Brother, Sister Succeed Together after Vietnam

by Evelyn Boswell

1997 BOZEMAN -- Six years ago, Thien Duong and her younger brother, Dang, were newcomers to the United States.

Fresh from Vietnam, they arrived in Billings with their father who had survived 12 years in a communist prison camp. They knew little English. Their mother and older brother remained overseas.

"I wondered how I would survive in a foreign country where I barely could understand the language and speak the language," Thien recalled recently at Montana State University-Bozeman. Thien, 23, is a junior on the Billings campus of the MSU-Bozeman College of Nursing. Dang, 22, is an MSU-Bozeman junior majoring in pre-med.

Television and conversation helped their English. Hard work, encouraging friends and intelligence earned them scholarships.

Now Thien and Duong have adjusted so well to their new country that they continue to collect a string of accolades for their accomplishments. Their most recent award came as a double honor from the local Phi Kappa Phi chapter. Thien was named outstanding junior at MSU-Bozeman, and Dang received honorable mention. They were nominated by MSU-Bozeman faculty, and evaluated by a committee that considered their academic achievements, extracurricular activities, awards and letters of reference.

"It's pretty amazing," commented Ralph Johnson who can remember no other brother and sister receiving the honor in the same year. Johnson is president of the local Phi Kappa Phi chapter.

"In both of their cases, their letters of reference were very specific about intellectual rigor," Johnson continued. "Both of them are willing and on their own initiative take on academic problems, take on research activities far beyond that of most students.

"They both have an exceptional thirst for knowledge, I guess," he added. "... They demand a great deal from their faculty. They kind of enrich the lives of faculty because of that."

Humble as well, Thien and Dang each said the other should have received the top Phi Kappa Phi award.

"I think it's funny," Thien said. "I think my brother deserved it more than I. He got the second one, but I think he probably deserved the first one."

"I don't think so, not at all," Dang corrected her, shaking his head. "She's certainly been working really hard for it."

The fact that his sister won the National Spirit of Nursing Award for 1997 is sign enough, he added. "That alone proves it. She's a whole lot smarter than I am."

Thien and Duong are quick, too, to credit others for helping them attain the success they have enjoyed since nervously enrolling together as sophomores at Billings Senior High.

"We're saying that not just to say it, but it's really true," Dang insisted.

Both express gratitude to the help they've received from friends, teachers and professors, as well as their father, Khang Duong. Khang lives with Thien in Billings and teaches English as a second language to immigrants.

"I never thought I would be able to make it through high school," Thien recalled. "My dad was very strong, and he helped us."

Dang said his father still shows an interest in their studies, but he isn't overbearing.

"As a parent, you are always interested," Dang said. "He asks us what we are doing in school and how we are doing. I certainly appreciate any input my dad has in my education. I always think that he's been through a lot, so he knows a lot more than I do. I always come to him for advice, but he never forces me into it."

Thien and Dang said they still work hard even though they're not the uncertain teenagers they once were. These days, their drive comes from more than a desire for good grades.

"In high school, I think we were so worried about grades because of scholarships," Thien explained. "Now, I still work as hard as I used to, but grades are not so important as what you learn."

Dang said, "Being in the same class with really good students naturally makes you work hard, but the stuff we are covering in class is really interesting, and everybody is really interested in it to learn."

After MSU-Bozeman, Thien hopes to become a pediatric nurse and then return to school for her master's degree. She said she may become a nurse practitioner. Dang hopes to go to the University of Washington School of Medicine.

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