GET INVOLVED

Faith Xiong

Although I'm only a freshman, I've gained so much from being a part of NVSI. NVSI has helped me develop leadership, research, organization, and communication skills. Moreover, the NVSI team is very supportive and understanding. They really encourage everyone to participate in the meetings. That's why NVSI is such an amazing center! The team focuses on fulfilling change through local and global events and collaborative paperwork with other professionals. Students are able to gain real-world experience and develop various skills. I guarantee that no matter who you are, you will gain something from joining NVSI.

Tuoyang Ye

I am a first-year undergraduate student at the University of California, Davis, majoring in Economics. As a research assistant for Dr. Kieu-Linh Caroline Valverde, New Vietnam Studies Initiative is one of the programs that I am involved in. As a freshman, I definitely learned so much about researching and leadership as part of NVSI. NVSI involves many kinds of skills such as holding conferences, setting group goals which can be extremely useful in life. Being a part of NVSI, you are not only working with local scholars but scholars from all around the world. It is such an amazing experience for me!

Ashley Fortier

NVSI has been helpful for me to explore my interests and how I can use my interests and skillset to better contribute to a team. For example in NVSI there are opportunities to be involved with organizing and leading the team but also you can be involved with creative projects. Because of this flexibility, you are given the space in this team to take on more responsibility at your own pace and create your own NVSI experience. Additionally I appreciate how incredibly supportive the team is and how they take into account how we can work with our individual strengths and limitations to accomplish our goals as a collective.

Iris Vang

Greetings, my name is Iris Vang. I am a senior who is currently majoring in Psychology at UC Davis. I am a part of Professor Valverde's research team, where I had the chance to enhance my personal skills, such as communication, public speaking, and coordinating public events.I believe the New Vietnam Studies Initiative will impact students the same way. The NVSI research team is diverse and are always ready to learn new things from each other. They stay focused on their goals and each person plays a part in their research groups. This center will provide lots of tools for students to enhance their academic and personal skills in order to apply it towards their future careers. I trust that the New Vietnam Studies Initiative will encourage students and faculty to engage themselves in a space that allows them to share and connect with each other through academic support groups and resources.

Trish

VLM

My experience with VLM has been a validating experience as I have been able to connect and resonate with the Vietnamese language in many ways. By working with Ethan, the team lead, we have officially launched the first student led Vietnamese course on campus. This is an experience that I truly cherish as we begin to share not only our language, but also our culture with our UC Davis population. As a future health care provider, I am a strong advocate of understanding to share compassion. By understanding peoples' cultures, backgrounds and connections, we can better improve the quality of care we provide to further assist patients comfortably. This movement is one step towards providing that opportunity for students within my local campus to follow that path-- understanding to share compassion. Our Vietnamese culture is multifaceted and quite deep-- and this is a culture that enlightens. I am glad to be part of an movement that can act as a medium for that enlightenment to spread.

Ethan

VLM

Being a part of the Vietnamese Language Movement has given me the opportunity to work with so many people, including Professor Valverde's research team and individuals who are simply passionate for starting a Vietnamese language course at UC Davis. Along with our team, I've been able to meet with past members as well as UC Davis administrators and faculty to seek support in the movement. We have recently been successful in starting a student-led Vietnamese course this quarter led by Khang Ton, which was a great overall experience. Through the process, I've learned how to strategize and come up with solutions when obstacles are faced along the way. All in all, the Vietnamese Language Movement has brought me closer to the Vietnamese language and culture, in hopes of preserving it and spreading it to those of the UC Davis community in the coming years.

Kai

East Sea

This NVSI project is about spreading awareness and seeking methods for de-escalating the situation in the South China Sea, also known as the East Sea. Three webinars were planned for this project and all of them have been successfully performed. In the first and second webinars, we invited speakers to talk about their research and opinions regarding this heavily disputed body of water on its history, current situation, and the potential way for a peaceful resolution. In our third webinar, we invited the past and new speakers to discuss the composition of a white paper on this international issue. In the white paper, we will also cover the history, the current situation of the conflict, and the potential solutions but in a more formal and in-depth way. Over the course of the project, I have worked my way up from a team member to the leader of this project, and I learned so much about how to lead a team and how to work with other top academic officials or scholars. I think I also enhanced my skills in logistics and communication. I also learn more about the conflict in-dept and the process of how to write an official report such as a white paper.

Kim

East Sea

My experience with the East Sea is both stressful and rewarding. The team has to deal with speakers who may not be comfortable using electronics or Zoom, who may not reply to emails immediately, and who may bring in totally opposing perspectives and potential for unease. However, as stressful as it was, the rewarding parts kept us all committed. We have a mission to ensure that the people living around the East Sea region have a good life where they do not have to suffer from wars between East Sea claimants, economic instability from territorial disputes, and lack of regional and international help with natural disasters. We commit to educating the public about the East Sea situations and aiding the governments involved with East Sea disputes to build regional and international cooperation to foster regional peace and stability. Up to date, the East Sea team organized two conferences, inviting speakers from all over the world with all sorts of backgrounds to comment on the East Sea dispute. We had speakers from Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Britain, the United States, and even Argentina! Their expertise range from international law, historical archive, military strategy, data coercion, fishery management to natural disaster control. The most amazing part is that the students choose who to invite to speak at the conference! Professor Valverde gives us full autonomy in achieving our goals and trust that we are capable of making true the possibility of peace for the countless civilians living by the South China Sea.

Annamarie

East Sea

NVSI has given me many opportunities to grow and develop connections with scholars, artists, and activists, and the opportunity to contribute to projects that make unique proposals toward resolving major problems, such as the East Sea white paper.