Building a Vietnamese alumni list from scratch

The most persuasive voice in a Vietnamese family decision is someone who already went. Institutions almost always have those people and almost never have them organised.

Why the list does not exist

Alumni records are usually structured by graduation cohort and current country of residence, neither of which answers "who is in Hanoi and studied engineering". The data exists; the query does not.

How to assemble it without a project

• Start with the last five years. Older graduates are harder to reach and less relevant to a current applicant.
• Segment by city and field, because that is how you will use it.
• Ask permission explicitly to contact them about speaking to prospective families. This is a new purpose and needs its own consent.
• Record who said yes and to what, so the next person asking does not start again.

What to ask of them

Something small and specific: two conversations in a named month, or a short written answer to three questions. Broad requests to "be an ambassador" produce agreement and no activity.

What it is worth

A graduate speaking to a family for twenty minutes outperforms any asset in the marketing budget, and the only cost is the organisation. The reason so few institutions do it is that the work is administrative rather than creative.

Alumni in a season plan: In-Country Outreach →