SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco School Volunteers, a group that recruits and places volunteers in city public schools, honored Hoa Tran as Volunteer of the Year at an Oct. 14 lunch reception at the Fairmont Hotel.
For the past five years, Tran has assisted with classroom projects in Newcomer High School’s computer lab and has taught its staff and students applications such as PowerPoint. Tran also created customized tools to help track the school’s English-language development data and redesigned the school’s website.
The high school provides a one-year transitional educational program for newly arrived, high-school-aged immigrants and refugees to become familiar with their social and cultural environment. Besides basic courses, the school provides ESL classes intended for new language learners.
The experiences of Newcomer’s students resonates with Tran, who left Vietnam 30 years ago and stayed in a refugee camp for a year before coming to the United States at age 18.
In the United States, he learned English, worked part-time and studied part-time in community college and eventually went to San Francisco State University. He went on to receive an M.B.A. and an MIS degree.
“When I first came, many people helped me,” he said. “Now I’m doing the same. It’s like returning a favor.
“I can see myself in those kids,” he continued. “I tell them ‘Don’t feel despair. Just be patient. You’ll get there.’ “
