By Connie Capone, Daily Targum
Rutgers University
For A-Nam Nguyen, her women’s and gender studies class was more than just an item on her schedule — it became her inspiration for a documentary about a homeless woman in New Brunswick.
Nguyen, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, said she came to Rutgers in the fall of 2009 from Egg Harbor Township in southern New Jersey.
“I’m a first-generation student, and I wasn’t very informed about how to choose a college or what I should look for in a college,” she said.
As the first in her family to attend college, Nguyen said she did not know how to prepare herself, study for different classes or approach professors.
She struggled with depression during her first couple of years, eventually opting to seek out a counselor on campus.
“I was bewildered by the size and the complexities of Rutgers,” Nguyen said. “It took me a long time before I could get used to it in general and enjoy what this university has to offer.”
The transition to college was not easy since she was so close to her family, and she was not able to see them for long periods of time.
“I hardly saw any of my family members throughout the time that I have been at Rutgers, except for when students were expected to go home during breaks,” she said.
Her opportunity to create the documentary came from an inquiry the Filmmaking Learning Community at Rutgers submitted to the Institute for Women’s Leadership. She was also actively involved with an organization that had planned a spring break trip to New York to help the homeless.
“It’s not just talking about homelessness but showing it by using someone else’s story,” she said. “I didn’t want to just give my opinion of homelessness — I wanted to translate it in a way that would be effective.”
At first, Nguyen faced trouble with publicizing the documentary.
“What people saw in the documentary was emotionally troubling, but it was also rewarding in that they were able to learn the story of a homeless woman in New Brunswick,” she said.
Difficult moments included scheduling conflicts and trying to find times suitable for her, co-producer Dominique Turner, and Jill Tice, the woman featured in the film.
Read the full article by Connie Capone from Daily Targum.
