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While the rest of the student body has been relaxing at home, traveling the world or taking on summer courses or jobs, Notre Dame’s Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) has remained as active as ever. VSAs from various Midwestern colleges convened at Notre Dame’s campus on June 24 for a networking fair and mixer designed to raise money for charity.

 

Students from Purdue University, Indiana University, the University of Iowa and Michigan State University, along with many other universities, participated in activities ranging from a 5K race around campus to a social at the Compton Family Ice Arena. The day-long gala — part conference, part networking fair and part mixer — also featured bonding activities and dance performances.

 

“It was really fun,” said VSA member and public relations manager Emily Luong. “It was nice to meet many different people from other VSAs.”

 

Though located at Notre Dame, the event was a collaborative effort between students across the region. A subcommittee of the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of the Midwest, the Council of State Representatives (COSR), organized the gala. VSAND vice president Tony Do, representing the state of Indiana in COSR, planned the event alongside representatives from other states.

 

The gala provided students not only with a chance to get to know each other, but also with an opportunity to help those in need. Proceeds were donated to the Catalyst Foundation’s Project Backpack, an effort to educate marginalized children in the Vietnamese province Ninh Thuận.