Brandon Nguyen
North Hollywood Chapter
California, USA
"At first, I joined mostly on a whim...
however, realizing the huge difference
one person could make, I found myself
going to meetings for the next few years."
Read the rest of Brandon's answers.
Richard Liang is from Fremont, California. He actively participates in the arts program at his school, playing cello in his school’s orchestra and percussion in the jazz band. This summer, Richard is laying the foundations for a VAMS Chapter at Mission San Jose High School. He likes that VAMS not only serves the community, but also encourages student leadership. He hopes to "learn a lot from VAMS, including communication, writing, and leadership skills."
Volunteer Spotlight
Brandon Nguyen
North Hollywood Chapter
California, USA
"At first, I joined mostly on a whim...however, realizing the huge difference one person could make, I found myself going to meetings for the next few years"
How did you become involved in VAMS?
I first got involved my freshman year, just timidly walking into the VAMS meeting room in my search for different clubs. At first, I joined mostly on a whim; I didn't really feel like VAMS was something I would be heavily involved in. However, realizing the huge difference one person could make, I found myself going to meetings for the next few years of my high school career, and I'm now at the end of my third year.
What’s your most memorable VAMS moment?
At a Valentine's event in my sophomore year, I was working with my peers and viewing tears of joy from the children we were hosting the event for. The moment made me realize how much of an impact the small joint efforts VAMS made could mean to those who were disabled and thus do not share the same opportunities that many of us take for granted.
What are your future goals?
Though I'm mostly just going along whatever path life takes me, I want to pursue a career in either chemistry or engineering. I hope to be able to live less strenuously than how I have been living in a low-income family, and hopefully give something back to the people who've supported me throughout my whole life.
If you were an animal, what would you be?
Clouded leopard, because they're awesome. Enough said.
Ian Clarke received a full ride to Indiana University, where he studies music composition. He has also been selected as a Berklee College of Music presenting film score composer, and earned recognition from the Beverly Hills Literary Society and the Kauai Peace Project. In high school, Ian studied the piano, flute, piccolo, guitar, and Indonesian gamelan. He used his expertise to reach out to the community through VAMS. What does this musician have to tell us about music? "One of the most important things to understand about creating music is that, regardless of how much music theory you know, or how much technical ability you possess, your music will be hollow and uninteresting if you lack emotional integrity."
