By Sara Gomez, September 9, 2025
Students across Southern California came to Cal Poly Pomona for VSA’s welcome week Aug. 26-29, for bowling, boba and dance.
Board members invited students from different universities they made connections with back in January at Garden Grove Park. The Union of the Vietnamese Student Associations of Southern California organized an event where universities came together to create connections and become a big family.
“There are so many VSAs across the SoCal region, such as San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Santa Marcos and Riverside, or private schools like USC, UCLA and Chapman,” said Winston Chow, co-president of CPP’s VSA and a marketing management student.
Multiple students described the club’s dynamic as a family, supported by Anh Chi Em, the club’s mentorship program. “Anh” refers to an older male figure, “Chi” to an older female figure and “Em” refers to a younger sibling. An Em will be paired with either an Anh or a Chi, representing the “big-little” relationship, during VSA’s annual ACE banquet.
Courtney Yu, psychology student & co-director of Vietnamese Culture Night described this as a defining moment for the club as students are integrated into a “fam,” which is a family where everyone welcomes and supports other students.
“From there is when I truly started feeling like I was a part of a family in VSA,” Yu said. “I had people to rely on or talk to, even if everyone was in distress from that moment. I had realized I was not alone, I had my big or anyone else in the background to talk to.”
During the club’s first general meeting, Thursday, August 28, students played games and chanted their school slogans. The more schools were called on, the louder the club meeting became.
The board also made simple games like rock, paper scissors more interactive. The loser joined a line behind the winner, while they continued to battle against other students. The student with the longest line at the end wins.
VietWiet is another event that brings Southern California colleges together for a trivia night on Vietnamese culture. This takes place during March. Students fill up the lecture room for the whole night.
Chow expressed the importance of showing up to events like these because it opened a lot of doors for him throughout the years.
“Some of my best friends that I made throughout this whole VSA journey were from people I met from these other schools,” Chow said.
Yu said being a part of the club brought her a new perspective for her culture and others.
“I think a lot of people in this club can relate to my own experiences,” Yu said. “As a lot of people here understand, it’s kind of helped build deeper love and growing appreciation for my culture.”
Vietnamese Culture Night is the biggest event of the year and takes place April 29. Board members celebrate Vietnamese American identity through storytelling, music and dance. Board members begin planning in the summer and create their own scripts and ideas using different customs or languages of Vietnamese culture to convey a deeper message, according to Ryan Vu, a computer science student and co-director of Vietnamese Culture Night.
“Being a part of the lion dance has made me closer to my friends now,” Vu said. “I am glad I decided to put myself out there and join. It is a play where we can display performances from our culture, spread ideas and have a place where we can express our ideas to others in our community.”
The Vietnamese Dance Crew is a modern dance team inclusive to all skill levels. Vietnamese Culture Night allows VDC to perform and dance during this night. Vu mentioned earlier how he was a part of their crew and performed the lion dance. VDC offers practices, workshops, and performances at VSA events, allowing them to express themselves and get out of their comfort zone. Most dancers apart from the team are also new to dancing and get the chance to learn new skills through art and dance. This helps prepare and push students to another level of confidence.
“VDC has been a huge part of my life at CPP,” said architecture student and Co-Vietnamese Dance Coordinator and Co-Public Relations Emi Nguyen. “It has pushed my confidence, dancing, and leadership skills into my overall comfort zone. I feel so proud of all the people who come to our workshops and put themselves out there to try something new.”