Born in Boston, William Cole-French moved to Vietnam at age 3 when his parents took jobs as English professors at Hanoi University. He lived abroad for 10 years before moving back home to attend Boston College High School.
鈥淚 loved living in Vietnam,鈥� says Cole-French, who experienced a reverse culture shock when visiting his home in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston every two or three years.
聽鈥淰ietnam being a collectivist-minded society and America being an individualist-minded society, I could see those big differences when we would come back,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey place a lot more value on the respect of others in Vietnam. If you鈥檙e having a get-together, you invite everyone in the neighborhood, not just certain people.鈥�
Cole-French says those ideals guided him through high school and into college at 51视频, where he is majoring in psychology (with a minor in criminal justice) and is a distance runner on the River Hawks鈥� .
鈥淢y parents always believed that if you have the ability to help and serve people, you should do that,鈥� he says.
With that in mind, Cole-French volunteers as a mentor for a local elementary school student through a program created by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Lowell and the Lowell Public Schools.
鈥淚 remember the people who took the time to talk to me when I was in grade school. It made me feel like I was important; I felt recognized and seen,鈥� he says. 鈥淒oing simple acts like that for kids can really go a long way.鈥�
Matched with a second-grader from Murkland Elementary School in fall 2019, Cole-French hangs out with him once a week 鈥� initially in person and then later on Zoom during the pandemic.
鈥淗e鈥檚 big into hockey, so we talk about sports and things like (the video game) Fortnite, as most kids do,鈥� says Cole-French, who received a Helping Hands Award from the America East Conference in spring 2021 for his efforts.
Cole-French says he chose to run at UML because he wanted to be on a team that was going to be competitive at the NCAA Division I level.
鈥淥ne of 鈥檚 big philosophies is that you need to grind to get better. 鈥業f you keep working, you can do this.鈥� That really drew me into the team,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e have a real brotherhood on the team. We celebrate wins together, and if someone鈥檚 having a tough time, we go pick them up. We ride as one.鈥�
He also volunteers in Assoc. Prof. of Psychology Stephanie Block鈥檚 research lab, where he helps study the intricacies of child sexual abuse case reporting.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 been a pretty good experience to see the applied side of research,鈥� says Cole-French, who is keeping his options open on a future career path, including considering graduate school.
Balancing his academics with the pressures of being a Div. I athlete, Cole-French says volunteering as a mentor helps him keep things in perspective.
鈥淎s you get older, there鈥檚 more stressors in life like paying bills, keeping up good grades, making sure you鈥檙e ready for the next race,鈥� he says. 鈥淏y talking with someone who鈥檚 younger through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, you鈥檙e reminded what really matters: relationships, being a good person and being kind.鈥�