Vietnamese-CLU Friends Scholarship

College students in the 21st century can only experience the Vietnam War by reading and studying about it. For those who lived during the war years, the era is something they will never forget. California Lutheran University is fortunate to have a scholarship that turns those memories into something that is heartwarming and beautiful.

In 1975, at the end of the Vietnam War, 25 family members from South Vietnam were resettled in the Conejo Valley. These individuals were among hundreds of thousands of “boat people” who left their country to find a better life for themselves and their families. Although the family had split into three groups and left Vietnam at different times, somehow they all ended up at California’s Camp Pendleton. They knew their chance of getting American sponsors was lessened considerably because of their family size, but they made the decision to stay together. At the camp they met Thousand Oaks resident Dr. Julie Coburn, who took it upon herself to find an answer to their dilemma. Ultimately, nine Conejo Valley Lutheran and Presbyterian congregations joined with California Lutheran University in sponsoring sponsor the entire family.

The sponsoring committee helped the refugees learn English, find jobs, find homes and, in short, become independent members of American society. Family members were intelligent and industrious, and they learned quickly. The University was instrumental in providing some employment, scholarships and other support. In the process, deep bonds of friendship developed between family members and their campus friends. On the 25th anniversary of their arrival in Thousand Oaks, the Vietnamese family—with CLU’s Reverend Gerry Swanson and employee Tan Phan as their spokespeople—decided to establish an endowed scholarship at CLU in gratitude for what they had received. Family members combined their gifts to reach the amount required to establish an endowed scholarship and decided to name it the Vietnamese-CLU Friends Scholarship.

The Vietnamese-CLU Friends Scholarship is designated for an undergraduate student and otherwise has only one criterion—financial need. The scholarship continues today as a testament to the friendships established between family members and all those who helped them settle in their new home in America.