On a cool morning in 1979, a young man pedaled his bicycle down San Carlos Street toward San José City College, the first place in America that had ever opened its doors to him. He had arrived with no English, no money, no family—just the hope that had carried him through storms, hunger, and pirate-patrolled waters as a Vietnamese refugee.
As he sped over the tall overpass that day, the rear brake gave out. The front brake locked, the bike pitched forward, and he was thrown onto the pavement. When he came to, a stranger was leaning over him, a hand on his shoulder, gently trying to wake him. “We need to get you to the hospital,” the man said—urgent, but calm.
He waited in the emergency room until he was certain the student would be treated. Only then did the student explain he had been rushing to class. The good Samaritan said his name was Dan.
The injured student, Hung Pham, never forgot that moment. He never saw the stranger again. But from that day on, he introduced himself simply as Dan, in honor of the man who helped him when he had few people to count on.
More than four decades later, that same student — now Dan Pham, a retired mechanical engineer, husband, father of twin daughters, and longtime Silicon Valley professional — is giving back to the college that took him in when he had little.
Pham and his wife, Mary, have established a $25,000 endowment at San José City College. The investment will live in perpetuity, and its annual interest will fund scholarships for engineering students, with the goal of supporting first-generation, low-income, and immigrant learners like the young man Dan once was.
But the story of how he arrived at this moment stretches far beyond San José.
A Childhood Dream Deferred by War
Pham grew up in a middle-class family in northern Vietnam. Like many children of his generation, he dreamed of going to college, a dream that seemed close yet impossible. Higher education was a rarity in his post-war country; economic instability made it even more remote.
“I realized my best chance would be to venture to another country,” he recalled.
He left Vietnam on a small wooden boat, joined by many others fleeing the same uncertain future. What followed was brutal: storms that threatened to swamp the vessel, disease that tore through cramped quarters, days without food, and close encounters with pirates. Many boats, like it, did not reach their destinations. The United Nations estimated that nearly half of all Vietnamese boat people perished at sea.
Pham’s journey lasted two weeks, though it felt “like two years,” he said. When he finally stepped onto American soil in 1979, he was alive — but alone.
Finding a First Home in a New Country
He did not know how to enroll in school. He had no guidance, no English, and no money. But someone pointed him toward City College, and he walked onto the campus, hoping someone would help.
“SJCC welcomed me with open arms when I had nothing,” he said. “Their acceptance made me feel like I belonged.”
Pham worked tirelessly to catch up — learning English, studying general education courses, and biking miles to and from school every day. His near-fatal bicycle accident happened during one of those rides, but even that memory has become a symbol of grace.
“The kindness of the man who helped me — I admire him deeply,” he said. “I took his name as a reminder of the goodness in people.”
After completing two years at SJCC, he transferred to Sacramento State University, worked for several years, and then pushed himself further academically. “No one in my family had ever reached higher education,” he said. “I wanted to go all the way.”
He earned a B.S. at Sacramento State and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at UC San Diego.
An Unexpected Spark — and a Family Begins
During one summer in a UCSD engineering lab, a faulty pressure gauge on a gas tank malfunctioned, creating an explosion that echoed through the workspace.
It caught the attention of a nearby doctoral student, a chemical engineer named Mary.
The mishap was the beginning of their relationship — “an explosion love story,” Pham jokes. The couple later married and built a life rooted in mutual support, a love of science, and the belief that education is a force multiplier.
Their daughters, Roanna and Emma, are now third-year students at UC Davis, both drawn to engineering like their parents.
Engineering a Future for Others
Pham’s engineering career wound through Silicon Valley during a period of rapid technological change. He designed disk drives at Quantum Corporation, then moved into procurement, product engineering, and eventually program management roles at Hewlett-Packard.
Despite the industry’s pace, he never forgot the slower, more vulnerable times.
“My journey — from a refugee boat to a successful career and family life — has been defined by extreme hardship and extraordinary kindness,” he said.
He believes deeply that a single act — a scholarship, a stranger’s help, a school’s welcome — can change the trajectory of a life.
“One little push can give someone momentum,” he said. “I was given that push.”
That belief shaped a family decision: the creation of three endowments, one at UC San Diego, another at Sacramento State, and the newest at San José City College.
The SJCC fund will support at least one engineering student every year and is designed to grow as friends and family contribute. Endowments, unlike one-time scholarships, are structured to last forever: the principal is never spent; only the investment earnings are. It is a long-term commitment — one that signals permanence, stability, and faith in the college’s mission.
Why Give Back Now?
Pham speaks of his gift in humble terms, but the context tells a larger story.
He came to the United States at a time when many of today’s students’ parents had not yet been born. The refugee crisis that delivered him to California is now taught in textbooks. San Jose’s Vietnamese community has grown to be the largest outside of Vietnam.
But some things haven’t changed at all.
The college still enrolls first-generation immigrants. It still welcomes students who speak little or no English. It still educates learners seeking a foothold in a bewildering new country. Many still arrive with no safety net.
Pham remembers all of that — because he lived it.
“When SJCC welcomed me, I had nothing,” he said. “That is why this place will always be in my heart.”
For him, establishing an endowment is not charity, but reciprocity. It is a way of extending the same hand that lifted him up decades ago.
A Legacy of Momentum
His endowment signals a particular faith — not only in San José City College, but in students who will one day sit where he once sat: uncertain, hopeful, and quietly determined.
“I want them to be able to build their own dreams,” he said. “And to pay their own experiences of kindness forward.”
As the college prepares to award the first scholarship from the Bui Pham Family Endowment, one thing is certain: somewhere on campus, a future engineer will soon discover that their journey is no longer theirs alone.
