When Nhu Duong came to the United States with her family at the end of her 5th-grade year, she didn’t know any English. “At first, I felt so alone because I couldn’t talk to anyone. I wanted to talk to people, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. It was really hard,” said Nhu. Fast forward three years later, and this Natomas Middle School student is absolutely thriving. She shares that she loves her school, has lots of friends and translates for her parents.” Now, I feel really good. My focus was to have a good education, so that kept me going.”
Entering the 6th grade determined to learn English, Nhu collected vocabulary words, read the dictionary, and used Google Translate to decode sentences. At the end of the 6th grade, she passed the English Language Arts portion of the state CAASPP exam with the highest score possible. Today, she carries a 4.0 Grade Point Average in all of her classes which happen to be all advanced and honors. “She’s a model of the hard work and perseverance we like to see in all of our students. She’s a great kid,” said Marcel Baker, Principal of Natomas Middle School.
Nou was recognized with 13 of her peers Friday, February 7, 2020, at the Natomas Unified School District’s Every Student Succeeding Awards Breakfast. Each school recommended one student who has overcome adversities and turned their challenges into opportunities to become stronger, resilient and determined. Some of the words used to describe these amazing students were “hardworking, strong, role models, committed, and focused.” Each one was supported and congratulated by their families, principals, members of the NUSD Board of Trustees, Superintendent Chris Evans, and a host of NUSD staff. Their stories were submitted to the local chapter of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) to be considered for further recognition at the state level.
Congratulations to all the students who were recognized and for allowing their stories of triumph to be shared to inspire others.
