A group of Cal State Fullerton journalism students will leave for Vietnam Thursday.
The class of about 13 will be volunteering for the non-profit organization Project Vietnam Foundation and will write stories on the culture and people of Vietnam.
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| Pediatric opthamologist Mark Steele checks the eyes of a potential surgical candidate in the Ben Tre province during the spring 2010 Project Vietnam mission. |
They will be going as part of the Comm 438T class, “Specialized Reporting: Reporting About Minority Affairs.” The class, taught by communications Professor Jeff Brody, gives students the opportunity to practice their journalism skills abroad and develop their portfolios.
“It’s a two-fold thing,” said Brody. “A third of their time they’ll learn compassion. They’ll be taking part in a great humanitarian gesture. The other 2/3 of their time they’ll be developing and finding really great stories about the people of Vietnam.”
Students will be developing a class website to showcase their work. They will be blogging, uploading stories and putting together video packages throughout the trip.
“We are first and foremost reporters,” said Melissa Hoon, a graduate teaching assistant. “We’ll get stories from within our volunteer work as well as outside of it.”
Hoon said the students will be practicing “immersion journalism,” meaning they will learn all aspects of the Vietnamese culture and way of life by experiencing it firsthand.
This will be her second trip to Vietnam and she is looking forward to it.
“Besides being a phenomenal learning experience, it’s certainly a fun time,” Hoon said. “You’re across the world with your friends and writing peers.”
She says her peers are highly talented and some have already had professional experience.
Brody is selective of the students that he takes with him. Students must apply for the class and a group of faculty selects students on their journalistic ability.
Students have also been preparing for the culture shock. Hoon said the class has been reading about the culture, developing presentations for the class and visiting local Vietnamese cultural events, such as the Tet Festival in Westminster, Calif.
Brody hopes the interaction with the people of Vietnam through volunteer and journalistic work will provide these talented students with a new perspective on the world.
“I want them to learn and absorb the flavor of being in a foreign place, in another country, experiencing the taste of Vietnam, the people of Vietnam, expose themselves to culture, develop intercultural communications skills, as well as learn empathy for people who are less fortunate as they are,” Brody said.
For the volunteer work, students will be assisting medical teams working in the provinces of Vietnam. The foundation is split into three teams: primary care, dental and surgery. Students will be split into the primary care or surgery groups.
Larissa Bahr, 21, a photo-communications major, sees the trip as a life-changing experience.
“Personally I’m looking forward to how much (I’m going to grow) as a photographer and a person,” said Bahr.
Not only will the trip help students grow as individuals, it will give students a leg up on finding a job in the selective journalism field.
“The idea is that the kids can come back with outstanding stories that they can use to develop their careers,” Brody said.
