Finding Home Away From Home

Melanie Le is Vietnamese American and a third-year Biology major at UCSB. Originally from Simi Valley, she now lives in Isla Vista and is UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) VSA’s Co-President. After starting school at UCSB, Le found a community she never knew she needed in the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) and has been involved with it ever since.

 

How and when did you get involved with VSA?

 

I’ve been involved for three years now. My first year I was an intern, and I moved up to internal vice president, and now I’m president. I run meetings and make sure all our events go well, and check up on our staff members to see how their projects are going. 

 

My hometown had a super small, not even Vietnamese, but Asian community overall. I didn’t notice it much in elementary and middle school, but when I got into high school I realized I don’t have a lot of friends that I really connected with. I had no one that has in common things like culture and how I grew up. And then my brother, he is also a UCSB alum and he’s five years older than me. He joined [VSA] and told me how much he loved it and about his friends in the club, so I was like, ‘Ok, I’m gonna join.’ When I got there, I thought it was really fun and I never really had that experience before - being in a room with a lot of Vietnamese or other Asian people. I thought it was really cool.

 

What do you think is the importance of VSA here at UCSB?

 

It’s important because not only do we touch on cultural appreciation with VCN (Vietnamese Culture Night) and occasional cultural events we host, it’s, again, having that community that understands you and has a similar upbringing. In terms of language, culture, and stuff like that. I think it’s really important to have a community that uplifts you and emphasizes and understands you.

 

How would you say being Vietnamese American has impacted your experience at UCSB?
 

Personally, because I immersed myself so much in VSA, I don’t really feel out of place. I know some people are like ‘Oh, the Asian population at UCSB isn’t that big,’ but because I immerse myself so much in this club, I don’t feel that way.

 

What do you think about the diversity and Asian American representation at UCSB right now?

 

I feel like it’s not the most diverse but it's definitely there. In comparison to other UC’s and other schools, there’s a lot less Asian people, so it might not be super diverse in comparison.

 

From my point of view, I do feel like there’s pretty good representation because there’s so many clubs that cater to specific cultures. There’s the Filipino one, Vietnamese, TASA (Taiwanese American Students Association), KASA (Korean American Students Association). I think there’s a really wide range and member retention and populations are pretty high so I would say representation is pretty good. 

 

Do you think UCSB is doing a good job of being inclusive of Asian American students?

 

I don’t know, if I’m being honest. I feel like I have a really good knowledge of how cultural orgs are but not UCSB as a whole and the higher up institutions. In terms of orgs, I think they are [supportive]. When we hold events, they support us in different aspects. Financially, they’re very open in supporting us and since we have many events, we always go to A.S. and they always give us what we need.

 

Is there anything you want to see at UCSB in the future in terms of diversity and Asian American representation?
 

For UCSB to help our orgs grow, I think.

 

VSA is a home away from home. I think it can be really hard to move all the way to Santa Barbara. We want to provide a safe space where people can mingle, meet new friends, and reflect on themselves and their culture. It’s really important.