HCC Consular Luncheon Series builds cultural bridges

Mar 6, 2019

The food, culture and comraderie of Vietnam were in the spotlight at the first HCC Consular Luncheon Series on Tuesday at the college’s West Loop Campus auditorium.

Consul General Luong Quoc Huy of the Consulate General of Vietnam in Houston and his staff met and mingled with Vietnamese students along with HCC faculty and staff. The event was the first of five in a series of luncheons highlighting Houston Community College’s ethnically diverse student, faculty and staff population.

The Vietnamese delegation was welcomed by HCC Chancellor Dr. Cesar Maldonado; Dr. Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, chair of the HCC Board of Trustees; and Dr. Kurt Ewen, HCC vice chancellor for Planning and Institutional Effectiveness.

“We have a variety of students from all over the world,” said Tina Do, immigration advisor for international students at HCC. “Many of them are very successful. They graduate and move on to four-year universities to become doctors, pharmacists, optometrists and engineers.”

HCC ranks first nationally among two-year institutions in the total number of international students. HCC has more than 1,500 Vietnamese students who make up 25 percent of the college’s international student population of 5,982 students.

The next Consular Luncheon Series in 2019 will spotlight Mexico, Do said.