EVERETT — When Anna Bui was 8 she wrote an essay for the annual Prodigies for Peace Essay Contest.
Her dream, she wrote, was to “go to different countries to help the poor.” The Challenger Elementary School third-grader wanted her community to have a place “for homeless people to live and eat for free until they get a job.” Around the world, she wrote, “schools should be for every child, including college schools for those who can’t afford it.”
The young girl’s words hint at the woman she would grow up to become. Now, her family hopes to honor Bui, her generosity, compassion and sense of adventure through an endowment at the University of Washington Bothell.
The Anna Bui World of Hope Fund will offer scholarships to students who want to travel the world and enrich the lives of others. The fund will be used to help students who might not otherwise be able to travel abroad.
Bui, 19, was among three former Kamiak High School students who were killed at a party July 30 in Mukilteo. A fourth shooting victim survived. The suspect is Bui’s former boyfriend. He is charged with aggravated murder. Prosecutors allege that he ambushed Bui because he was upset over their recent breakup.
“Anna isn’t able to continue her education. My parents hope the scholarship will help other students with their goals, not only that, but it will hold on to Anna’s legacy,” said Anny Bui, the young woman’s sister.
Anna Bui had just finished her first year at the University of Washington Bothell and planned to earn a degree in nursing. She was inspired by the nurses who helped her grandmother during a hospital stay, said her brother, David Bui.
“I have a lot of love to give,” Bui once wrote about her desire to become a nurse.
In addition to her class load at the university, Bui earned a certificate as a nursing assistant. Over the summer she started working weekends at a senior home in Bothell.
“I was so proud of her. I know she was working so hard to find a job,” Anny Bui said.
In her sister’s room, Anny Bui found pens, business cards and small bottles of hand sanitizer bearing the names of different assisted living centers and nursing homes, proof of the young woman’s tenacity to land her first health care job.
Their sister also had a great sense of adventure, Anny and David Bui said.
“She’s the kind of person who would go to Portland just to get socks. I say that because she and a friend did that — fancy socks,” David Bui said.
Over the summer Anna Bui returned to Europe. She’d taken a trip to Spain with the Kamiak High choir. This was her first trip on her own.
Anny Bui, who graduated from the UW in Seattle last year, was working as a research assistant tutor at a school in Spain. She was looking forward to spending time with her sister. The younger Bui toured France for a few days before meeting her sister in Madrid. They traveled together, taking in the sights and catching up after being away from each other. “It was the happiest I’ve ever seen her,” Anny Bui said. Later Anna Bui traveled to Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands on her own.
She met people along the way who reached out to the family after they learned of Bui’s death. They wrote of her kindness and charm. She had a gift with people, making them feel welcome and loved, her family said.
“She wanted the best for everyone. She was loving and caring. She hoped the best for the world,” Anny Bui said. “If Anna was here today, she would want everyone to love each other and love themselves.”
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
Learn more
To donate or learn more about the Anna Bui World of Hope Fund go to www.uwb.edu/advancement/annabui or contact Sean Marsh, director of Alumni Relations and Philanthropy, at smmarsh@uw.edu.
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