Written by: Rei Pham, Miss Photogenic & Miss Ao Dai 2016 Early April 29, 2016, Alex, Y, and Rei paid the Merced Rescue Mission in Downtown, Merced a visit. Although it was early (6:30 AM!), they were ready to serve breakfast and hand out blankets for the residents of the shelter. Upon arrival, they were greeted and given a tour of the shelter. It is rather a small place, but they were all very surprised to learn that the shelter houses about 60,000 residents per year! They learned that typically, residents get their lunch immediately after breakfast and head out...
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Pageant Experience: Savannah Pham- First Princess
On pageant day, my alarm went off at 6 a.m. I awoke slightly disoriented, having tossed and turned throughout the night. I went to my hair and makeup appointment and my artist did an incredible job. However, she had not taken into account the length of my hair, so she didn’t end up finishing until 9:40. I was so worried about arriving late and losing points. By the time my sister dropped me off at the theater, I ran over to where the other girls were standing. “You made it just in time!” they shouted. I looked at my phone....
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Pageant Experience: Viviane Nguyen- Miss Congeniality
I recall being abroad in Thailand and making the decision to be a contestant in the Miss Vietnam of Northern California Intercollegiate Pageant. As I reflect on my experience as a contestant leading up to pageant day and winning Miss Congeniality, the quote that best summarizes my four month experience is, “A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” While I was studying abroad, I went out of my comfort zone by doing two solo trips to Singapore and Myanmar. I was challenged to be independent in an unfamiliar country. Similarly, my first pageant experience challenged...
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Pageant Experience: Alexandra Huynh- Miss Entrepreneur
Going into this pageant, I had no idea of what to expect. I joined to get out of my comfort zone and to meet new people; I just wanted to do something different. Little did I know, this whole experience would change my life. From the Meet and Greet, I was able to meet all of the other contestants, the director, Jessica, and the 2014 Court. Everyone was so nice, but everything became serious when we went over all of the guidelines and competition. I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me. I was determined to exceed...
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Norcal UVSA Leadership Summit 2014
What a weekend!!! Crystal, Mandy, and I spent the weekend of November 7-9, 2014 in Merced to attend Norcal UVSA’s 8th Summit Leadership Conference on behalf of MVNCI. The annual event is hosted at a different NorCal university each year, and students from all Norcal VSA chapters are invited to attend. This year, it was hosted at UC Merced and the theme was “Purpose, Passion, and Progress”. Students attend to socialize with other VSA chapters, have the opportunity to listen to inspiring keynote speakers, attend informative workshops/funshops of their choice, and celebrate at the fancy Gala hosted on Saturday evening. MVNCI was invited...
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