January/February 2010
Around the Quads
Nettra Pan ’12 Works To Help Her Cambodian Homeland
By Nathalie Alonso ’08
Nettra Pan ’12, posing here with child vendors in Cambodia, encourages fellow students to undertake service projects in Southeast Asia. PHOTO: Andy FletcherThough Nettra Pan ’12 moved halfway around the world to attend Columbia College, many of her efforts continue to revolve around what she considers her life cause: improving quality of life for the people of Cambodia, her homeland.
During her first year in the College, Pan organized fundraisers and benefits as events manager for the Cambodia Project, Inc., a nonprofit with an office in New York City that is committed to advancing secondary education in rural areas of the country. She spent the summer between her freshman and sophomore years at home in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, working to strengthen partnerships among CPI, other nongovernmental organizations and several ministries within the Cambodian government.
“The organization was a great opportunity for me to get involved with something close to my heart,” she says.
Pan was a senior at the International School of Phnom Penh when she became interested in collaborating with CPI. In early 2008, she met the organization’s founder, Jean-Michel Tijerina, a GS student, at a meeting at Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce. Pan’s professional demeanor led Tijerina to entrust her with important tasks, despite her youth.
“Nettra presents herself with tremendous confidence, as well as the skill and savoir-faire that display a maturity well beyond her years,” says Tijerina. “Her passion for Cambodia and her unique talent in working with others have enabled The Cambodia Project to recruit [people with] valuable skills and support to move ahead in our developments.”
Since December 2008, Pan also has been president of SEADS in Cambodia (Southeast Asian Development & Service), an interschool student club dedicated to educating the public about issues affecting Cambodia and other underdeveloped countries in Southeast Asia. The group was originally considered a chapter of CPI but the two no longer are affiliated.
“Coming to Columbia and New York, I expected an international environment, and that’s what I found, but I also found a lot of people who did not know where Cambodia was and did not know about one of the worst genocides of the 20th century,” says Pan, referring to the mass killings that took place from 1975–79 under the Khmer Rouge. “I wanted to bring more awareness to campus.”
Events have featured former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Sichan Siv ’81 SIPA and Khmer Rouge survivor and author Kilong Ung as guest speakers. Pan hopes to further expand the club’s scope in order to encourage participation in service projects in that region of the world.
“We’re exploring everything from social media campaigns, to expansions in the Columbia curriculum, to student exchange programs,” she says.
Pan, an only child, was born in California and was a toddler in 1992 when her father accepted a position with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, a peacekeeping mission. Pan and her mother joined him in Phnom Penh two years later. While in high school, Pan was involved with fundraising and planning for another nonprofit, Tabitha Cambodia, which organizes excursions to build homes for underprivileged families.
It also was in high school that Pan began to explore visual arts. Many of her creations depict the lotus flower, an important motif in Buddhism and other Southeast Asian traditions.
“I really want art to redevelop in Cambodia. A lot of it was lost during the genocide. I see it as my personal responsibility to do as much as I can to bring that back,” says Pan, who says she hopes to witness “a Cambodian renaissance.”
One of her pieces, a combination of acrylic, plaster and newspaper on canvas titled Lotus Paper, is currently on display at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh. Pan loaned the piece to the embassy at the request of the ART in Embassies Program, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State, which places original artwork created by U.S. citizens in American diplomatic residences around the world.
Pan competes as a member of Columbia’s Model United Nations club and enjoys writing fiction, singing and playing the guitar. When deciding where to spend her undergraduate years, she felt the College would be the best venue in which to explore her eclectic interests.
“I like being involved in an active place,” says Pan. “I thought Columbia was the perfect mix of everything.”
Pan, a fluent speaker of English, French and Khmer, plans to major in political science. She highlights several courses — among them Barnard associate history professor Lisa Tiersten’s “Colonial Encounters” — for having provided her with the context necessary to understand the problems she seeks to alleviate.
“I really appreciate the big scope that I am getting,” says Pan. “I had a lot of firsthand experience in Cambodia. I saw the direct effects of Cambodia being an underdeveloped country competing in the big global market. But I wasn’t aware of all the history.”
Pan is interested in international affairs but is unsure about what career she will pursue. In the meantime, she will continue to use her time in the College to explore new ways to help her country.
“What really ties everything together is my passion for Cambodia,” she says.
Nathalie Alonso ’08, from Queens, majored in American studies. She is
an editorial producer of and contributing writer to LasMayores.com,
Major League Baseball’s Spanish language Web site.