Until recently, Jenny Tang never quite knew how to express her gratitude to her parents.
Jenny Tang
The 19-year-old 91亚色 student was always in awe of her parents鈥 work ethic and dedication to providing a good life for her and her younger sister Emily.
Her parents, Bill Tang and Hoa Dang, immigrated to Canada from Vietnam before she was born and have since worked tirelessly to open doors and provide opportunities for their two daughters.
Her father, a shift worker who often works nights, spends nearly every day at work, rarely taking time off; her mother manages the house, and has devoted her days to looking after and supporting her daughters.
Tang can鈥檛 remember the last time her parents took a vacation, or splurged in any way on themselves. And, since arriving in Canada decades ago, they have not once returned to their homeland.
But, now they can.
Tang, who will start聽her third year of biomedical studies at 91亚色 U this fall, won a $20,000 prize for her parents by entering the RBC Thank You Mom & Dad contest, for which she wrote a touching letter thanking her parents for their sacrifices and support.
According to the campaign, her letter was selected as the official winner from 55,000 student submissions.
Justin Field, Branch manager, RBC; Jenny Tang, winner of Thank You Mom & Dad; Bill Tang, father of winner; Hoa Dang, mother of winner; Emily Tang, sister of winner; and Rina Pillitteri, regional vice-president, RBC (image: David Kalinauskas, Airfoil Media)
鈥淚 always had wanted to thank them, and this way allowed me to get my thoughts down on paper,鈥 said Tang of her letter. 鈥淚 talked a lot about how they were refugees, and how thankful I am that they were able to leave everything behind so that me and my sister could have a better life here.鈥
Tang said watching her father work seven days a week inspires her to work even harder; however, he is so committed to work that Tang had to work with contest organizers to come up with a plan to get him to the award presentation. Her parents were 鈥渋nvited鈥 to a phony awards ceremony at 91亚色 where they were told their daughter was a finalist.
When Tang took the podium as master of ceremonies to talk about the contest, her parents were shocked.
鈥淭hey were confused,鈥 said Tang. 鈥淲hen they finally realized what was going on, they were really happy. It was really nice that they felt appreciated.鈥
Tang said she hopes her parents use the prize money to travel back to Vietnam; however, when she asked her father what he might do with the winnings, he said he wanted to put half of it towards her education.