Sacramento woman who immigrated to US as young girl reunites with 6th grade teacher
SACRAMENTO — It was a reunion 18 years in the making. A Sacramento woman reunited with the teacher who made an impact on her life after she immigrated to the U.S. as a young girl.
This reunion was a long time coming for Arden Middle School Principal Teresa Cummings and 24-year-old Kim Nguyen.
Cummings taught then-six-year-old Nguyen in first grade.
"I came from Vietnam to the U.S. with my family when I was almost 4 years old, so when I started school, [I had] very limited English," Nguyen said.
Cummings, who went by her married name of Quinn at the time, remembered Nguyen as someone with "bright eyes" and who was just "happy to be there."
"[she was] excited and scared at the same time, not knowing a lot of English, and I just took a liking to her," Cummings said.
Nguyen became her class helper and progressed in school. She moved on, and so did Cummings, who progressed into her role now as principal.
Then, a few weeks ago came a Facebook message.
"I was in tears," Cummings said. "It was very touching."
Nguyen, a recent graduate of UC Irvine, had returned home and was reflecting on how far she had come. So she tracked Cummings down online.
"At the time, it was Mrs. Quinn and I kept looking [for] Teresa Quinn on Facebook and I could not find her," Nguyen said. "And then it occurred to me. I remember her daughter's name and I looked up her daughter on Facebook, and then I happened to find [Cummings] through the friends list."
Nguyen sent her a message thanking her for her kindness, her extra help with learning English and for feeding her a banana when she was hungry. Nguyen told Cummings she was her favorite teacher.
"It was very impactful to have her reach out and know that hey, we do make a difference," Cummings said.
Nguyen works as a medical assistant and is happy to have reconnected with the teacher who meant so much to her as a mentor.
"I think it made me more appreciative of the relationships and connections I am able to make with teachers who are my mentors," Nguyen said. "It's very important to me."
