By AMY HAMILTON
The Daily Sentinel (Colorado, USA)
No one would have blamed Somneang Chan for giving up.
The former Cambodian refugee of 12 years had seen more atrocities during childhood than most people could fathom. But Chan was offered the opportunity to go to college — her stated life goal — and she grasped it.
In the past six years, Chan has battled a language barrier, cultural differences and the challenges of living in a foreign country to pursue that dream. She loosens her grip today, as she graduates from Mesa State College with a nursing degree.
“It’s a matter of keeping going and not giving up,” Chan said, close to tears. “I used my past experience to keep me going. This is nothing compared to what I’ve been through.”
Chan never imagined she’d live in the United States, much less graduate from college. The youngest of eight children, Chan’s family was herded into camps by the Khmer Rouge, the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Many members of Chan’s family were killed by the regime, which was notorious for killing nearly 2 million people through executions, forced labor and starvation. Chan’s mother died shortly after Somneang was born. The family moved from place to place as Cambodian and Vietnamese troops bombed refugee camps.
While living in a United Nations refugee camp along the border of Cambodia and Thailand, Chan taught herself English by reading U.N. manuals. She was trained and worked as a midwife delivering babies, and during that time Chan crossed paths with Martha Teas, a former Mesa County planner who was working in the U.N. camp. The two became fast friends.
After four years, as Teas’ stint with the World Food Program was about to expire, she asked Chan what she wanted to do with her life.
“I said, ‘Higher education, health care,’” Chan recalled.
Teas offered to sponsor Chan’s move to the United States and pay her college tuition.
“I said, ‘Are you serious?’ ” Chan said. “I was jumping all over the place.”
Chan arrived in Grand Junction in 2000 and lived with Paula and Greg Trainor for more than five years. Because she had no formal education, Chan had to get her GED before applying to Mesa State College.
Greg Trainor remembers Chan’s first years learning the culture and studying for exams. Trainor said he and Chan had long discussions on topics that most Americans learned while growing up, such as George Washington and the Civil War.
Trainor recalls Chan asking to go to the store for “bgetables” later determined to be vegetables, and Chan pointing to a traffic sign and asking the definition of a “spid lemet” or speed limit. Tougher questions surfaced later as Chan’s classes advanced, such as the meaning of the word metamorphosis, Trainor said.
“It was almost as if this person was dropped from outer space,” he said. “There was a lot of background, a lot that a person that’s not from this country doesn’t have.”
Chan said studying and writing papers was harder for her than for traditional students. Chan said her classmates would learn by scanning reading material, while she would comb through every word to gain comprehension.
Other students would crank out lengthy term papers in a couple hours, a task that would take Chan days.
She took entry-level courses in math and English that didn’t count toward her degree. After getting accepted into the nursing program in 2004, Chan failed one of the program’s easier classes: nursing fundamentals.
“I was so bummed out,” Chan said. “International students have to put extra effort into every class.”
Despite these hurdles, she was nominated for a “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges” award.
But Chan was more than a student during her years at Mesa State. She worked part-time in the college’s recreation center and also with the Columbine Caregivers. She sent money home to family, once to cover her sister’s medical operation. She could be found volunteering as a nurse’s aide at St. Mary’s Hospital during her Christmas break.
In 2003 she made a trip back to Cambodia over summer break to visit family and volunteer again. This time she worked as an assistant for research consultants to the World Bank. The year was especially difficult, as Teas was killed in Baghdad on Aug. 19, when a suicide bomber blew up the U.N. headquarters there.
A framed picture in Chan’s living room shows her and Teas hugging and smiling on a boat in a Cambodian river. With the blessing of Teas’ husband, Jamie Meikeljohn of Hotchkiss, Chan took some of Teas’ ashes back to the Me Kong River.
“After (Teas) died, (Meikeljohn) said, ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll continue to support you until you finish school,’” Chan said. “I wouldn’t get this degree without them.”
Chan and Meikeljohn took the stage Friday at the college’s Performing Arts Center in a ceremonial pinning event along with 27 others graduating with bachelor of science nursing degrees. Chan said Meikeljohn’s presence represented Teas and Chan’s family.
“This was really Martha’s idea,” Meikeljohn said after the ceremony. “She was convinced that (Somneang) could pull it off. That’s what she did.”
While in school, Chan’s father, Nop Pich, also died.
Chan’s eyes got misty when she spoke of the fact her dad and Teas won’t see her graduate today.
“I know her spirit will be there, so will my dad,” she said, dabbing away tears. “They wanted to see me succeed. I know that.”
Chan said she can work in the United States for a year, according to the terms of a visa. She wants to gain some nursing experience, hopefully working with the elderly, before heading back to work as a nurse in her home country.
She said she will take a month off to study for her board exam and get in some hiking around Colorado National Monument.
Chan, who asked that her age not be printed, offering, “Let people guess,” said she is thankful for the generosity she has received.
“I’m lucky to meet all these nice people,” she said. “I never thought of being here in this country. It’s too huge, you know. Kids in the village have never seen a big town. They see a picture of a big town, and it’s like heaven to them.”
Amy Hamilton can be reached via e-mail at ahamilton@gjds.com.
The former Cambodian refugee of 12 years had seen more atrocities during childhood than most people could fathom. But Chan was offered the opportunity to go to college — her stated life goal — and she grasped it.
In the past six years, Chan has battled a language barrier, cultural differences and the challenges of living in a foreign country to pursue that dream. She loosens her grip today, as she graduates from Mesa State College with a nursing degree.
“It’s a matter of keeping going and not giving up,” Chan said, close to tears. “I used my past experience to keep me going. This is nothing compared to what I’ve been through.”
Chan never imagined she’d live in the United States, much less graduate from college. The youngest of eight children, Chan’s family was herded into camps by the Khmer Rouge, the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Many members of Chan’s family were killed by the regime, which was notorious for killing nearly 2 million people through executions, forced labor and starvation. Chan’s mother died shortly after Somneang was born. The family moved from place to place as Cambodian and Vietnamese troops bombed refugee camps.
While living in a United Nations refugee camp along the border of Cambodia and Thailand, Chan taught herself English by reading U.N. manuals. She was trained and worked as a midwife delivering babies, and during that time Chan crossed paths with Martha Teas, a former Mesa County planner who was working in the U.N. camp. The two became fast friends.
After four years, as Teas’ stint with the World Food Program was about to expire, she asked Chan what she wanted to do with her life.
“I said, ‘Higher education, health care,’” Chan recalled.
Teas offered to sponsor Chan’s move to the United States and pay her college tuition.
“I said, ‘Are you serious?’ ” Chan said. “I was jumping all over the place.”
Chan arrived in Grand Junction in 2000 and lived with Paula and Greg Trainor for more than five years. Because she had no formal education, Chan had to get her GED before applying to Mesa State College.
Greg Trainor remembers Chan’s first years learning the culture and studying for exams. Trainor said he and Chan had long discussions on topics that most Americans learned while growing up, such as George Washington and the Civil War.
Trainor recalls Chan asking to go to the store for “bgetables” later determined to be vegetables, and Chan pointing to a traffic sign and asking the definition of a “spid lemet” or speed limit. Tougher questions surfaced later as Chan’s classes advanced, such as the meaning of the word metamorphosis, Trainor said.
“It was almost as if this person was dropped from outer space,” he said. “There was a lot of background, a lot that a person that’s not from this country doesn’t have.”
Chan said studying and writing papers was harder for her than for traditional students. Chan said her classmates would learn by scanning reading material, while she would comb through every word to gain comprehension.
Other students would crank out lengthy term papers in a couple hours, a task that would take Chan days.
She took entry-level courses in math and English that didn’t count toward her degree. After getting accepted into the nursing program in 2004, Chan failed one of the program’s easier classes: nursing fundamentals.
“I was so bummed out,” Chan said. “International students have to put extra effort into every class.”
Despite these hurdles, she was nominated for a “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges” award.
But Chan was more than a student during her years at Mesa State. She worked part-time in the college’s recreation center and also with the Columbine Caregivers. She sent money home to family, once to cover her sister’s medical operation. She could be found volunteering as a nurse’s aide at St. Mary’s Hospital during her Christmas break.
In 2003 she made a trip back to Cambodia over summer break to visit family and volunteer again. This time she worked as an assistant for research consultants to the World Bank. The year was especially difficult, as Teas was killed in Baghdad on Aug. 19, when a suicide bomber blew up the U.N. headquarters there.
A framed picture in Chan’s living room shows her and Teas hugging and smiling on a boat in a Cambodian river. With the blessing of Teas’ husband, Jamie Meikeljohn of Hotchkiss, Chan took some of Teas’ ashes back to the Me Kong River.
“After (Teas) died, (Meikeljohn) said, ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll continue to support you until you finish school,’” Chan said. “I wouldn’t get this degree without them.”
Chan and Meikeljohn took the stage Friday at the college’s Performing Arts Center in a ceremonial pinning event along with 27 others graduating with bachelor of science nursing degrees. Chan said Meikeljohn’s presence represented Teas and Chan’s family.
“This was really Martha’s idea,” Meikeljohn said after the ceremony. “She was convinced that (Somneang) could pull it off. That’s what she did.”
While in school, Chan’s father, Nop Pich, also died.
Chan’s eyes got misty when she spoke of the fact her dad and Teas won’t see her graduate today.
“I know her spirit will be there, so will my dad,” she said, dabbing away tears. “They wanted to see me succeed. I know that.”
Chan said she can work in the United States for a year, according to the terms of a visa. She wants to gain some nursing experience, hopefully working with the elderly, before heading back to work as a nurse in her home country.
She said she will take a month off to study for her board exam and get in some hiking around Colorado National Monument.
Chan, who asked that her age not be printed, offering, “Let people guess,” said she is thankful for the generosity she has received.
“I’m lucky to meet all these nice people,” she said. “I never thought of being here in this country. It’s too huge, you know. Kids in the village have never seen a big town. They see a picture of a big town, and it’s like heaven to them.”
Amy Hamilton can be reached via e-mail at ahamilton@gjds.com.
2 comments:
Congratulation to your success! I really appreciate your efforts.
From a Cambodian student in USA.
When the right time is chosen with right decision along with right means to apply, here is the good result.
Many hilltribe Hmong people in Loas who had never been in school earned University'degrees here in USA.
Congratulation for job well-done.
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