh Nguyen-Lam (Garden Grove Unified DistrctBoard Member), Uyen Le (working for NAVASA to encourage youngVietnamese to doing continue doing work in the non-profit field) and Tammy Vu (a student at University of South Texas and CFO of Hope Initiative). Very inspiring indeed. Awareness is step 1. Step 2 is to spread it. I think the most influential part of Dr. Tran's speech about Human Rights in VN was that providing emotional repsonses and feeling sad for the terrible situations of others are veryshort-lived. In order to SOLVE these problems, we have to determine the ROOT (CAUSE) of the problem and start from there. There's a though you can chew onFor full entry, click here!
SOPHIA HONG, UT AUSTIN
vascon2-
may i always remember- and live by- your words.
may i always dream dreams greater than myself.
may i always cherish these beautiful friendships.
Watching clips from "Journey from the Fall" was emotional. [Did youfeel that too? I was tearing up like no other.] Although I'm not Vietnamese-American, it still struck a chord that resonated deep within my heart. How our parents stories- yours and mine - are different but the same. How beautiful it is that we can all come and share them together. It's inspired me to begin writing again- not just xangaing- but real writing. What's your story? I want to hear it.
more than a conference...a movement.
hopes, aspirations... for something more.
to everyone at vascon2, thank you.
For full entry, click here!
KEITH TRUONG, THE MANGOS, CO-EMCEE
one week after vascon and my voice is finally back...
i've had a little time to digest the past week's events and i guess a recap is in order.
vascon the second.
it's a beautiful thing when people from all over the country can come to the south to share this experience with each other. thanks are definitely in order to everyone that took the time to plan and organize the behemoth we call vascon, and thanks are also in order to those that took the time to come to austin with open minds and open hearts. it was a pleasure sharing a space with young people (still holding on to my youth by a thread ) that care about our shared history and the issues affecting our community.
there are a few organizations and events that i've been a part of that i can look back upon and say "i've met some of the greatest people i've ever met here." did vascon make the cut? i'm gonna have to go with "yeah."
i was lucky to meet so many new faces and to see a lot of old faces. boom. i expect to have a floor to sleep on no matter where i go. the offer is extended to all of you for sure.
i slept for about six hours the whole weekend. i wouldn't have it anyother way. i said it day one, i hope people took my advice and saved sleep for sunday night. pluckers day 1, the omni's chamber room day 2.staying up all night drinking heineken, playing taboo, and acapellakaraoke-ing = fun.
weird, kinda cool, but weird moment:sunday morning - everyone in a circle, facing outside breaking into song, "hero" by mariah carey to be exact. there was a moment in thesong when me and billy from thomas' apartment looked at each other and realized that this was probably the least masculine moment in both of our lives. so we did the only thing we could do. we kept singing.
For full entry, click here!
MINH TRI NGUYEN, MICROSOFT
VASCON2 was fun, fun, fun
I spent the weekend in Austin, Texas to attend VASCON2, the annual Vietnamese youth conference in the south. Originally, I was actually not intending to attend the conference, but I’ve been asked to go there to represent and promote Lenduong as well as VietACT, since I am so heavily involved in both of them. VASCON2 was a blast for me, becausethis is the very first time for me to attend a Vietnamese conference,where I truly did not have to work behind-the-scenes or give any presentation that I need to prepare for. As a result, I actually got toattend all workshops to my likings, learned a few new things here andthere, and got to network with more Vietnamese-people-that-you-should-know-if-you-work-in-the-community.Outside of the workshops, I had pure joy meeting so many of my oldfriends again. It was a reunion with UVSA staff, VPS Dallas members,SoCal friends, DH4 veterans, uNAVSA attendees and Vietnam Freedom Marchparticipants, and getting drunk and clubbing with them until the weehours was just hella fun.
VASCON was one of the most professionallyorganized student-run conferences I’ve ever attended. From thelogistics, the email updates, to the venues, and hospitality of thelocal group, I am very impressed at how professionally everything wasorganized. It really puts the logistics of Lenduong’s biannualconference to shame, hahaha. Kudos to Nam Nguyen, Kym Pham, Frank Le,Judy Feng… and everyone else involved in the planning and execution ofthis great conference. For full entry, click here!
MINH NGUYEN, UCLA
VASCON2
Remember the time I had a final before my flight?
And I hardly slept the night before,
Trying to chase down a cab at the Austin airport?
Remember "building" bridges with your peers?
What about "booming"?
Yeah you know I boomed you good.
Remember the dropped off breakfast?
An assortment of slightly hard bagels.
The green one was my favorite, of course.
Remember how Hai and Tony matched...
Wearing the same exact pink shirt.
They make such a cute couple.
Remember cookies for humanity?
Only $3 for a bag.
Btw, they go great with coffee.
Remember eating crawfish for days?
Only $4.15 a pound #$%^&
And a dozen of oysters was $5.25.
Remember the time I fell in love with 6th street?
No cover charge, $3 drinks that TASTE good,
Music that was decent, and it was open till 4am.
Then again, remember how I got so drunk,
I stumbled into a tattoo parlor with jVo,
And I was THIS close to getting one, but they were closing.
Rememeber Frodo and Vince Vaughn?
Oops, my bad...
I meant Nam and Micheal :P
Remember how boo-jee the Omni Hotel was?
But regardless, the power went out for hours.
That meant free drinks and ice cream for us!
Remember staying at the La Quinta?
That offered FREE breakfast...
Take that Omni.
Remember how we ALMOST missed our flight home?
Speeding down the freeway,
And running down the terminal.
These are just some random thoughts that popped in my mind about theconference. Aside from the great seminars and speakers as well as the fresh new faces I got to meet over the trip. Not to mention all the talented Asian-Am performers at the concert. And of course who couldforget the ice breakers by the Vu Crew. Texas was quite a place to be.
For full entry, click here!
SHAWN CUONG DO, UCLA VSU PRESIDENT
I suffered through most of finals week with the stomach flu, but I was glad it ended as spring break began. I woke up early friday morning to begin my trip to what would be a wonderful weekend ahead...
...looking outside the window as we departed for Texas and VASCON2.
The final full day atthe conference seemed like it might be uneventful since we were just saying goodbye to everyone leaving and exploring Austin. We expected less but got so much more though. The morning started with waking upand closing ceremonies. It was nice to enjoy the last moments with most people who had to leave for school the next day...
...a shot of the group leaving the place as we ended the night. We talked a bit more with Ham afterwards beforecalling it a night. The conference had ended and that meant flying back to California in the morning.
VASCON2...moments that I'll treasure forever...
For full entry, click here!
KIMCHI NGUYEN, SAN DIEGO
VASCON 2 ROCKS!!!
WOWSER!!! VASCON 2 was awesome!!! I am sooo soooo GLAD I went! I had doubts at first because I've been to too many Vietnamese American/VSAconferences but needless to say this one BLEW me away!!! It was incredible how much good stuff was crammed into the 3 days conference...and I loved every single minute of it! I really learned alot more than I had anticipated. From workshops to performances to theleadership bridge buildings...everything was done with so much heart& soul of all those involved! Thank you everyone for putting onsuch an incredible experience! Madamme Kym Pham, you are the embodimentof what I consider GIRL POWER!!! Mr. Nam Nguyen, thanks for the convincing me to fly to TX for such an incredible experience!!! Major HUGE props to the VASCON 2 staff! I am extremely impressed by every aspect of VASCON 2...from the professional marketing strategies to the guerilla propaganda on xanga/myspace/aims ;op I am truly touched and honored that you all opened your hearts and minds in helping VietACT combat human trafficking! I really hope we continue to build bridges and are able to help each other cross those bridges!!!
"Never doubt a small group of caring, passionate people who can changethe world. Because it is the only thing that has."
This is only the beginning....
For full entry, click here!
THUY NGO, UCI
VASCON2 was a blast. Everything was great and perfect. I was able to meet my hero Bao Phi and get the "Refugeography" CD and get it autographed. I loved all the workshops. the only thing was I felt so small afterwards with a sense of urgency that something needs to be done about all these issues. Still the question is what? But then thats what all our groups are about right? And what building bridges is about? I met a lot of really cool folks and feel blessed for the chance to have gone.
VU DINH, UCLA, ICE BREAKER COORDINATOR
VASCON 2!!!
Where to begin? I'll have to admit, my initial impression of VASCON wasn't all that great. Looking at the website and reading the content they had on there in February.
However, VASCON proved me wrong. The more I got involved in the whole process, having several conference calls with Mike and Kym, the more I felt that this was really going to be something special. And indeed itwas.
VASCON was just the right blend offun and seriousness. The board did an amazing job of balancing the two hand in hand in a very subtle way that you almost didn't notice. Othercamps/conferences that I've been to say they are about building a community, about bringing people together, and when they try to forceit, it backfires on them. With VASCON, it just came so naturally that you couldn't help but feel connected with all the people around you.
And I think that's one of the best things about VASCON. They were able to bring together such an amazing assortment of people all throughout the country. From the East Coast, the Midwest, the South, the West Coast, even people from other countries like Cha Cuong in Taiwan. All gathered together with a common vision, a common goal. I don't think we'd be able to get that kind of following here, since we are usually so very California-oriented. But in Texas, their locality is much more central such that it makes it easier to pull in people from different regions. Plus I think it's a testament to Kym's foresight to really connect with leaders in the various areas, and in turn have them rally up and bring all their respective peoples.
Another great thing about VASCON was the emphasis on current day Vietnamese American artists. No other conference has such an entertainment backbone as VASCON does. Sure, they all have van nghe's with cultural shows, dances, etc. but none of them give such a warm and vibrant space that really encourages and embraces artists of our own generation. Music is such a unifying force, and the board really capitalized on this to bring everyone together. Our culture, our language has so much music, art, and poetry infused in it, it's so uplifting to see our generation continue that. VASCON Live was such a surreal and captivating experience, and I'd say was the highlight ofthe conference.
Overall though, VASCON2 was bomb-diggity! Definitely exceeded all my expectations of what aVietnamese American Student Conference should be. It opened a lot of eyes, inspired a lot of people, built a lot of bridges, and definitelycaptured the essence of what it means to be Vietnamese American. Our community is what it is thanks to VASCON2.
For full entry, click here!
PAUL, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
Just got back from Austin, Texas. I'm stating this right now VASCON was awesome. The workshops especially reinforce the lack of understandingon the struggles of Vietnamese population. It made me realize what one individual can do to help the cause. Overall, it was a nice bonding experience with the e-board. I found out that eight people can fit in one hotel, night life in Texas is wild as heck, Vietnamese Americans actually care about important issues. With all the " conferences" I attended in my time this one has a huge impact on my perception on life and the american dream.
VINH THE KID, SPOKEN WORD ARTIST
vascon, continuation of elements series: lucky me, i dreamed of you
vascon was amazing... ridiculously crazily amazing. and i know this post is late, but it's taken me this long to finish this goddamn poem that came out of that experience and of hanging with the people at VASCON.
vascon was beautiful... honestly, amazing amazing good folks. a lot of southern hospitality and love. dude, i met people spanning from my monkey brothers in spirit, to someone that i'd love to call my mom, to silk mangoes members, to some of the hardestworking people i've ever met. so many beautiful people it was amazing.i had so much fun and so much privilege performing in front of thataudience. thank you. all of vascon. for being fucking beautiful.
yall helped me learn so much about all of you and about myself. not all of it is beautiful but it's all important. so much of the time, i'm so closed up and so fronted up in this persona i build. i need to learn how to let go and let people know me as i really am. and not to be stupid. thank you again. let's do it again soon.
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