The Metropolitan Online - May/June 2005 - Student Spotlight: Viroon Chinviratchai

Although quite a few students have transferred schools before coming to Metropolitan State University, perhaps none have had quite the adventure that Viroon Chinviratchai (pronounced Ve-roon Chin-vi-rat-chi) has. To start, Viroon was born in Hadyai, a city not too far from Phuket in Southern Thailand. His family then moved to Bangkok when he was six months old. Although his family still lives in Thailand, they, thankfully, were not personally affected by the tsunami there on December 26, 2004.

Chinviratchai’s American education began on his birthday, September 26, 1996. That was the day he traveled to the U.S. to begin school here. Chinviratchai says that he heard the U.S. had the best education in the world, so he had to try it for himself. Due to the time zones he traveled across, he left Thailand the morning of his birthday, and arrived the same day, landing in Minneapolis 36 hours later—still on his birthday! He says, “I had the longest birthday in my life!”

Viroon Chinviratchai

Chinviratchai began college at the University of Minnesota. He didn’t like it too much and thought it was too expensive for international students. So he transferred to MCTC (Minneapolis Technical and Community College). He loved that school; however, he transferred to Metropolitan State University to get his bachelor’s degree in public relations. After working for a while, he decided that a B.A. “could only take you so far,” and came back to Metropolitan State to get a graduate degree in technical communications. Now he works full time and goes to school full time. He describes it, as many of us know, as tough

He now works at National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) as a recruitment specialist. For his work, Chinviratchai travels all over the upper Midwest speaking to organizations and groups about joining the national bone marrow donor registry. Although he doesn’t actually meet people who are in need of a bone marrow transplant, he still says he loves that he “is involved in the process of saving someone’s life. In his travel for work, Viroon says that he often feels stared at. Because a lot of his work is done in small towns, he says that the combination of being Asian and dressed professionally sometimes leaves him feeling as if he stands out. Although, in a recent trip to California, he says, “I felt like everyone else. It seemed the majority there were people of different races.”

Chinviratchai’s family is very close to his heart, especially because they live so far away. His family of five includes his mother and father, a sister and a brother. Chinviratchai describes his mother as his best friend. He adds warmly that her full-time career while he was growing up was a housewife. He says, “That’s a full-time job in my opinion. She cooked, cleaned, raised three children, took care of Dad, and the whole ten yards!”

Chinviratchai’s brother and sister, who still live overseas, are both sales associates for different companies. Chinviratchai says his sister is “the smartest person in the family.” Even though his family has remarked upon the changes in him since he has moved to the U.S., Chinviratchai is still excited when they come visit. And his sister is visiting in two weeks. They tell him he is more outspoken and less sensitive, and Chinviratchai says, “In this country that is a good thing.”

Chinviratchai really likes the U.S. and is grateful that he was able to be educated here. In the future, he plans to work here for a few more years, save money, and then possibly move back to Thailand. He says he hasn’t ruled out trying another country, and adds, “I’m not afraid!”

If you would like to get on the national registry, or if your organization would like to get involved in a drive to raise awareness for the National Bone Marrow registry, you can call Chinviratchai at his office at 612-871-9417. Since the donor portion of the testing costs $25 (unless you are a person of color, for which there are subsidies), it is often challenging to find suitable donors.

Author’s note: This is my last column for The Metropolitan, as I am graduating in May with my B.S. in law enforcement and criminal justice. I want to thank my teachers, advisors, and the staff of the school and the Metropolitan. You have helped make my time here full and rewarding. Thank you so much and farewell!

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