International student, club president and student senator Leo Nguyen never expected to find fulfillment when he first came to De Anza College to study business.

Nguyen, 21, comes from central Vietnam in the city of Hue, the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802-1945 where life is “peaceful,” he said.

Back in Vietnam, Nguyen says that students attend school only for classes while recreation and student activities are virtually nonexistent.

“My first year here [at De Anza] I stuck to the traditional way of studying, and focused only on doing well in my classes,” Nguyen said, “I thought that was boring so I joined a club.”

Nguyen started to socialize with others on campus and experienced a culture shock with student life when he joined the Vietnamese Student Association club on campus, a part of the organization United VSA, which includes many Northern California schools. After one year in the club, Nguyen was elected president of the VSA for the 2010-2011 school year.

“I used to only go to classes here, but after being involved in VSA, I found that U.S. college life is very different. Students really play an important role,” he said.

Last year, Nguyen noticed problems in the De Anza Associated Student Body Senate and decided to expand his involvement with student activities on campus and run for senator. Today, he serves as the chair of the Senate’s Finance Committee.

“DASB plays an important role to students whether they know it or not. I saw problems with last year’s Senate with allocations and [because] I have one year left at De Anza to do something and make a difference I made it my goal to improve the Senate,” Nguyen said.

While most other college’s student governments focus only on events, De Anza’s student body senate also provides funding for programs on campus that help students such as the Tutor Center and Athletics. Because of the impact the senate has on the college, Nguyen has decided the committee should go to the programs the Senate provides for and investigate them so the committee can make the best recommendations to the Senate when it votes for the 2011- 2012 budget next quarter.

“When I get involved, I really want to try my best and fulfill all of my goals,” said Nguyen.

Nguyen hopes his contributions to the student body can motivate others to become involved in campus life and to continually improve the college.

“After two years here, I’ve changed in a better way. I’ve learned that it’s not just about the classes but being involved in the campus community as well,” Nguyen said, “It fulfills me now and even later in my life.”