From Operation Babylift
to Cal State Fullerton Graduate
Blind student, one of last infant to
evacuate war-torn Vietnam, overcomes obstacle and will graduate
this weekend.
May 26, 2005 :: No. 220
She has no remembrance of that historic
day when she and hundreds of other Vietnamese children and
infants were hurriedly loaded onto a plane and airlifted out
of Saigon. In fact, as part of Operation Babylift,
about 3,000 Vietnamese infants and children were flown out
of the war-torn country.
As one of the last babies handed up to the
plane, Kimberly Thompson of Yorba Linda, estimates that she
may have been about 18 months old. Blind and malnourished,
she was quickly adopted upon reaching the United States.
“I was raised in Whittier as part of
a big Italian family,” she said. “I was brought
up as an American girl.” Despite two corneal transplants
performed in the United States, Thompson is still considered
legally blind. She has no vision in her left eye and 20/300
vision in her right.
Yet despite this obstacle, Thompson will join
thousands of others who will participate in commencement activities
this weekend at Cal State Fullerton. She is a candidate for
a master’s degree in counseling and previously earned
a bachelor’s degree in psychology at CSUF in 2002.
Thompson had heard “great things”
about Cal State Fullerton and because of its proximity to
her home, she decided that she would transfer to the university
after attending classes at Cypress College.
“I found a place in Fullerton that was
close enough so I could walk to campus,” she said. “I
wanted to live independently, so I worked full time and scheduled
my classes around my work schedule.”
Sometimes the difficulty of getting to school,
particularly to her night classes, proved to be too much.
And, at one point, Thompson was academically disqualified.
“I remember how frightening that was,”
she recalled. “I was working with an academic adviser
who told me, ‘If you don’t get straight ‘A’s
in your next five classes, I can’t readmit you.’
It seems harsh but that direct approach was what I needed.”
She worked with her teachers and staff from
Disabled Students Services and slowly worked her way up, eventually
earning a 3.8 GPA out of a possible 4.0.
“The professors and staff were incredible,”
she said. “I don’t know how I could have done
it without their support. At that time, I didn’t have
a lot of academic motivation. Sometimes, I would try to get
sympathy by complaining about being blind, but the folks in
Disabled Student Services wouldn’t let me get away with
it. They were empathetic, but made it clear that it was up
to me to succeed.”
Disabled Student Services staff did, however,
create audiotapes of her required books and helped develop
e-texts where the books could be downloaded to her computer
with the font size greatly enlarged so that she could read
it.
Thompson also received a great deal of support
from her husband, Nick.
“He strongly believes in education, and
he helped keep my momentum going,” she said.
She also credits David Shepard, assistant professor
of counseling, who “took a chance on me” when
she applied to the graduate program in counseling.
“I have received incredible support,
and that has enabled me to do things I never thought possible,”
she said. “For instance, this spring, I presented my
master’s project at the American Counseling Association
Conference. I am a prelicensed board member of the California
Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and served as
president of Kappa Omega [the counseling honor society].”
She recently began working at a private Buena Park-based high
school that serves developmentally and emotionally challenged
students.
Thompson’s interests in counseling hit
close to home. She’s interested in working with those
with disabilities and those involved in interracial adoptions.
Although she has not been back to Vietnam, she hopes to return
one day to the land where she was born.
“In some ways, it’s difficult because
I have no history — I don’t know how old I am
or what my true birth date is,” she said. “I don’t
know anything about my biological family. But that’s
okay. Now I’m moving ahead — I’m creating
my own identity.”
Thompson’s commencement festivities are
Saturday, May 28. Following the 8 a.m. main ceremony on the
sports fields north of Titan Gym, the exercise for students
graduating with degrees in counseling begins at 11 a.m. in
the Titan Student Union’s Portola Pavilion.
Media Contact: |
Valerie Orleans, Public Affairs at
657-278-4540 or vorleans@fullerton.edu |
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