Cambodia Club

Cambodia Club members gather for a photo before the pandemic. Photo provided by Amreth Phirun.

CONNECTIVITY, SUPPORT AND CULTURE PROMOTING Club members stay connected remotely and promote cultural awareness through online communication and virtual events

By Xyron Levi Corpuz

Cambodia Club members shared how they were able to operate remotely during the Fall 2020 Semester and still have fun. The club presidency shared how they supported the club through technology and the organization’s goal to make members feel loved and spread awareness on campus about the club.

Club President Amreth (LeGrand) Phirun, a senior from Cambodia majoring in communications, shared the Cambodia club’s mission. “Our mission is to invite other students from all over the place and make them

The Cambodia Club dancing for the preview video for Culture Night 2020. Photo provided by BYU–Hawaii.

feel part of a big family. We help members to be leaders in their chosen fields and in the church,” Phirun shared.

Namonikeo Khen, a sophomore from Cambodia studying human resources and the club’s first vice president, said the club’s primary purpose this semester is to connect people during a disconnected time.

“We know a lot of students are away from the campus, but we try to bring everyone together through Zoom meetings and activities,” Khen shared.

Vannanoeun Roth, a senior from Cambodia majoring in human resources and second vice president, said their club is different during the pandemic because they were not able to host the activities they wanted. “We had the opening social. It was good, and we had 10 people who joined via Zoom. We have a new member, [Kate Woodruff], who joined from Idaho. She wanted to explore, and she read about the club description...more about our culture.”

Kate Woodruff, a freshman from Idaho with an undeclared major, shared, “I was a bit nervous joining the opening social because it was my first time joining a virtual college club. I knew I wouldn’t know a single person there, but I wanted to be able to meet people attending college, especially at BYU–Hawaii.”

She continued, “I also have a love for learning about people and places around the world, so I was excited to hear about Cambodia. When I arrived, I immediately felt welcome, even though I was one of the few people who had not previously been a member. I introduced myself and then was already a part of the group.”

Roth shared how they were able to hold the activity remotely. “We introduced our culture to those who were not familiar with us. We had games and attendees could win a prize, which was an Amazon gift card. Our

Roth said they were able to keep the club going through remote activities. Photos provided by Amreth Phirun.

club president had a good presentation about the country and shared it with the attendees so they would know what Cambodian people are like, how we live, eat, dance, etc. We played a Kahoot game where the participants answered questions about the culture and geography of Cambodia.”

Woodruff commented, “We learned about the history, geography and customs of Cambodia, including the history of the Khmer Genocide and Cambodian wedding customs. I still have my notes I took during the presentation because it was so interesting. ... I got second place both times [in Kahoot]. Everyone was having a great time racing to remember the answer. I was smiling the entire time.”

Phirun said everyone is welcome to join the club. He shared, “Whoever joins the club will be treated equally and will not discriminate. We invite people from all over the place to come and join our club and appreciate each other’s culture. I truly believe the more we learn from each other’s cultures, the more we will have respect towards other cultures.”

Roth said during this pandemic they want people to know they are still operating. She said, “We still support the members even though it is a slow time right now and not a lot of people are joining. The pandemic makes it difficult to contribute a lot, but we are still doing our best to be involved with a lot of students and organize different activities.”

Roth said when the club meets together remotely, they can check in on each other and talk about life and their stresses. Expressing feelings, she said, is cool so others in the same shoes can relate.

Phirun shared during this disconnected time he wants to help the club members stay connected. He continued, “We can keep our relationship with others even [during] a pandemic. Nothing can prevent us from having a good relationship with each other because of the technology we can use. There are so many ways we can be connected and help the members to feel loved, even if we are far away from each other.”

During the pandemic, Phirun said he emails and sends text messages to the club members asking how they are doing. He said, “Even though I do not get a response, I still keep asking how they are doing to get everyone connected. I am grateful for the technology that makes all of this possible.”

Khen said he believes the Lord provided modern technology in order for everyone to survive this pandemic.

Roth said their goal is for the Cambodia Club to continue even though most of the club officers are graduating soon. “We are looking forward to more Cambodian students coming to BYUH. The Cambodia Club is a source to support them emotionally and physically.

“We can be very helpful. We would serve as a support team for them. We also extend our help to whoever wants to be part of the club and learn more about the culture.”

Roth said they want people to know their club exists on the campus. She shared, “Because we are the minority group at BYUH, whatever we do, we just want to introduce ourselves to others, that we are the people from Cambodia, and that we exist at BYUH. We want to promote our country and to show others we

also have our own culture. We want people to be aware of us.”

Phirun echoed Roth about promoting the club and said, “The reason why I want to keep the club open [during the pandemic] is to promote our culture and country. Unlike other countries, most people do not know where Cambodia is located and that it exists on the world map.”

Khen said they could introduce their food to the students on campus, especially during the previous Food Fest. According to her, people started to get to know their food, especially the “rice pork.” They not only cook Cambodian food for the club activities but also for their friends and unit mates.

Roth commented, “When we joined the previous Culture Night, there were only 13 of us. People were surprised by who we were and that we exist. Even though we were small, we were able to showcase ourselves. We were able to influence other chapters, like the Vietnamese Club, to continue. Even though we are both small clubs, we still kept on going.”