Anh Vu Sawyer - Auntie Anh Dreams Big

 

 

I am the executive director at the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts here in Worcester. [audience cheers and applause]

 

My organization serves more than 10,000 client visits annually from immigrants and refugees from Asia, and from all over the world. We also served 150 youth who are at risk and low income. One day in April 2018, I invited Pam Proctor, one of my best friends, my mentor, and also a well-known college application consultant, I invite her to come to my organization to give her pro bono advice to the youth, how to write a good essay for their college applications. There were about 24 kids showed up and some of them brought their little siblings.

 

Pam told the youth, “You guys are perfect candidates for good colleges. Even Ivy League schools, you are straight A in your AP classes. You are first duration that will go to college. You are multicultural, multilingual. What do you think?” The youth said, “We're not good enough. We're too poor. Our parents need us around. Ivy League schools? Nah.” They rolled their eyes, struck their shoulder. 

 

Watching the youth turning down opportunities like this ached me, but it pained me even more because I saw myself in these kids. Growing up in Vietnam during the war and then became a Vietnamese refugee in this country, I know firsthand what being poor was like. In all of my life, I've seen poverty all around me. I've seen the children of American soldiers and sex workers begging for food in the street of Saigon. Some of them even had to sell their body for food. 

 

In 1999, I did a public health project in a province outside of Hanoi. A mom came to me with a tiny little infant and a two-year-old son. She thrust the infant into my arms, crying, “Miss, Miss, I beg you, please take the baby. I cannot feed him. If I feed him, her brother will starve.” Before, I could do anything, the police and security guard just appeared from nowhere, swamped us, yanked away the screaming mother and the children. I was warned that if I take the baby, I would be arrested, because what the mother did was illegal. 

 

So, poverty rob us the dignity of our humanity. It makes us afraid to make big dreams. I thought of the youth, I understand them. So, seeing all of these things that broke my heart for a long time. I always wanted to figure out how to eradicate sufferings. It's such a big thing to dream about, but I couldn't help. 

 

I love to follow stories in the life of Nobel Prize recipients who came up with ideas about how to eradicate poverty on a global scale. I also found out that many of them came from MIT. I always wonder how MIT's methodologies and advanced framework would help them to have a big picture and being able to solve these very complex issues. Going to MIT became my dream for the longest time. 

 

So, with this fervent desire burning hot within me for four decades, I didn't pursue for MIT. I did not feel worthy. So, that day, in front of Pam and all of the kids, I declared, “If I am at 64 years old, apply to MIT with no money, 0% chance I will get accepted. Shame on you for not trying.” “Oh, auntie, do it, do it. If you do it, we will also do it. We will apply to some fancy schools too.” They laugh, they clapped their hands and then they headed to where the food was. [audience laughter] 

 

I didn't know that I had only a few weeks before the deadline of MIT MBA program application. I was also told that there were four essay questions that have the most weight. “That's easy. I love to write.” That's what I thought. But little did I know that those were the most difficult essays I had to write. Up to this point, having spent decades taking care of my families and others. And I also grew up and lived in an environment of quite very conservative. 

 

So, as a woman, I was taught not to be so ambitious. I had never asked myself what I selfishly with one for myself. But writing the essay for MIT made me confront myself honestly for the first time and publicly. So, finally, I was able to submit my application a few hours before the deadlines. I tried very hard not to think about what MIT going to respond, but I fervently pray, “Oh dear God, may I please be accepted.” A month later, I got a phone call. “Anh, congratulations, you are accepted into the MIT Sloan School of Management Class of 2020.” [audience applause] 

 

I called the youth right away and told them the news. I expected them to be jumping up and down being happy for me, but all I got was, “Oh, cool.” [audience laughter] I almost want to call them back and say, “Hey, kids, come back, come back. I did this for you.” But it was such a thrill for me to know that I will be going to MIT and learning all of the amazing things that the Nobel Prize recipients learned about what they could do to help the world. How am I going to pay for that? How am I going to do that with my full-time job that I only spend 10 hours to 12 hours every day didn't register yet? [audience laughter] 

 

Until a week later, MIT email starts rolling in with tuition, registration fee, etc., etc. But I couldn't back out of this challenge. The challenge stopped at me applying at MIT. But if I did not go there, I would admit that we could not dream big dreams. So, I called my own three children up and I say, “Kiddos, your mom is doing a very crazy thing at 64 years old. I'm going to MIT and there won't be any money left for you.” [audience laughter] [audience applause]

 

“Oh mom, we are so happy for you. We're so proud of you. You have to do it.” “Thank you, kids.” I registered for my classes and started school in October 2018. I prayed fervently every day, “Oh dear God, please help me with money for tuition.” I almost sold my house twice. I remember sitting on a long bench in front of MIT financial aid office pondering the conversation that we just had a few minutes before that, “You have exhausted all of your scholarship.” 

 

But thank God, with the scholarships, I was able to refinance my house at a very low interest rate. I cashed out my meager retirement fund. Pam sent me a monthly check. My MIT classmate surprised me with her check. And a dear friend, Danielle, who was almost as poor as a church mouse, sent me $50. Thank God, I didn't have to sell my house. And the youth, they were believing that my dreams were coming true. 

 

I really enjoy my classmates and my professors. They're coming from all over the world. I learned so much from them, but I didn't have money to pay for the wonderful meals and excursions that they went. I normally would come early, leave early and I would order very little, but still I thrive at MIT. I absolutely love my professors and my classmates. 

 

My classmate was so flabbergasted that I never heard of fintech, bitcoin or crypto whatsoever. [audience laughter] So, with work-work school work, class times and living through a very difficult pandemic time with COVID 19, I had about four hours of sleep, average a day. No vacation, no day off. On May 2020, I graduated from MIT Sloan School of Management, the most difficult school in the world. [audience applause] 

 

This was the best decision I made in my 60s, and it was one of the best decisions I made in my whole life. The youth who challenged me, all of them applied for college and all went to college. Six of them were accepted at Ivy League schools. [audience cheers and applause] 

 

The challenge, the double dare of the challenge inspired the kids to embrace higher education. But I didn't realize that it was the very best, the incredible gift I had given myself. The experience of being at MIT have shown me who I really am, that I still can dream. It opened many opportunities. It opened many doors. 

 

I have a startup with my husband and two of my MIT classmates that we hope will bring economic development to immigrants and refugees overseas and in the US. I'm also working on a second startup that target food insecurity. So, at this stage of my life, at the age of 67, I still can dream. As I grow older, my dream becomes more complete every day. Thank you.