A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E - Colby-Sawyer College

PHOTO: Cindy Benson
as her family away from home, and they
began corresponding over the summer
before she arrived at Colby-Sawyer. Marsha
Johnson, an active alumna who lives in
New London, first introduced the idea
of Friendship Families to the college; she
and her husband had years of experience
in hosting international students and had
traveled extensively. They were excited to
welcome another student into their lives.
When Nguyen arrived in New London
by coach, she stayed with Marsha and
Bruce for a few days before moving onto
campus for Student Orientation. After
relaxing in the Johnsons’ home on a lake
and exploring the White Mountains with
them, Nguyen felt comfortable with her
Friendship Family and was certain that she
had chosen the perfect part of the country
in which to attend college.
While the warm welcome continued,
the cool weather set in right away that
fall. “The summer clothes I had packed
were not useful here. It was cold already!”
Nguyen recalls. That was the year an ice
storm forced the college to close a week
early for winter break. The following year,
a second ice storm caused a power outage
and another school closing. Nothing
in Vietnam, where the temperature stays
above 40 degrees, had prepared Nguyen
for snow and ice, but she was game for
almost anything and even learned to ski at
Mt. Sunapee.
“She took ski lessons and Bruce spent
four days helping her along, giving her a few
pointers. She wanted to know why she had
to learn to turn!” relates Marsha, laughing.
During Nguyen’s first week in the
United States, Marsha and Bruce dubbed
her “Zui” since her Vietnamese name
begins with the “zoo” sound, but was
difficult to pronounce. Nguyen seemed
happy to take on a nickname and even her
own parents call her “Zui” now. Marsha
and Bruce have taken Zui to the Barn
Playhouse, the Northern Stage to see “Les
Miserables,” and to several performances
at Dartmouth College of the Gospel Choir
and Dartmouth Idol.
“Our children are grown, so we’ve
enjoyed sharing and enriching Zui’s life
“The best thing about having a Friendship Family
is I know there’s always
someone for me to turn to
if I run into trouble.”
–Zui Nguyen ’11
Zui, shown here on a boat cruise for international students and Friendship Families on Lake Sunapee,
describes her Friendship Family as “supportive and understanding.” She likes that she can just be herself with
them without being judged. “We love spending the night playing Scrabble together. They introduced me to
alpine skiing when I was a freshman,” she says. “Every winter, we enjoy our time at Mount Sunapee. They
have taught me lessons I could never learn in a classroom. I also learned about holiday traditions and things
as simple as how to run a dishwasher.”
Duong “Zui” Nguyen (right) and Anh, sisters from
Vietnam, were together in May to celebrate Zui’s
graduation from Colby-Sawyer College. Anh followed
in her sister’s footsteps and will be a junior at Colby-
Sawyer in the fall.
here,” Marsha explains. “Whenever we’ve
asked her to do anything, she always says
yes. She enjoys people and likes to do
almost anything.”
American Education
Equals Success
A strong student, Nguyen was accepted
into the Wesson Honors Program at Colby-
Sawyer and majored in Business Administration,
completing her studies in just
over three years. “Business Administration
is a popular major among international
students since it makes it easier to get a
job anywhere, especially if we want to go
home (to work),” she explains.
More than half of Colby-Sawyer’s international
students major in business and
most hope to put their skills to work in their
home country. To obtain a visa to study in
the United States, international students
must prove they have strong ties to their
home country and plan to return. They do,
however, have the option of applying to
the U.S. Immigration Service for an extra
year of employment related to their major
after graduation.
If international students decide to go
on to graduate or doctoral programs, they
can apply for another year of employment
between each level of schooling. At that
point, if they hope to stay in the United
States, they would have to find an employer
willing to sponsor them for a work visa.
As a result, these students must plan far in
advance and have very specific goals when
they come to this country. It’s a big com-
SUMMER 2011 19
PHOTO: Cindy Benson