Saigoneer
Trigger
In 1996, she was working in the marketing department of
Vietnam Investment Review, an English- language newspaper based in Hanoi. A childhood friend of hers happened to be working for ABN AMRO Bank, one of the funders for the first youth expedition to Antarctica led by the polar explorer Robert Swan.
“An expedition will suit someone who is as crazy as me,” Hong said of her friend’s reason for pushing her to apply. She put in her successful application and set off to Antarctica the following year. “We had three weeks of training. I was like, ‘Oh my God, what did I get myself into?’ It was a real professional training for polar explorers. We were 35 young people from 25 different countries and we joined together in very harsh weather conditions.”
Application Deadline:February 5, 2021 at 5:00pm ET.
The Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Columbia University is a full-time, fully-funded leadership development program that brings together rising leaders from the United States and around the world who have demonstrated a commitment to finding solutions to challenges in their communities, countries, and regions. Over the course of an academic year at Columbia University, Obama Foundation Scholars deepen their knowledge and skills and build new capacities and networks to accelerate their impact in their home countries.
Upon completion of the program, Obama Foundation Scholars, empowered by their experience, return to the regions where they have been working and continue along a path of service.