Professor Nawang Phuntsog’s memoir is a painful and moving recounting of events set in motion by the invasion of his peaceful and beloved homeland by China’s People’s Liberation Army. A Tibetan-American Educator’s Odyessey tells of his remarkable journey which began when he and his parents were forced to flee their native Tibet, seeking refuge in India. His schooling by refugee Tibetan teachers in India will inspire students and all who seek knowledge and understanding. His teachers constantly reminded their young students: “You are the seeds of future Tibet.” The young Phuntsog took this concept to heart, and in doing so accomplished more than was expected of his peers or even of native-born scholars.
Though Hindi was not his native language, the trilingual Phuntsog triumphed over ten better advantaged Indian candidates and was chosen to teach General Science at the well-regarded Delhi Public School. He tells, with characteristic humility, of his further success, after migrating once again, in graduate school at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. There he specialized in multicultural education and attained the degree of Doctorate of Education.
Ever dedicated to learning and education, Phuntsog moved his family cross-country to accept an assistant professorship at California State University, Fullerton. Perhaps his most cherished accomplishment at Fullerton was his securing the agreement of His Holiness. the 14th Dalai Lama to preside as keynote speaker at his seminar on “Harmonizing Diversity.”
Continuing in earnest to learn and to teach, Nawang Phuntsog not only attained full professorship at Fullerton; he was also awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. Perhaps the only other Tibetan-American to attain such lofty heights was Lobsang Sangay, who also excelled in Tibetan language schools to graduate Harvard Law School before becoming the Prime Minister of the Central Tibetan Administration.
Professor Phuntsog’s memoir, will inspire refugees and others who strive for freedom to learn and to teach.
Yosh Yamanaka
Administrative Law Judge (ret.), USA