Spring Branch ISD Featured News

 

After listening with rapt attention to the life story of Vietnamese refugee Hao Lam, the students at Nottingham Elementary in Spring Branch ISD responded with a resounding, “Yes!,” to the speaker’s questions at the conclusion of his presentation to the third- through fifth-grade classes.

Mr. Lam, CEO of Best in Class Education Center, told the students about his very difficult childhood in Vietnam and his multiple attempts to flee the communist-ruled country in the 1980’s. After more than 10 attempts, often in life-threatening situations, he finally escaped to the Philippines in a small, overcrowded boat with no food for seven days and scant amounts of water to drink. At the Filipino refugee center he learned English at the age of 18.

The students at Nottingham were amazed Mr. Lam was not able to go to school until he was a teen.

“You are so fortunate to go to a nice school like this with all these wonderful teachers,” Mr. Lam said. “I did not have that opportunity when I was your age.”

 

 

Finishing high school at the age of 23, Mr. Lam immigrated to Canada, attended college, and started --and closed down -- several businesses. During all the trials he went through, he never gave up trying.

Mr. Lam shared with the students that he determined teaching others was one of his passions. He taught at a university first, and then started the tutoring center enterprise in 1995. There are now 55 Best in Class Education Centers in the U.S., including a franchise run by Carole Said on Dairy Ashford Road in Houston.

In addition to running the after-school tutoring business, Ms. Said has volunteered as a tutor at Nottingham Elementary with kindergarten and fourth-grade students. Mary Pizana, Communities in Schools student support specialist at the school, welcomed Ms. Said’s offer to bring her CEO to share his story with the students, many of whom are also refugees. “I thought his story would be inspiring for the students,” said Ms. Pizana.

Free, digital copies of Mr. Lam’s book, From Bad to Worse to Best in Class, were made available for download to Nottingham families, and hard copies were provided to each third-, fourth- and fifth-grade teacher at Nottingham.

At the conclusion of his story, Mr. Lam asked the students to reflect upon their own interests, and to think about which ones they would be passionate about doing every day when they grow up and what steps to take now and in middle school, high school and college to make their dreams possible.

So what were the questions that Lam asked that so enthused the students at Nottingham?

“Will you take risks like I did?” said Mr. Lam. “Will you learn from failures? Will you let fear stop you from what you want to do? Do you believe anything is possible?”

The inspired students left the presentation with motivated enthusiasm to follow their dreams – no matter the odds.