Growing up between two cultures, you can often find yourself in the space between - a symbolic visual of a woman finding herself torn between both. Made by Kat Nguyen in Canva. 

Is this normal? Many Vietnamese-American children and young adults have asked themselves questions like, “Why do I feel this way? Am I the only one experiencing this? Why am I not Vietnamese enough or American enough?” Growing up between two cultures often means balancing different expectations, values, and identities. While this experience can be rewarding, it can also create challenges that are rarely discussed openly. 

My Summer Scholars research project explores how growing up as the child of Vietnamese immigrants parents shape mental health during childhood and into young adulthood. Specifically, the project examines acculturation which, in simple terms, means the process of navigating two

cultures, and how that experience influences ones’ identity, family, relationships, and overall emotional well-being over time. 

Within this project, I am conducting a literature review of research published over the past decade on acculturative stress and the mental health of children of immigrants, most of which are Asian-American specific. I am also interviewing Vietnamese-American young adults to learn about their lived experiences firsthand. By combining existing research with personal narratives, this research will ideally highlight the common themes, challenges, and strengths within the Vietnamese community and encourage conversations about mental health. 

This research is especially crucial because mental health remains highly stigmatized in many Vietnamese families. Psychological distress is often viewed as a private, family matter, and mental health may be associated with shame. As Do et. al, 2018 explains, “In Vietnamese culture, mental disorders are often labeled điên (literally translated as “madness”). A điên person and their family are often severely disgraced and consequently they become reluctant to disclose and seek help for mental health problems for fears of rejection.” Because of this stigma, many Vietnamese-Americans may suffer in silence, and their unique experiences can be overlooked in both research and healthcare. 

For many children of immigrants, these experiences begin long before adulthood. Most of us find ourselves asking, “why am I translating important documents? Why can’t I play like other kids? Why am I an adult?” While every experience is different, we all share an underlying feeling of growing up too quickly, feeling responsible for supporting our families (some financially, some emotionally, or even both!) while navigating two cultures. At the same time, these experiences often foster resilience, a deep family connection (even with some feeling disconnected), and a desire to give back to the people who sacrificed so much for us. 

By giving voice to these lived experiences, this project aims to increase understanding of the mental health challenges faced by children of Vietnamese immigrants while highlighting their resilience. Ultimately, I hope this research encourages more culturally informed healthcare, opens conversations between families, reducing stigma, and helps future generations feel seen, understood, and most importantly, supported.

When you were younger, how often did you look up at the stars in wonder? How often did you ask questions about space, flight, and our sky? This summer, our team spent time with high school students from the YWCA interested in physics, mathematics, aerospace engineering, and answering questions about flight.

As a historic women's college, our university has a deep history of empowering women in STEM and pushing against the glass ceiling. Girls Inc./Eureka is an organization focused on giving students, age 11-18, the opportunity to explore science across a multitude of different universities, organizations, and companies. This summer we are pleased to offer our students a focused look at high altitude ballooning through a physics and mathematics based lens. High altitude ballooning has a long history of women being on the forefront of their engineering, with St. Catherine University even possessing items belonging to the famous Jeanette Piccard, the first licensed female balloon pilot in the U.S.

Throughout the six weeks we have with our students, we aim to follow an “earth to space” theme, walking students through all the foundational knowledge of flight and space travel. In our first and second week we focussed on the ground base math and physics needed for lift off, with an introduction to trigonometry, force and mass, and basic wave functions, which they then applied to the construction of their own personal rockets. Weeks three and four expanded upon their rocket experiment and brought us to the topic of reaching up into the atmosphere. After a brief lesson plan overviewing the ideal gas law, an introduction to high altitude ballooning, and the layers of the atmosphere, the students constructed their own solar balloons (tetroons), that achieve lift through a heated core. Armed with all of this knowledge the entire team launched National Weather Service grade balloons of different colors into the atmosphere to track which would achieve the highest altitude and how color absorption affects thermal wake activity in the stratosphere. Weeks five and six finally brought us beyond our own atmosphere and into space, incorporating the ideals of cosmology, spectroscopy, aurora borealis, and how the use of physics and mathematics brought such missions as Artemis II to life.

At the center of these six weeks of exploration is a continuous value of accessibility of science and STEM. The foundation of scientific exploration and accountability rests upon the ideal that everyone has the ability to participate in science. By presenting these six weeks of a high altitude ballooning and physics course, with a lens of a female founded background, we hope to expand the horizons and minds of science a little further.

Summer is here, but too many Minnesotans are not moving enough. In fact, 3 out of 4 adults do not get enough weekly exercise. Sitting too much increases the risk of serious health issues like heart disease. Moving your body regularly—by walking, swimming, or even gardening and dancing—is great for your health. It strengthens your immune system and helps you feel better.

Health experts recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week, plus two days of muscle strength training. Staying active is so important that it should be tracked at your yearly checkups, just like blood pressure and body weight are monitored.

This summer, our research team from the Henrietta Schmoll School of Health Science will be visiting local county fairs and the Minnesota State Fair.  We are offering free health and wellness tests for our study, "A 'Fair' Approach to Health and Wellness Across Minnesota."

The free screening takes about 20 minutes and includes five fun stations:

• Health Intake: A quick health history check.

• Muscle Strength: Testing your arm and leg strength.

• Walking Speed: Seeing how fast you move.

• Heart and Lung Endurance: A short step test for your heart and lungs.

• Ball Toss: A simple throwing test.

After the tests, you will see your results. You can talk with our team to see how your values compare to other people your age. This information can help you stay healthy or get extra support if you need it. Our long-term goal is to make these quick health and wellness tests a standard part of regular healthcare visits. 

If you are coming to the Minnesota State Fair, come visit us! Look for our team in the Driven to Discovery Building (1367 Cosgrove Street). It will be a “Great Minnesota Get Together’ indeed and you will get your steps in too!