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Trang Doan memorial
celebrates student’s life
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Heavy hearts filled the SUB’s Jordan Ball Room Thursday,
Jan. 29, to remember BSU’s Trang Doan. The 23 year-old
Vietnam native and active student leader was killed Jan. 24 in a
weather-related traffic accident while returning from a university
related trip. Flowers filled the room and Doan’s authentic
Vietnamese dresses hung behind the mourners — a memorial to
the vitality with which she once filled them.
The service commenced with a slide show of a vibrant Doan.
Reverend Elizabeth Green of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
paid tribute to Doan as, “a flower that dropped surely too
soon,” and encouraged the gathering to “celebrate the
gift of human love — freely given, freely taken.”
Boise State President Bob Kustra presented Doan’s Business
Administration and Computer Systems degree posthumously to her
parents who were flown in from Vietnam. Kustra described Doan
as, “bright, full of life, generous, caring and committed in
her young life.” He also announced that a scholarship
would be given out in her honor each year. “This
way,” Kustra said, “We will never forget
her.”
For the past five years, Janet and Jeff Black had hosted Doan in
their home. They also paid tribute to the wonderful person she
was. Host mother Janet Black said, “People always say I
gave so much to Trang. The truth is, Trang gave so much to
me.” Host father Jeff Black added, “She came here
and…not only adjusted to a world unlike her own, but thrived
here.”
Mihn Lam, Doan’s close friend and fellow Vietnamese
Student Association member, organized the memorial. Lam
recalled that Doan, “always had a smile.” He also
acknowledged Doan’s sincere presence in the VSA, “[She
was] more than a friend or member, she was a sister within our
family.”
The majority of the memorial was dedicated to an open-mic time
when friends and co-workers could share savored stories of
Doan. Many recalled Doan’s great desire for people to
become more culturally aware and to embrace one another, especially
their differences.
Many paid respects to Doan’s parents and thanked them for
bringing her to so many lives. One attendant said, “Her
smile touched so many hearts.”
Bethany Maille
News Reporter
The Arbiter
