Student excels at adjusting; learns languages too

This is Doanh Tran “Tochi” Carbaballo’s second year at Mt. Hood. He grew up in Cuba and came to the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam.

Carbaballo received a scholarship to study in Vietnam when he was 18, because he is half-Cuban and half-Vietnamese. He spent the following six years in Vietnam studying Vietnamese. The location of his school placed him in Chinatown for five of those years, so he took Mandarin classes, adding to the three languages in which he is already fluent: English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

It was interesting immigrating from Vietnam to America, Carbaballo said. The Vietnamese students worked very hard, but “you didn’t have creative thinking,” he said. The teachers were extremely strict. “Here, teachers encourage you to be more creative. (But) I really enjoyed Vietnam.”

Carbaballo’s father is Vietnamese and after his years learning in Vietnam, Carbaballo could better understand the culture. “Now I can speak Vietnamese with my dad,”  he said.

His life travels have given him confidence.

“I can go anywhere in the world and I know I won’t have any trouble or any problems,” he said, giving credit to his childhood in Cuba. He said he had the chance to enjoy outside activities with his friends.

“I learned many things in Cuba, honestly. I grew up on the streets, where the dangerous eat. I learned how to survive in life.” He said an individual needs to learn how to survive and adjust. Be a good student, but know how to deal with situations, he recommends.

Carbaballo actually followed his brother, who moved to America three years ago. His brother is studying biochemistry at Stanford, where he wants to transfer next year.

“I want to follow my brother’s path. I want to be closer to my brother. That’s the reason I came to the U.S.,” he said. He’s not sure what subject he will major in, but is considering the medical field, or finance. “If I manage to get into one of the top ten (universities), I would like to do a(n) MBA after I finish my bachelor’s (degree),” he said.

His main focus in life right now is school. “I try to study as much as I can. English is not my first language, so I have that disadvantage,” he said.

Carbaballo believes the only way to improve is by trying harder. He tries to help others if they are struggling in class. “I just try to enjoy the process,” he said. “It’s about balancing my life.”

On the weekends, he works as a nursing assistant for a nursing home, a job he said he enjoys. “Right now they (the residents) are like my family. I spend a lot of time with them. I love them and they love me too.”

Carbaballo said the MHCC TRIO program and his TRIO adviser, Nicci Harwood, have helped him succeed at Mt. Hood.

“She supports me a lot,” he said. “That’s my American mom.”

He also credits Michael Russell, a chemistry professor at Mt. Hood, who he said taught him how to work hard. “I would like to thank Dr. Russell. He’s like a dad to me.”