Global perspective, local touch

Minh Nguyen’s second year of medical school at Carolina consisted of the usual challenges students face: learning complicated physiological and medical concepts, applying that knowledge in a clinical setting, and finding ways to create much-needed downtime amidst a full, rigorous schedule.

At the same time, it contained an unusual challenge: responsibility for his younger brother, Tri, who came to the United States from Vietnam as an eighth-grade international student to live with him in Raleigh.

“I became like a dad,” said Minh, a wide smile forming on his face. “It was great.”

Minh had many parental responsibilities that year. Before commuting from Raleigh to Chapel Hill to get to classes and small groups by 8 a.m., he made sure Tri arrived at Neuse Christian Academy on time. He attended Tri’s soccer games and even taught Tri to cook for himself.

“One of the proudest moments I remember experiencing was a time I was busy with school and running home late from Chapel Hill,” Minh recalls. “Tri called to ask me what I wanted for dinner. I’d spent a lot of time teaching him how to cook because cooking is a hobby of mine, and he put together a great meal. By the end of his year with me, that became a common experience.”

Being a Mentor

When Minh first learned that Tri was coming to the United States for a year, he could have encouraged him to go to Houston, Texas, where their middle brother, Trac, their uncles and aunts and cousins, and their grandmother live. Instead, he insisted that Tri come to North Carolina.

To keep reading, see: http://news.unchealthcare.org/news/2016/february/global-perspective-local-touch