The kick-off event for the Tam Tran Scholarship for Undocumented Youth, a dinner held on Oct. 22 by Brown Immigrants' Rights Coalition, raised $2,756.45, including online donations, said Juan Martinez-Hill '12, a BIRC member.
Over 70 people — including friends of Tran, professors, parents and community members — attended the dinner, which also featured student performances, a screening of one of Tran's documentaries and speeches from undocumented students.
The scholarship was established in honor of Tam Tran GS, who was killed in an automobile accident last spring. Tran was a member of the advisory committee of the Cesar Chavez Scholarship Fund, an organization for Latino youth in Rhode Island, which will manage the Tam Tran Scholarship. An advisory committee comprising representatives of the Cesar Chavez Scholarship Fund, BIRC and the Coalition of Advocates for Student Opportunities will begin meeting in early November.
The advisory committee hopes to raise $10,000 this year to establish an endowment, wrote Marta Martinez, chair of the Cesar Chavez Scholarship Fund and co-founder of the Coalition of Advocates for Student Opportunities, in an e-mail to The Herald. The scholarship will be awarded annually to one undocumented high school senior planning to attend a four-year college, regardless of racial background, said VyVy Trinh '11, a member of BIRC.
BIRC has "yet to solidify" detailed criteria for choosing a student, but students who have shown leadership and been involved in their communities would be likely candidates, Trinh said.
Trinh said students who received the scholarship would "bring important perspectives to schools" because of their personal experiences and that it was important to put these students in positions of power where hopefully they could give back to the larger community.
As an undocumented Vietnamese student, Tran took longer to complete her education than she would have on the traditional route because she had to work to support herself, Trinh said. While at Brown, Tran was an active advocate for the rights of immigrants and undocumented students. "The momentum after her death is really what has inspired us to make it a reality," Trinh said.
While BIRC is still accepting donations online, it is also thinking about fundraising for next semester, Trinh said.
Trinh said BIRC hopes for some major organizational or corporate backing "to make this sustainable." The group also hopes that local businesses, activist organizations, parents and alums will donate, Martinez-Hill and Trinh said.
