Welcome,
My name is My Thanh Huynh-Stachura, but I prefer to be called “Thanh” (like sun “tan”). I love my name; it ties me to my heritage and most importantly my family. Growing up, I have been asked by many individuals regarding why I haven’t chosen a western name for myself. I have been given many reasons as to why it would be beneficial for me to do so, but none that I find justifiable enough. Don’t get me wrong, I have thought about it from time to time; but more so because it would be nice to have the Starbucks employees not call me “Tran”, “Th-han”, “Than”, “Tanya”, etc. Sometimes I find myself standing there for longer than I need to, only concluding ten minutes later that they either called my name wrong or didn’t even attempt to say it. When I am in a rush, it’s not that entertaining, but for the most part, I always laugh it off.
I was born in Canada but growing up I was immersed into the Vietnamese, Hainanese, and Mandarin language. My parents didn’t teach me English because they believed that it was the school’s job to do so. When I was younger, I struggled a lot with English. I couldn’t speak it well and most of the time spoke broken English. I was a young girl of minority, diverse in culture and learning capabilities, living in Newmarket, Ontario, where every class had at most two Asian children and the rest were white. My peers never really embraced my differences and because of that I had experienced bullying right from a young age. My classmates use to say, “Hey Sun Thanh!” and it bothered me. Now, I embrace it!
I attended four different high schools in the four years I was in high school. Being the new person every year was very rough when it came to making friends and I struggled with being bullied on a regular basis. I was bullied in the school hallways, in the locker room, in my classrooms in front of my teachers (who did nothing), and even outside of school. I was always left on the outside looking in. I feared going to school and told myself that no one should have to feel this way. That was when I realized that I wanted to be a teacher. It was in Grade 10 when I realized that I wanted to be a social justice advocate for my future students. I wanted to be able to make a difference in the lives of those who felt unsafe where they should be feeling safe. Unfortunately, due to cultural circumstances I tried to pursue a career in Business Administration first. Two-three years after high school I made a very hard decision of leaving behind everything I knew to come to Calgary in 2011 to turn my life around. I have experienced many different career fields since high school and have worked very hard in everything that I have attempted. I found myself almost employed by Calgary Police Services as I went through the applicant process. During that process I had an epiphany which made me question my state of happiness as I didn’t feel fulfilled. After 4 years of working on myself I decided to pursue my initial goal of being a teacher. My journey in Calgary also led me to meeting a wonderful man whom I ended up marrying in 2018. I enjoy using my free time to work on my personal fitness by playing badminton, volleyball, tennis, and hiking.
I am very passionate about everything that I have in my life; my dogs, my husband, my family, my schooling, etc. I am passionate about drug education and the importance of implementing it into our students lives. I may not have a published paper, but I have done some personal research and have wrote a paper on the importance of integrating drug education into schools. This personal research paper of mine includes several suggestions on how to implement drug education into school systems through youth initiatives. I was fortunate enough to be able to speak upon this topic of mine at the Palliser Teachers’ Convention 2020. For more info on this, you can click on the “My Personal Work” link in the footnote of this portfolio. I am exceptionally protective of my future students and want nothing more but to promote an educational environment where they can safely grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially.
It is clear that many aspects of my life have changed since high school, my family dynamics, my self-esteem, my ability to read, write, speak English, and my lifestyle. What hasn’t changed are my values. I know this because I still want to be a teacher. I want to promote a safe learning environment for all my students, and I am currently taking every step of action to make it happen.
Sincerely,
Thanh (like sun “tan”)
