(CLACKAMAS) — As the founder of the Rock Creek Middle School Asian and Pacific Islander student union, Brandon Nguyen knows how to bring students together.
The idea to start the affinity club at Rock Creek came suddenly to Nguyen, like a light bulb went off in his head.
“It was really weird, but one night I was thinking, ‘Rock Creek doesn’t have an APISU. We have a Black student union and a Latino student union, we should start an APISU,’ and I just emailed my principal,” said Nguyen.
After meeting as many fellow middle schoolers as possible, and presenting a formal proposal with a teacher advisor, the Rock Creek Middle School APISU was officially formed.
“I really like meeting and connecting because it’s not just my friends who are joining. We have the most people in our community over all the clubs. We really like to bond together, hang out and talk about, ‘How do you celebrate their culture?’” said Nguyen.
His sixth and eighth-grade Language Arts teacher, Christie Waagmeester, remembered when Nguyen was first mulling over his plan for the new club.
“I remember the days he was thinking about starting the club, he would come in and talk it through with me. He’d watched some of the other clubs surface and he saw there wasn’t (APISU) yet, he took it on as his challenge. Whereas a lot of kids might say, ‘That’d be cool if we did that,’ he followed through and wasn’t afraid to,” said Waagmeester.
Nguyen, an eighth grader, is also involved with yearbook, orchestra and student council at RCMS. He serves as co-president on student council.
“I feel like it’s important for everyone to get to know each other and get out of their comfort zone because a lot of middle schoolers are shy. They just stay at home or play Fortnite or whatever,” said Nguyen. “I really like to embrace personalities and have everyone meet each other and make new friends.”
He’s proud of how APISU has grown since only starting last October.
“The intended purpose was to bring students of Asian American and Pacific Islander descent together so we can collaborate and create ideas and learn about different cultures,” said Nguyen. “Our main goal is to spread the message of ‘Stop Asian Hate’ because there’s a lot of racism at our school and hate speech, and we acknowledge that as a school, but that was our main goal.”
Nguyen said that he wished they’d had more opportunities to talk as a school about those issues before he heads off to high school. However, he’s also looking forward to joining Clackamas High School’s APISU and pursuing his passion for teaching.
“I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was in the first grade. My principal talks about it,” said Nguyen. “I’m going to volunteer (next year) every other week for my math teacher. She’s gonna let me come in, because I’ll be done earlier than the middle school, and I’m going to help teach a class period.”
While he’s always loved teaching, Nguyen also expressed interest in going to medical school and becoming a cardiologist. All of these passions are part of what keeps him engaged in class and enthusiastic about the school’s community.
“The thing that I enjoy most about him is he loves school. I don't know if I've ever had a student, this is my 30th year, who genuinely just loves learning and school in general. It's just so nice to see that even throughout the school year that doesn't wear down, but he still is so enthusiastic about learning,” said Waagmeester.
Nguyen will carry that enthusiasm to Clackamas High School next year, but is going to miss Rock Creek Middle School.
“I’m looking forward to the electives and I’m excited to graduate,” said Nguyen. “I really like that everyone supports each other no matter what.”
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