Anh Cao had a lot to celebrate, He is the top graduate from the University of Toronto, Canada’s largest university, and his straight A marks garnered the molecular biologist a silver medal from the Governor General and the John Black Aird Prize from U of T.
He would like Canadians to know that not all ‘International Students’ come from wealthy families His parents make about $500 Cdn. a month; his father is a retired soldier, his mother an English tutor.
Arriving with a scholarship from Viet Nam of $116,000 Cdn, delivered in installments, it was tough covering everything when his tuition fees rose to $33,000 Cdn. a year. When the money was running low in third-year he moved into a homeless shelter, grateful for the home-made dinners Karen Siddique, the woman who cleaned the lab he worked in, made him everyday. A fellow-student’s mother sent him lunch daily, when she heard how much he like her hummus. Eventually he was able to stay in a friends’ den. But what goes around, comes around.
Generous to a fault acoording to friends, he once spent his last twenty dollars on dough-nuts to share with classmates. And in his first two years Anh Cao volunteered, visiting people in palliative care in their homes, to spend time, help with household chores and share a meal, in an effort to get to know Canada, he told the Toronto Star newspaper in an interview.
Bebhinn Treanor, his immunology professor said she was stunned when Cao, a second-year student at the time, sent her an outline of how her lab might resolve a challenging research problem she had told him about earlier in the day. “I was absolutely dumbfounded. He gets right to the heart of the issues, and he’s so enthusiastic.” she told The Star.
On his way home now to Viet Nam for the summer, Anh Cao is looking forward to Viet Namese junk food. He will be studying for entrance exams for his Master’s degree, but he made his gratitude to Viet Nam very evident on graduation day, Wearing the red flag of his homeland on his back, like a super-man cape, as he crossed the stage to receive his degree, he explained to the Star newspaper, “It’s a way to thank the 18 million people in Viet Nam who paid taxes for (the scholarship that allowed) me to come. That was huge.”
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