Desmond Keuper
TBLS has been shaken by the loss of our beloved teacher Ms. Nguyen, who passed away on April 6th from the coronavirus. Ms. Nguyen is remembered by students and staff alike for her kindness and the role she played making everyone in the TBLS community feel welcome. She will be remembered as well for her honesty and sense of humor.
While a date for a funeral has not been confirmed, Ms. Nguyen’s family has started a GoFundMe page to pay for a memorial service. They have reached more than $34,000 of their $50,000 dollar goal. What began as a $10,000 goal has risen several times to keep up with the generous donations that have been given. With more and more students and staff chipping in every day, it seems that this new goal will be met soon.
In addition to being a teacher Ms. Nguyen was also a writer. She spent many a weekend working on her novel in progress or on her latest story. She published stories with several different magazines, including Matador Review and Cha: An Asian Literary Journal. Ms. Dunn, fellow English Magistra, remembers her fondly as a writer: “She was incredibly smart and hard-working, and the writing world had already recognized her talent. She would have been happy to know that TBLS discipuli were reading her work, and taking some comfort in her words at this time.”
She was also a member of Kundiman, a group dedicated to nurturing Asian-American literature. They have compiled her stories on their website.
Although many of us have been affected personally by the virus, for many more of us, up until this point, it had been little more than something we’ve seen on the news. Ms. Nguyen’s death has come as a shocking reminder of just how real the virus is, the importance of staying safe and following social distancing, and just how much it will change things. It is now safe to say that things will never be quite the same, there will be no real return to normalcy.
This death is also a stark reminder of the unpredictability of the virus. Ms. Nguyen’s death is especially shocking to those who knew her well, those who will remember her for the vibrant, positive energy she radiated. Besides grief, we have been made to feel powerless, even though we have tried to follow the precautions.
However, we can survive. We will continue to thrive through our sense of community, a community that Ms. Nguyen embodied. Her memory will be kept alive by the care we show for one another during this time, and through the writing that she left behind. As we heal, we will mourn her death, but we should be inspired by her kindness, her bubbling personality, her sense of community. These values will lead to a strong community, one that will be able to return from anything.
Ms. Dunn recommended two stories:
Kundiman has compiled several stories as well:
The link to the GoFundMe page:
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