Established in 2021 by a group of Vietnamese undergrads at UChicago, VSA seeks to connect and provide platform for UChicago's prospective and current students, post-docs, faculty and alumni who are Vietnamese or interested in Vietnamese culture.
Our main visions are to raise cultural awareness and appreciation within the UChicago student body and beyond, as well as to develop a support network and conversational platform for UChicago-affiliated Viets and Viet-Americans.
We now include 30+ members, and growing!
Our undergraduate board plan events and foster collaboration, with mentorship from senior members of UChicago VSA!
President
Head of Human Resources
Head of Public Relations
Head of Finance
UChicago's VSA debut event, social dinner with Noodles etc.'s Pho, took place on a Saturday night and attracted nearly 50 attendees, including students in the college and graduate schools as well as alumni, post-docs, and other Vietnamese living in Chicago. The night started off with a presentation about VSA as a newly registered student organization within the University, followed by Pho dining and intimate table conversations, and ended with bonding games that got everyone dancing and laughing!
We collaborated with UChicago's Fire Escape Films to set up a Vietnamese food booth at the International Film Festival! We had submitted the Vietnamese short film "short/cut" by Ostin for screening, and prepared scorched rice varieties as well as and peanut and sesame candies for moviegoers. Here, we had the chance to socialize with other cultural associations at UChicago and try their signature dishes!
Celebrating the Halloween festivities with a Vietnamese twist, we put up posters around campus of a Vietnamese ghost stories night. 40 enthusiasts turned up to hear our 10 curated horror tales, from folklore and urban legends to personal encounters, enjoy authentic Viet snacks and drinks (including Banh Trang and Banh Gau!), enter in a lucky draw for Halloween souvenirs, and engage in thriving conversations with other event-goers! We also requested everyone dress up and prepared awards for the best-dressed attendees! The prizes went to Demon Slayer Nezuko, Powerpuff Girls Bubbles, and Sherlock Holmes outfits.
This arts-and-crafts workshop was intended by VSA to, first and foremost, preserve and honor our traditional toy-making practice. "To He" is the Vietnamese name for a vibrant, intricate figurine crafted from rice flour and edible glue. We did not have these ingredients, but we did prepare 30 ounces of air-dry foam clay for event-goers that all got used up! We counted over 60 artists dropping in and out of our workshop with their own masterpieces, an awesome way to destress from UChhicago exams and assignments. We also played V-pop and provided some Viet snacks throughout the workshop.
VSA set up our table with delicious shrimp, beef, and veggie spring rolls to be dipped in chilli and peanut sauces at the A Bite of UChicago festival by Bite Magazine, another campus organization. 350 people marked going on the Facebook event, and we sold out so fast! Then we got the chance to go around to the other cultural organizations' tables, socializing and tasting their yummy food.
We are so glad you've found us. Please don't hesitate to reach out with collaboration opportunities, or if you simply want to connect with the UChicago Vietnamese community at large! Drop us a line.