Hard Work Pays Off
North Crowley scholar learns English , graduates in top 10 percent of his class Written by Megan Middleton
When Dinh Le began his freshman year at North Crowley , he was not only starting at a new school , but learning to live in a new country and speak a new language .
The then 16-year-old had just moved from Vietnam to the United States with his family for better opportunities , but he faced some initial hurdles .
Everything was different when Le and his family moved to the United States — the people , food , culture , language and education .
“ I was so confused and nervous wherever I [ went ],” he said . “ When buying food , I didn ’ t know how to say , ‘ I want to buy this or buy that .’ I didn ’ t want to go anywhere . My uncle pushed me . He was trying to help me [ adapt ] to the environment . I got used to it , and it got better and better .”
His teachers say he worked hard to overcome the obstacles that being an English as a Second Language ( ESL ) student present , and in May , Le not only graduated as part of the Class of 2017 , he ranked among the top 10 percent of NCHS seniors .
“ I can ’ t say that I ’ m surprised ,” Jennifer McCleery , Le ’ s senior English teacher , said of his success . “ He has that drive . He has that focus . He has that wanting to be successful for himself . It ’ s because of him and his work that he ’ s gotten that far . I ’ m just very proud of him .”
Le plunged himself into his studies , asking for extra work so he could better understand the language .
“ I decided to learn more and more English to help me to adapt ,” he said . “ There were some teachers and friends who could speak Vietnamese and could translate for me and they helped me during my freshman year .”
A family photo shows a young Dinh Le ( front row , left side ) posing with his brothers and sisters when he lived in Vietnam .
16 CROWLEY ISD CONNECTIONS | Summer 2017
Kristin Easter , the campus ESL coordinator who has known Le for three years , taught him English his sophomore year .
“ He always asked for more homework ,” Easter said . “ He really wanted to soak it all up . He ’ s just zoomed past any expectation that I could have had for him , which is really , really incredible .”
Easter is not surprised Le landed among the top 10 percent of his class .
“ He never settles for anything less than 2,000 percent ,” she said . “ I know he ’ s going to push through any obstacle or barrier that might come his way and show everybody that you don ’ t have to be a native language speaker to do well in this country and do well in the schools here .”
When school got tough and he felt like giving up , Le said he would think about his family and his goals .
“ I would think of my future and everything waiting for me ,” he said . “ Sometimes I would be tired of studying and would be like , ‘ I ’ m so done with this . It ’ s so hard for me to learn a new language .’ But when I would think about my future … and my family , my uncle , my relatives … I [ kept ] on going until I got it accomplished .”
He plans to major in chemistry and pursue a premed track to become a doctor . He loves the United States and wants to stay “ forever ” but he also is interested in returning to Vietnam one day .
“ In my country , the medical field is not as good as here ,” he said . “ I want to be a doctor to go back there and help people in my country .”
He plans to either attend a community college first and then go to the University of Texas at Arlington or attend all four years at UTA .
“ I feel great and proud of myself for my accomplishment and thankful for the school for teaching me everything I need to learn to get ready for college ,” he said . “ I will miss that .”