Finance Major to Receive Prestigious Hearst Scholarship

Phong Dang SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Phong V. Dang, a finance major in Cal Poly's Orfalea College of Business, is the 2009 California Polytechnic State University recipient of the prestigious William Randolph Hearst CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement.

Dang was among 23 students selected by the California State University to receive the 2009/10 William R. Hearst/CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement. The winners, one from each campus in the system, will be honored by the Trustees on Sept. 22 at the CSU Office of the Chancellor in Long Beach.

The award is among the highest forms of recognition for student achievement in the CSU. Hearst Scholars demonstrate superior academic achievements, community service, financial need and the ability to overcome adversity.

Dang transferred to to Cal Poly in fall 2008 from Santa Rosa Junior College. He is working on a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in finance management. He is now a junior with a 3.70 GPA. Dang plans to complete his degree in business, get career experience and then return to the university and obtain an MBA so he can pursue a career in finance.

He first arrived in the United States from Vietnam with his father and two younger brothers in 2005 at the age of 21. At Santa Rosa Junior College, despite language and cultural differences, he earned the Dean’s Highest Honor every semester while also working as a computer and math lab assistant.

In 2006, his father and brothers moved to Houston where his father works supporting the family and sending funds to Phong’s mother who is still in Vietnam. Dang stayed behind in California to finish his studies. The family hopes Dang's mother can join them in the United States in the next two years.

For details on Dang and the other 2009-10 Hearst Scholarship winners, read the CSU news release or visit the CSU web site at www.calstate.edu.