Sacred Hearts senior is definition of diligence
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Education Writer
At age 6, Mazie Tsang had 911 memorized so she could call for an ambulance in the event her father had a seizure while they were alone together.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
Her mother drove a taxi 15 hours a day to support the family and dig her way out of a more than $100,000 debt from a bankrupt jewelry business, so the first-grader cared for her father, who was badly beaten by a stranger in Waikiki and left with severe brain damage when Tsang was 4.
Sacred Hearts Academy senior Mazie Tsang says her family's difficulties inspired her to succeed. She has received a $10,000 scholarship.
But as the seizures continued to occur at least once a month — and because her father had canceled his life insurance before the incident to save money — the family became overwhelmed by medical bills. When Tsang was 9, her father went to California to live with his parents.
Now a confident and poised senior at Sacred Hearts Academy, Tsang puts a positive spin on her early struggles, which made her a candidate for a $10,000 scholarship from the Horatio Alger National Association of Distinguished Americans Inc.
Her family life may not have been like that of "The Brady Bunch," she said, but it did teach her perseverance and bring her closer to God.
Tsang's 4.08 grade point average and a substantial list of leadership roles, community service and honors made her one of 107 students awarded the scholarship for triumphing over adversity and demonstrating excellence in academics, co-curricular activities and community service.
She will travel to Washington, D.C., in April to accept the award.
At least 11 other Hawai'i students have won Horatio Alger scholarships in the past 11 years. The scholarships were first awarded in 1986.
Tsang's college counselor, Randall Fong, who recommended Tsang as the school nominee for the Mamoru Takitani Scholarship, said Tsang is the hardest-working person you could meet, and cited diligence and perseverance among her best qualities.
In addition, "I can say with conviction that Mazie is the most caring, considerate and remarkably well-centered student I have met over my 10 years in Catholic-school education," Fong said.
Early experiences made Tsang recognize the value of education, and also motivated her to challenge herself with a rigorous course load — she loves calculus and science — and service projects.
"I'm not really used to lying around. I like to be active," she said.
Fong noted that Tsang has taken the most challenging courses in the school, and recalled when she dragged herself to class with a severe cold to take her semester finals instead of staying home.
"This type of attitude is something you would expect from Mazie, considering what she had to overcome in her personal life," he said.
Her parents grew up in Vietnam during the war, then her mom escaped to Thailand in 1975, traveling on a boat for 10 days without food or water. Her father fled to Hong Kong.
When they settled in Hawai'i, they tried to start a jewelry store on Maui, but it went bankrupt, leaving them $100,000 in debt. The debt increased to $180,000 because the family was unable to recover the expenses for her father's neurological surgery after being attacked.
While she counts community service among the "fun" things she does, the teenager does enjoy talking on the phone, instant messaging her friends and watching TV — all of which she is limiting during Lent. She plans to use some of the down time during her last few months of high school to catch up on movies with her best friend.
Among her many extracurricular activities — including speech and debate, band and student council — Tsang has served as the statewide lieutenant governor of the Key Club and sits on the board of Youth Service Hawai'i as a full voting member.
Tsang credits her mother with giving her the inspiration to succeed.
"She'd push me, but she wouldn't push me to the point of not being motivated," she said. "She helps me look beyond the small picture of school."
She advises other students to do the same, because there is so much more to learning than books and papers.
"Education is not about the grades or the test scores," she said. "It's about having a one-on-one relationship with learning."
Her college acceptance letters will not begin arriving until April, but Tsang expects to go to college and medical school on the Mainland, then come back to Hawai'i to become a pediatrician.
"I'm really passionate about helping people better their own lives," she said. "I really care about how people are doing."
Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
