February Alumni Connection 2021

Chamroeun Chhay (‘19) traveled across the world from his home in Cambodia to attend Vanguard when he was just 12 years old. As a seventh grader, Chhay arrived to an entirely new culture and way of life. Though he lived with family members, rather than a traditional host family, there were a lot of new people and
experiences on his path — and he was up for the challenge.

“I had to assimilate through my interactions with my friends and teachers at school,” Chhay said. “Because Vanguard has a lot of caring staff and students, they were all willing to help and teach me.” 

While his academics were important, Chhay said new people and new experiences in a different country with a completely different culture were the most valuable aspects of his journey as an international student. 

“I made some great friends which I wouldn’t have met had I not come,” he said. “The culture differs from region to region in America. Because Texas is so huge, I can travel to different cities and there are always things to do.” 

Over two years ago, junior Grace Yoon came to Vanguard from South Korea as a freshman.

“I’m currently living with the Kuhls,” Yoon said. “They have been nothing but understanding and amazing to me since I moved in with them this year. They introduce me to local restaurants that I haven’t tried before and are always willing to learn about my language and culture.”

Vanguard’s International Student Program (ISP), which was launched in 2012-13, welcomes international students from around the world to be a part of the 7th-12th-grade community. We are in partnership with Cambridge Network, a U.S.-based international placement program that matches students with top high schools around the country. They have a strong emphasis on academics, solidifying students’ English speaking and writing skills, preparing students for college, exposure to the American culture, and providing a quality education. Most students live with host families as they pursue their high school education. Vanguard currently has students from South Korea, China, Vietnam, Brazil, Spain, and Cambodia.

The 38 International Viking graduates have gone on to colleges around the world including Purdue University, UC San Diego, UCLA, Southern Methodist University, Penn State, the University of Washington, Boston University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Texas, Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea among others. 

But when it comes to the impact on a student’s knowledge and understanding of the world around them, an international student program is a two-way street. Domestic students who engage with international students enhance their own self-confidence, leadership and quantitative skills, according to a study at Duke University (Examining the Educational Benefits of Interacting with International Students, Jialo Luo and David Jamison-Drake, 2013). American undergrads are also more likely to appreciate art [and] literature, place current problems in historical perspective and read or speak a foreign language, the study shows. 

In addition to their daily interactions in the classroom, on the athletic field and through extracurricular activities like art, theater, debate, music and journalism, Vanguard’s international students host an annual World Cultural Assembly to showcase their cultures and share their experiences of studying in the United States. 

“They expose students to their Lunar New Year celebrations, what education looks like in their home countries and what students their age do for fun back home,” said ISP director Hannah VanDyke. “Learning about the differences and similarities in cultures makes our campus a more global and welcoming place.” 

Vanguard has a long history of welcoming international students — some from places and times that live on, not only through their personal experience, but also through history. On the hot August day in 1991 after Giorgi Khaburzania arrived at his host family’s house in Waco, a newspaper headline informed him of the fall of the USSR, the country he had just left behind.

“It was then and that very moment that the Cold War was over and the Soviet Union dissolved,” Khaburzania said. “My host family, the Harrisons, did everything they could do to make me feel at home and safe in Texas.”

Once school began, it was an all-new experience for Khaburzania. 

“I was the only foreign student at Vanguard at the time and the first one from the other side of the Cold War,” he said. “What I found immediately was that all true Texans were very friendly, polite, kind and classy. This is where my love for Texas began. The students and teachers alike realized that I was having extremely hard time adjusting and they really went out of their way to make me feel comfortable and right at home.”

Khaburzania said he was appreciative of the dedication of the faculty. 

“From one side, they did everything to accommodate my lack of English fluency and the lack of knowledge of the American way of life,” he said “yet they were demanding and motivating enough to inspire me to work very hard and aspire for more.”

History and government teacher and Fellowship of Christian Athletes sponsor Brad Livingstone is one who stands out in Khaburzania’s mind as one who helped him along his journey. 

“I was neither a practicing Christian nor an athlete at the time, but he did inspire me to join and I did,” Khaburzania said. “I had the hardest time in his class. With the limited knowledge of English language and of the American way of life, once I tried to cheat in his class — a practice very common in all schools of my country at the time, but apparently not in the private schools in America. Mr. Livingstone caught me and I immediately admitted the truth. Although I was entirely in the wrong, he gave me a chance to redeem myself and I passed the test with flying colors.”

Khaburzania remembers that his math teacher, Dena Johns, taught him how to approach life from a mathematician’s point of view and that English, speech and journalism teacher, Mary Helen George, inspired him to pursue a career in journalism. He is now a leading TV producer in Georgia, in the former Soviet Union.

“Mrs. George also raised my self-confidence and inspired me to strive for more,” he said. “She encouraged me to work on the Vanguard Review and I was very proud to have my articles published in every issue. In English class, I also remember how well she explained Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and how the paper I wrote on it, she singled out and pinned on the wall as one of the best essays of the class. This made me motivated to study harder, better and achieve more. One of the very special experiences I had at Vanguard was to be part of a very secret Ben Franklin Society, which Mrs. George heralded and which, at the time in the early 90s, was a very progressive and woke society inspired by the movie “Dead Poets Society.”

More recently, Chhay said he enjoyed his time with all his teachers at Vanguard, but especially orchestra teacher Katie James. 

“I had class with Mrs. James every year since the seventh grade,” he said. “She helped turn me from a shy kid with anxiety to performing and receiving medals at numerous competitions. She always helped me through all my endeavors, and I am grateful.” 

He also credits English teacher Wendy Allman with much of his mastery of the English language. 

“At the beginning, my English was not that great,” Chhay said, “but Dr. Allman always found ways to encourage me and wanted me to work harder at speaking and writing. Nowadays, I can write great essays every other week for my college classes, and I owe it to her encouragement.” 

Yoon gives a nod to teachers in both the math and humanities departments.

“Mrs. Johnson not only taught me math in the best way possible, but also gives me great advice about my future, such as majors and school schedules,” Yoon said. “Mrs. Ferretter made history, my weakest subject, so fun and interesting.”

Chhay, Yoon, and Khaburzania all said they would encourage others seeking an international experience at Vanguard to take the leap.

“Studying abroad changed my life,” Chhay said. “There will be changes or differences between cultures that you need to adapt to, but the experiences that you will gain from studying and understanding a different culture will stick with you. There will be difficulties when assimilating into another culture, but the most important thing is to have the courage and curiosity to learn.”

Khaburzania said initially he felt like a fish out of water and had to overcome the culture shock of coming to America from beyond the Iron Curtain, but Vanguard made it easy.

“The students made me feel most welcomed,” he said. “I was met as a friend and I never once felt like a foreigner or a stranger. They included me in every fun activity they could, and I got to hang out with all kinds of crowds. Texans truly are the friendliest of people in the whole world. I still keep the yearbook from that year with all the warm wishes from the Vanguard school students.”

And Yoon said all the challenges are worth the reward.

“It is not always rainbows and butterflies,” Yoon said. “It is hard to learn a new language and culture. But if you enjoy some challenges and want to experience a different education system, you should consider studying abroad. Also, rainbows and butterflies will eventually come.”