This year, we are honoured to present the Van Tran Bursary to a very deserving recipient, Corporal/đại tá Wesley Tam. When we were determining the conditions of the program, candidates such as Wesley were the people that we had in mind to support and honour. His reference letter spoke of his dedication and time:
-In February 2020 he supported the repatriation of Canadians stranded abroad during the COVID-19 crisis and he later deployed to Long Term Care homes ravaged by the novel coronavirus, supporting the provision of primary health care
-Cpl Tam instructed at the military’s Battle School (Truong quan su) under austere conditions, receiving a Command Team commendation for his efforts.
-In 2021, Wesley worked to provide medical support to personnel involved in the evacuation of Afghan refugees from Kabul.
-He has been very active in serving the Vietnamese community by mentoring international students and fundraising for charitable causes including Center of Hope – Vietnam and Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, which support Hmong orphans and victims of human trafficking
Now as Wesley embarks on his journey through Medical school with the primary aim to service in primary care with “involvement in biomedical research, evidence-based medicine, and technology -to apply his advanced skillset to serve as a healthcare educator and build upon his current leadership activities” …as a senior physician of 20 years in the practice, hearing this commitment truly makes my heart sing.
These individuals are the hope of the future for the Vietnamese community. It is with this community that we strengthen and support each other…may we be continual sources of learning and inspiration.
