Hoang Phan – George Mason University (Laura Lee Scholarship Award)

“I want my parents to be proud of me. If I do well the many others like me will have a chance.” – Hoang Phan

Hoang is a student enrolled at George Mason University’s Mason Life program. As he described it, “My dad says I have an extra chromosome so I am special”. Hoang is learning ASL (American Sign Language) to help communicate with the hearing disabled. He won the LEAP award from the ENDepence Center, Certificate of Achievement for Excellent work at the Department of the Blind and Vision Impaired, and won a silver medal in swimming at the Special Olympics. Hoang also works and volunteers at a community center playing with children. While working at the restaurant at the Marriott, his HR manager said, “One of my happiest days of my own twenty year human resources career was the day Mr. Phan received his first paycheck. He smiled so hard an dwas so proud of that paycheck – as he should have been, because he worked very hard for it in our kitchen – that it made me remember why I got into HR in the first place.”