Wheaton College Alumnae/i - Meet Pagna Eam '13

Meet Pagna Donlevy

It seems fitting to start this article with two notes written by Pagna as they express her growth and continuing gratitude for all the opportunities she has prepared herself to embrace since her arrival from Cambodia in 2004.

Pagna says she is very lucky. Perhaps. Yet, one could posit that — luck happens when good preparation meets opportunity. Hard work, determination, courage, patience, resilience, enthusiasm, vision and a positive, kind nature— these are a good combination for discovering opportunities and turning them into Luck. Members of the Class of '61 could enjoy a very interesting afternoon discussing "luck" — over tea, of course. Pagna works very hard, prepares well and learns from each experience. And, it is her nature to always find the time to thank people, enthusiastically. She wrote the first letter last year as a sophomore (her first year at Wheaton).

Dear my wonderful people:

I sit down, but then I get up. I go to sleep, but then I get up again. Then I am trying to stay on my bed. I imagine about my life in America, living at home with my sister Pisey Donlevy and my informal adopted parents Bill and Patti Donlevy, and at Wheaton College. I am the luckiest Cambodian person; I am.

Either at home or at school in America, I have plenty of clothes to wear. I have more than enough clean water to take showers and to drink. I have a job to earn income. I have number one rice in my pot to cook for my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I have a room to live and sleep in without worrying if there are snakes, scorpions, or other poisonous animals crawling to bite me. Even rain does not wet me when I go to sleep. I sleep peacefully on my soft bed. My bed does not hurt my back either; it is wonderful!

It is the opposite if I were one of many million children in Cambodia right now. They live in suffering; they live with nothing; they live with no hope or opportunity. Some of them cannot go to school at all. Some are forced to work in the rice field with their parents. Some are forced to sell their bodies at night to earn money. Some are forced to run away from the country to seek jobs trying to help out family. Some sacrifice their dreams to fulfill their parents’ wishes by getting married at a young age. What am I doing in the United States? I hide away from those suffering by concentrating on my education at Wheaton College. Do I care about those suffering? Yes, absolutely! I do care. I saw the suffering with my both eyes, touching my heart forever. Both emotional and spiritual, my painful voice keeps calling me to go back to help them out.

I am the luckiest person because I have friends who like/love me. I have many teachers and professors who provide me knowledge and education. I have mentors, deans, and many other wonderful people in Attleboro and Norton support me. I am grateful for every single help that I receive. I am honored to meet and have known so many kind people in the United States. I am super happy to live and study in the United States. I will continue to do my best. I am the luckiest person. At night, I do not see any fired bullets fly over my head or soldiers shot, because I live in America. America gives me security, peace, freedom, opportunity, love, and independence. I love America. I love Attleboro. I love Norton. I love Attleboro High School. I love Bristol Community College. More to come, I love Wheaton College. Thank you to EVERYONE who has helped and supported me since I have known you. I appreciate it very much.

With all my heart,
Pagna Eam
(Cambodian student at Wheaton College 2013)

Pagna wrote the next letter as she was finishing up her grant proposal in December. More later about that.

Dear my wonderful people,

I am thankful for all the ways you have been helping me. You laugh with me. You talk with me. You share your experiences and opinions with me. You are part of my Projects for Peace proposal. You have touched my heart. You teach me how to think. You show me how to find a solution. You guide me for a better option. It is an honor to have met and known you in the United States. Please accept my "bow and thanks" in this email. I appreciate your help with all my heart.

Sincerely, thankfully, and respectfully

Pagna Sophal Donlevy

These notes flow straight from the core of Pagna's being. We have not yet been able to circumvent her heart as it is very large, most likely immeasurable! We can tell you this— there is still plenty of room for you to touch it, too.

But, you will have to run a little faster. Here are some of the happenings in Pagna's Junior year to date. She—

became a US citizen in September 2011

changed her name officially to Pagna Sophal Donlevy — Sophal is for her beloved mother in Cambodia; Donlevy in honor of her "adopted" American parents, Bill and Patti Donlevy.

made Dean's List for fall semester; her courses were Logic, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra and Education

Her Projects for Peace proposal, as Wheaton's winning selection, was sent to the Davis United World College Scholars Program in early February. Final decisions are announced in mid-March.

a math major, is taking Multivariables, Graph Theory, Special Education, Music and Dance of South Asia this semester. Pagna is auditing Computer Science 116 because the 20-hour assignments are not managable with her heavy work schedule.

works in the Center for Global Education and is also a greenhouse assistant and a private math and science tutor (K-12).

is a member of the Education Club, Math Club and Asian American Coalition and Treasurer of Interfaith Alliances

has been highly involved in many Wheaton and community volunteer activities

Pagna enjoys leading fundraising and volunteer efforts —

Last November, I led a group of my friends in a fundraising campaign to raise money to support female students' education and to help my villagers who were affected by the severe floods (flood relief). My family in Cambodia is doing well, thank you so much for asking. I will tell them that you ask about them. I know for sure that my mother and my family will be very happy to hear.

We cooked and sold Cambodian food including rice, steak skewers, chicken skewers, chicken wings, raw rice, desserts (traditional banana rice), and others. We sold each item per dollar and we earned $635.87 total including donations. We are so happy. We made a decision to help the flood relief (70%) and scholarships for girls (30%). We invited a traditional Cambodian band to play Cambodian music at Balfour-Hood, and we invited two Cambodian Buddhist monks to campus to speak about Buddist philosophy and about Buddhism 101. It was amazing! Everyone loved the music and listened to the monks and enjoyed the food, too. We are so happy that we did well.

Pagna, Congratulations!

Pictures of Pagna at work!

Tending her garden in Attleboro Cooking rice for the Cambodian fundraiser

Pagna gathered a group of Wheaton students to paint the Literacy Center in Attleboro.

A very happy Pagna after listening to this traditional Cambodian band and raising some much needed money for flood relief and girls' education in her home area of Cambodia.

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