Fr Ray Douziech, C.Ss.R.
Whenever I meet a confrere or someone who knows, I am the novice master the first question inevitably raised is, “How many novices do we have this year?” The answer, “Five.” The second question, “Are there any Canadians?” The answer to that question is, “Unfortunately, no.”
The group this year continues the tradition of having a novitiate that is both international and multi-cultural. I would like to introduce them briefly to you.
Joaquin Garcia-Romanillos. Age 41. Born in Granada. Joaquin is part of the Madrid province. He is fluent in English. He worked in Portugal. He speaks Portuguese and French. He comes with degrees in Law and in Business Administration. His professional life, prior to entering the Redemptorists in 2013, was centered on financial markets, banking and analysis of investments, international equity and fixed income markets.
Trung-Tin Huynh. Age 25. Born in Saigon, Vietnam. He moved to the US in 2010. He attended university in Vietnam and majored in Computer Science. In the US, he studied Computer Science at Georgia Perimeter College and graduated in 2014. In college, he was invited to join Mu Alpha Theta, the national high school and two-year college mathematics honour society and Phi Theta Kappa, an international honour society. He also got recognition for his scholastic ability in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Trung-Tin is a novice for the Vice-Province of Richmond.
Vincent Nguyen. Age 22. Vincent is a novice for the Denver province. He was born in Fountain Valley, California. After High School, he entered Golden West Community College studying philosophy. He was accepted as a postulant in 2013. Vincent finished his Arts degree from St John’s University with a major in Philosophy. He enjoys scholarly pursuits. He has done very well with his studies. His GPA was 4.0. He was deeply involved in his parish, in the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth movement, the Knights of Columbus, in teaching catechism as well as a peer mentor in various settings. He is very proud of his Vietnamese-American heritage.
Royce Thomas. Age 27. Royce is a native of Trinidad and Tobago. He was born in Parryland village Guapo Point Fortin. He attended Point Fortin Primary School and went to St Benedict’s College. He also attended Roytec school of Business and Computer studies doing an associate degree program. In January 2009, he started working at Corpus Christi College as an assistant teacher and in September of 2009, he became a full time teacher, teaching social studies, music and religion. He entered the postulancy for the Caribbean Region in September 2012. He completed his BA in philosophy in the spring of 2016.
Michael Vo, Age 39. Michael was born and raised in Bien-Hoa, Vietnam. He arrived in Boston with his family on September 14, 1990. He went to high school in Boston and was a member of the ProTech program at his school and a member of the Urban Scholar and the Upward Bound program at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. In 1997, he entered the University of Massachusetts in Boston and began his studies towards a Bachelor of Science degree. After graduating, he worked in the family business for two years then worked in city hall, Boston for eleven years as a PeopleSoft Applications Developer. Michael is a novice for the Baltimore province.
